Drupal Website Design UK

Drupal version dates, checked

The drupal.org core release schedule, checked in October 2026, gives these key dates:

• Drupal 7: support ended on 5 January 2025. No more security advisories for Drupal 7 core or its contributed modules.
• Drupal 10: reaches end of life on 9 December 2026.
• Drupal 11: the current major version, with each minor release supported for a set period.
• Drupal 12: scheduled for release in the week of 7 December 2026.

If you are on Drupal 10, the upgrade to 11 is done in place once your modules and theme are compatible. If you are on Drupal 7, moving to a modern version is a migration: content is moved into a newly built site.

What Drupal does well, and where it costs more

Drupal is free, open-source and built for structured content. Content types, fields, taxonomies, Views and fine-grained roles and permissions are part of the core. Multilingual support is built in. That is why universities, public bodies, charities and publishers use it.

The trade-offs:

• Higher build and upkeep costs. Drupal developers are fewer and charge accordingly. W3Techs reported on 18 October 2026 that Drupal runs 0.6% of all websites.
• More to maintain. Core and module updates, Composer dependencies and PHP version changes need a developer.
• Often more than a small business needs. A 20-page company site rarely uses the features that justify Drupal.

Stay on Drupal or move to WordPress?

Stay on Drupal when

• you have complex content relationships, many editors with different permissions, or several languages
• you have developers or an agency who support it
• integrations with other systems depend on Drupal

Move to WordPress when

• the site is mostly pages, news and a contact form
• editors struggle with the admin
• you want a wider choice of developers and lower running costs

We will recommend after looking at what your site actually does. Read about WordPress web design or our platform comparisons.

How we handle a Drupal migration

1. Content model. We map every content type, field, taxonomy and user role to the new site, and agree what to keep, merge or retire.
2. Design. A new mobile-first design checked against WCAG 2.2 AA, which matters for public-sector and charity sites in particular.
3. Migration. Content, media and users moved with scripted imports, then spot-checked page by page.
4. Redirects. Old node and alias URLs mapped to new ones with 301 redirects.
5. Launch. Staging sign-off, DNS switch, Search Console sitemap submission and crawl monitoring.

Because Drupal sites vary so much, we give a fixed quote after an audit. Smaller rebuilds start from £500 + VAT; see our prices or request a quote.

What a Drupal audit covers

Before we quote, we look at the whole site, because two Drupal sites of the same size can need very different amounts of work.

• Versions. Drupal core, PHP and database versions, and whether your host supports what comes next.
• Modules. Every contributed module, whether it has a release for Drupal 11, and whether core now does the same job.
• Custom code. Custom modules and theme code that would need rewriting for a newer version.
• Content. Content types, fields, taxonomies, the number of nodes and how many are still useful.
• Users and permissions. Roles, editorial workflows and any single sign-on.
• Search data. Which pages bring traffic, from Search Console, so the redirect plan protects them first.

You get a written summary with a recommendation and a fixed price. If you decide not to go ahead, the audit is still yours to give to another developer.

Who we help

Charities, schools, membership bodies and B2B companies that were sold a Drupal site years ago and now need it modernised. Many have no in-house developer and simply need someone to explain the options in plain English, then do the work. If your needs are closer to a custom web application, our sister company dijitul developments builds bespoke software. For accessibility requirements, see accessible web design.

What you get

• An audit of Drupal version, PHP version, contributed and custom modules
• A recommendation: upgrade Drupal, rebuild, or migrate to WordPress
• A content model mapping your content types and fields to the new site
• Migrated content, users and media with 301 redirects from every old URL
• A new accessible, mobile-first design
• Editor training and documentation

Prices and how it works

Websites from £250 + VAT, business websites from £500 + VAT and ecommerce from £750 + VAT. Small changes are £45 an hour + VAT. You get a fixed quote before we start.

1. Free chat

   Tell us about your business, who your customers are and what the website needs to do. No charge, no obligation.

2. Fixed quote

   You get a fixed price and a clear list of what is included, in writing, before anything starts.

3. Design

   We plan the pages and design the site around your customers, then share it for your comments.

4. Build and test

   We build it mobile-first, write or polish the copy, set up SEO foundations and test it on real phones.

5. Launch and hand over

   We launch, connect analytics and Search Console, and show you how to update it. You own it all.

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