Content platform
Drupal development
Drupal is the content platform for sites that are too structured for a simple builder: many content types, many editors, many languages, and rules about who may publish what. We build on it, upgrade it, and move old Drupal sites forward.
- 1,200+ clients helped
- Building since 2010
- 15 services, one team
- 50+ technologies
At a glance
What it is
Drupal is an open-source content management system built for sites with complex content, many editors, several languages, and strict control over who can do what.
Problems it solves
Organizations with large or regulated websites run old Drupal versions that are costly to maintain, or need a platform that can model complicated content without custom code everywhere.
Who it suits
Universities, public bodies, publishers, large organizations, and teams that already run Drupal or need a structured, permission-heavy content platform.
How to choose
Choose Drupal for large, structured, multi-editor sites with strict permissions. Choose a lighter platform for smaller sites, and plan a staged upgrade for old Drupal systems.
What it means
A platform that models your content, not just your pages
Most website tools start from pages. Drupal starts from content. You define what kinds of thing the organization publishes, such as courses, events, staff, reports, and policies, and what each one contains. Pages are then assembled from that structure.
That investment pays when the site is large or heavily governed. A university with thousands of course pages, a public body with strict review rules, or a publisher with many editors needs one source for each fact, and a clear record of who approved it.
The cost is complexity. Drupal needs experienced developers, careful hosting, and regular upgrades. For a small brochure site it is more than is needed.
Options
Drupal beside the other content platforms
Suits
Large, structured, multilingual sites with many editors and strict permissions.
- Trade-off
- Needs skilled developers and regular upgrades, so it costs more to run.
Suits
Most business sites, blogs, and stores, with the largest range of ready-made add-ons.
- Trade-off
- Complex content structures and permissions need more custom work.
Suits
Design-led marketing sites managed by a small team.
- Trade-off
- Less suited to heavy workflows or very large content models.
Suits
Content served to several websites and apps from one structured source.
- Trade-off
- More moving parts, and the front end must be built separately.
What DECHY can do
Working with Drupal
Build
- Content models designed with your editors.
- Themes that are fast, accessible, and consistent.
Upgrade
- Version upgrades and migrations in stages.
- Replacement of unsupported custom code.
Govern
- Roles, permissions, and review workflows.
- Audit trails for who changed what.
Look after
- Security updates applied promptly.
- Monitoring, backups, and performance tuning.
Typical sites
Where Drupal is the right tool
A university or school group
Course, department, and staff pages built from one structure, in more than one language.
A public body or regulated organization
Strict roles, review steps, and an audit trail of who published what.
A publisher with many editors
Workflows for drafting, review, and scheduled release across large teams.
A content hub feeding several channels
One structured source that serves a website, an app, and partner sites.
Upgrading
Moving an old Drupal site forward
Older Drupal versions no longer receive security fixes. Upgrading is a rebuild of parts, not a button, and it is best done in stages.
Audit what is there
We list the content types, custom modules, themes, and integrations, and which are still used.
What it produces
- Site inventory
- Module list
Decide what to keep
Unused content and modules are dropped. Needed ones are replaced by supported equivalents or rebuilt.
What it produces
- Keep
- replace
- or drop list
Rebuild and migrate content
The structure is rebuilt on a current version, and content is moved by repeatable scripts that can be re-run and checked.
What it produces
- New site
- Migration scripts
- Check reports
Test, switch, and watch
Editors and visitors test it, addresses are redirected, and search performance is watched after the switch.
What it produces
- Test results
- Redirect map
Technical depth
How we build with Drupal
For your developers and IT lead: our Drupal choices on structure, content and delivery, security and maintenance, and accessibility, and the reasoning behind each.
- Configuration is exported to code and versioned, so changes move through environments in a controlled way.
- Custom functionality lives in small, documented modules built on supported interfaces, never by editing core.
- Structured content can also be served as data to other websites and apps.
- Caching at several levels and a content delivery network keep pages quick under load.
Security releases are applied on a defined schedule, dependencies are managed with a package tool, and the platform runs on PHP with a MySQL or PostgreSQL database.
Public bodies and universities carry high accessibility expectations. We build themes to the web accessibility guidelines and test with assistive technology.
Common questions
Questions about Drupal
Is Drupal still a good choice?
For the right site, yes. It is actively developed and well suited to large, structured, governed sites. For small sites it is more platform than you need.
Is our old Drupal site safe to leave as it is?
Versions that are no longer supported do not receive security fixes, which is a growing risk. We assess the site and recommend an upgrade route.
Drupal or WordPress?
WordPress suits most sites and is simpler to run. Drupal suits sites with complex content models, many editors, and strict permissions. We compare them on your needs.
Can you migrate us to another platform?
Yes. We move content with repeatable scripts, redirect addresses, and check that nothing is lost, whichever platform you move to.
Have a different question?
Tell us what you are weighing up and we will answer it plainly.
Ask a questionAlready a client? Email support@dechytech.com
Tell us about the site and its editors
Describe the site, how many people edit it, and any existing Drupal system. We will recommend whether to build, upgrade, or choose another platform.