Upgrading to Backdrop CMS

from Drupal 7

What is Backdrop CMS?

The Drupal fork

Drupal 7, modernized!

Backdrop CMS includes:

Drupal 8 core features

• Mobile First, HTML5
• Built-in Rich-Text editor
• Views (and CTools) in core
• Configuration Management
• Field Types: Date, Email, Link

• File Entity
• Media Browser
• Admin Views
• Page Preview
• Email registration

Backdrop CMS includes:

Drupal 7 contrib features...

75+ modules included in Backdrop core

* Some features may not be included in Backdrop core.

Top 100 Drupal 7 modules

Backdrop CMS is Fast

Backdrop performs faster than a comparable Drupal 7 site.

Faster page rendering, better caching, and yes,
cache tags are coming soon!

Backdrop CMS is easy

Improved user exprience over
both Drupal and WordPress

More than 600 user-experience improvements
made to the project since it's inception

Why upgrade to Backdrop CMS?

• You are happy (enough) with your current Drupal 7 site
• You want all the same functionality you have now (+ more)
• You want a simpler editor or administrator experience
• You want ongoing improvements to your software
• You agree with the Backdrop CMS Philosophy

Backdrop CMS Mission

Backdrop CMS enables people to build highly customized websites affordably, through collaboration and open source software.

https://backdropcms.org/philosophy

Backdrop CMS Principles

1. Easier updates: Backwards compatibility is important.
2. Simplicity: Write code that the majority can understand.
3. Focus: Only include features that benefit the majority.
4. Extensibility: Ensure Backdrop can be customized.
5. Security: Keep sites and people safe.
6. Performance: Meet low system requirements.
7. Release on-time: Plan and schedule releases.
8. Freedom: Remain both Free and Open Source.

https://backdropcms.org/philosophy

What kinds of sites are upgrading?

• Simple sites -- can upgrade in as little as 1 day
• Medium sites -- upgrade in ~1 month
• Highly customized sites (lots of custom code) - varies

Upgrade from Drupal

in 4 steps

1. Research what's necessary
2. Prepare your Drupal 7 site
3. Upgrade to Backdrop CMS
4. QA & Adjust
5. Repeat steps 2-4

Step 1:

Research what will be necessary to upgrade to Backdrop CMS

1. Review your current theme
2. Review your current layouts (if any)
3. Review your current modules

Are you happy with your current theme?

• If so, you'll need to "port" it.
• If not, you might want a new one: contrib or custom.
• Familiarize yourself with the time/effort required for either decision.

Theme differences from Drupal 7

The page template (page.tpl.php) becomes
the layout template (layout.tpl.php)

Minor markup changes: semantic tags, no IDs.

div
id="page-title"
            

article, nav, section, aside
class="page-title"
            

classes and attributes printed differently in templates.

Drupal 7

class="< ?php print $classes; ?>" < ?php print $attributes; ?>
          

Backdrop CMS

class="< ?php print implode(' ', $classes); ?>" < ?php print backdrop_attributes($attributes); ?>
          

functions are called from within templates

print $styles;
print $scripts;
            

print backdrop_get_css();
print backdrop_get_js();
            

What's a layout template?

(think "page template" from Drupal 7)

• .info file
• .tpl.php file
• .css file
• optional .php file

What's a layout template?

Top-level add-On (like module, theme)

• .info file
• .tpl.php file
• .css file
• optional .php file

Review layout templates:

• Can you make do with the layout templates in core?
• If not, you will need to create your own:
  • Flexible Layout Templates (UI)
  • Custom code

What modules is your site currently using?

• Core modules
• Contributed modules
• Custom modules

Review core modules.

A few D7 core modules have been remvoed from Backdrop.

• Were you using any of these?
• If so, were they replaced by something else? (dashboard)
• If not, did you really need them? (overlay)
• If so, do they exist in contrib? (aggregator)
• If not, are you ready to port them? (poll)

Review contributed modules.

• Have any been moved into core in Backdrop CMS?
• If some have not, do they exist in contrib?
• If some do not, are you ready to port them?

Review custom modules

• How many do you have?
• How complicated are they?
• Will they need any changes for Backdrop?
• Should they be made 100% backdrop-compatible?

the info file needs to be updated

core = 7.x
            

backdrop = 1.x
type = module
            

configuration management

variable_set()
variable_get()
            

config_set() or $config->set()
config_get() or $config->get()
            

There's a little more

But we have a record of all API changes at
https://api.backdropcms.org/change-records

It should be straightforward to port modules.

Step 2:

Prepare your old Drupal 7 site

• Ensure you are on the latest stable release of Drupal 7.
• Ensure you are on the latest stable versions of all add-ons.
• Ensure all configuration is in the database (views, etc).
• Optional: Delete content you don't use/need/want.
• Optional: Uninstall modules you don't use/need/want.

Step 3

Upgrade your Drupal site to Backdrop

• Replace all Drupal code with Backdrop code:
  • Add all custom and/or contributed modules
  • Add all custom and/or contributed layout templates
  • Add all custom and/or contributed themes
• Update the settings.php file
• Run the update script! (visit update.php)

Step 4

QA and adjust

• Confirm that everything is working.
• Adjust configuration as needed (commit to vcs!).
• If this is the first upgrade:
  • This is a good time to create/update the theme.
  • This is a good time to create custom layout templates.
  • this is a good time to port modules

As with all upgrades

Repeat steps 3-4 as needed, sync config each time.

Questions?

•   http://backdropcms.org
•   @backdropcms
•   github.com/backdrop
•   gitter.im/backdrop/backdrop-issues

Show and Tell!

•   https://backdropcms.org/upgrade-from-drupal

Questions?

•   http://backdropcms.org
•   @backdropcms
•   github.com/backdrop
•   gitter.im/backdrop/backdrop-issues