Drupal continues to evolve with version 11 and the arrival of Drupal CMS, a no-code oriented version that makes it easier to create websites without development. But how does it differ from Drupal Core, the traditional version of the CMS? This article sheds light on the specifics of each version, their impact on developers and content creators, as well as on new features, particularly those based on AI. Find out also how our Drupal Starter optimizes Drupal CMS for rapid and high-performance deployment.
Drupal, a CMS or a CMF?
Drupal has long had a reputation for being an extremely flexible and powerful CMS. So much so that it is often described as a CMF or Content Management Framework rather than a CMS or Content Management System.
Indeed, it does not impose any particular structure or organization on the content to be displayed, whereas other CMS make default choices—Wordpress, for example, is very blog-oriented right out of the box. Drupal, on the other hand, provides all the tools needed to model your data architecture:
- CCK (Content Creation Kit): create custom content types with associated fields.
- Views: generate dynamic content listings with filters and sorting.
- Roles: advanced management of user rights and permissions.
Once available only as additional modules, these tools are now natively integrated into Drupal.
To use Wordpress as an example again, CCK and Views require extra modules (ACF, Elementor), some of which are paid. The same goes for building multilingual sites. Here too, Drupal is fully equipped for this kind of infrastructure, without extra costs.
The other side of the coin: Drupal provides a powerful but blank framework
Drupal therefore provides by default a huge framework, full of possibilities, but a blank framework that can intimidate many. Where WordPress by default provides a blog system with categories, with Drupal you need to, among other things:
- Define a "blog" content type;
- Create a taxonomy vocabulary for categories;
- Configure a view to display the posts;
- Set up the back office for a better user experience.
This freedom comes at a price: a steeper learning curve and increased complexity.
Drupal, a solution for "large-scale" projects?
Since version 8, Drupal has chosen to adopt industry-standard development tools used by large organizations (Symfony, Twig, Composer), which has added a layer of complexity that can sometimes discourage beginner or independent developers.
As a result, Drupal has built a reputation as a solution best reserved for “large” websites, built by big teams of experienced developers. Drupal thus appears, perhaps unintentionally, as a CMS for experts, difficult to handle and slower than others in the initial stages of development.
However, these disadvantages are often quickly forgotten when it comes time to evolve a site with a set of custom features in the later stages of a project’s life. Other solutions generally provide standard options that are risky to dismantle or modify to achieve the desired goal.
Yet Drupal already provided the means to create your own CMS
However, it’s important to put this worrying picture into perspective! Drupal has already provided the tools to create your own CMS without having to reinvent the wheel every time you set up a site.
This is what we have been doing for about fifteen years by creating our own distributions, features, installation profiles, and other themes. Today, at bluedrop.fr, this customization takes the shape of a Drupal Starter that allows us to automatically offer:
- The modules needed for a good back-office contribution experience;
- Optimizations for GDPR and RGAA compliance;
- SEO optimizations;
- Advanced media management;
- A library of the most commonly used blocks/paragraphs (columns, text and images, carousels, highlights, quotes, tables, etc.);
- A predefined news section with categories and scheduled publishing;
- Predefined user roles and permissions for everyday use;
- An in-house Starter theme using recent technologies, based on atomic design and component usage.
- Integration of the Drupal site builder Layout Builder so contributors can build their user interface freely, without coding.
Today, for our clients’ projects, this starter allows us to more quickly deploy the essential features so we can dedicate our energy and focus to the unique aspects and high-value features of the project.
Drupal CMS, a more accessible Drupal
As we've seen, Drupal 8 made a significant shift—a strong signal aimed at major companies and large organizations. Since then, the community has put in tremendous work to improve what it previously lacked compared to competitors: usability and the contributor experience. Modules and themes like Claro, Olivero, Gin, and Layout Builder have emerged to provide a more intuitive interface.
In 2024, Drupal Starshot, later renamed Drupal CMS, was announced. Its goal is to provide a "ready-to-use" version with "recipes" that offer default features.
Drupal 11, Drupal CMS and Drupal Core: the key differences
- Drupal 11 : the latest major version of our favorite CMS, released on August 2, 2024, with an 11.1.1 update available since January 2025.
- Drupal CMS: The "no code" oriented version, ideal for site builders and content creators who want to configure their site without writing code. However, some development adjustments are still often necessary to customize the site as needed.
- Drupal Core : The "classic" version of Drupal, allowing everyone to do exactly what they want! But here too, you will be able to benefit from the recipes and improvements of the CMS version, which you can install if needed.
Should you migrate your entire portfolio of websites to Drupal CMS?
First of all, it's absolutely not an obligation and it probably never will be! However, Drupal CMS can be a good alternative for deploying small showcase sites or for starting more complex sites if a significant number of the available recipes fit your needs.
For multisite platforms, it's possible to use Drupal CMS. There are no incompatibilities or conflicts.
AI serving Drupal
Drupal includes a suite of AI modules that allow you to leverage artificial intelligence models. It is integrated into the Drupal CMS while also being available separately. This suite of modules primarily interfaces with generative AI models such as ChatGPT. At present, it is the best-supported solution, but the AI Core module is designed to later enable integration with other solutions.
Note, this is not free. Using ChatGPT incurs a cost tied to the frequency and length of the requests.
The "AI" suite consists of several modules, each fulfilling a specific function:
| Module name | Description | Features | When to use it |
| AI Core | Serves as the foundation for AI integration in Drupal. | Allows connection to various AI models, offering great flexibility for developers. | AI Core acts as a fundamental tool, similar to the Search API module, but specifically for AI integration, enabling a wide range of AI-based features in Drupal. |
| AI Explorer | A module for experimenting with AI text generation. | Allows you to test different "prompts" (instructions) to refine the results. | Ideal for developers and users who want to explore the text generation capabilities of AI and test different prompts. |
| AI Automators |
This module automates the modification and filling of Drupal fields. | Uses language models (LLM), web scraping, and text extraction from images (OCR) for complex applications. | For creating complex AI applications by using LLMs, as well as web scraping and OCR extraction, making it a versatile tool to automate various tasks. |
| AI Search |
Enhances content search. | Uses semantic search and chatbots. Integrating vector databases helps minimize LLM "hallucinations" and provides access to more data. | AI Search uses embeddings and vector databases to provide context to LLMs, thus minimizing the risk of generating inaccurate or irrelevant information (hallucinations). |
| AI Assistants API + Chatbot | This module provides a framework to configure the behavior and search of chatbots. | Enables customization of the chatbot interface and centralizes LLM settings for search. | Ideal for developers who want to integrate intelligent chatbots into their Drupal sites. |
| AI CKeditor |
Integrates AI into the CKEditor 5 text editor. | Allows spell-check and translation. | Useful for content writers who want AI assistance to improve the quality of their texts. |
| AI content |
Allows you to adjust content tone, summarize texts, suggest taxonomy terms, and check moderation violations. | Offers features to improve the quality and management of content. | Can be used by writers, editors, and content moderators. |
| AI external moderation |
Uses OpenAI’s moderation tool. | Allows you to filter content before passing it to other LLM providers. | To ensure that AI-generated content meets moderation standards. |
| AI Logging |
Records user queries and AI responses. | Useful for debugging and analysis. | Mainly intended for developers and system administrators. |
| AI translate | Facilitates content translation for multilingual sites. | Allows automatic text translation. | Ideal for multilingual websites. |
| AI validations | Uses prompts to validate text. | Allows you to check the validity of textual content. | No specific usage information available. |
| AI Evaluations |
The Drupal.org project page does not provide specific information about this module’s features. | Links to the module’s page and the Drupal user guide may provide further information. | It is recommended to consult the module documentation and the Drupal user guide to learn more about this module. |
Our Drupal Starter, a ready-to-use version of Drupal, is the result of 25 years of experience in Drupal development
Drupal CMS marks a major evolution by offering a more accessible experience, particularly for small showcase sites or startup projects. However, it does not replace Drupal Core and is not mandatory.
At bluedrop.fr, we didn’t wait for Drupal CMS to industrialize our development process! With our Drupal Starter, we’ve brought together best practices, essential configurations, and indispensable modules to offer you a ready-to-use Drupal platform tailored to your needs:
- Quick launch: No more waiting months of development to have a working site.
- Autonomy: Easily modify layouts, add content without involving developers.
- Cost reduction: Leverage our previous developments and reserve your budget for high-value, specific features.
- Recipe richness: Benefit from a version of Drupal with more recipes than Drupal CMS for more advanced and customized features.
Want to know more about our Drupal Starter and see how it can accelerate your Drupal project? Contact us!