The history and evolution of Drupal

Drupal Core, one of the most versatile and widely-used content management systems (CMSs), was born out of a vision to empower developers to build scalable and customizable websites. Its journey began in 2000, when Dries Buytaert, the founder and lead developer, created Drupal as a message-board to share ideas with friends. Recognizing its potential, he released Drupal as an open-source project in 2001, marking the beginning of a transformative journey for web-development.

Over the years, Drupal Core has evolved into a robust CMS (the current version of Drupal, being "Drupal 11"), powering websites for enterprises, governments, and organizations worldwide. Its flexibility, modular architecture, and active developer community made it a preferred choice for building complex and scalable digital experiences.

Today, Drupal keeps pushing the boundaries of innovation with its latest advancements. Under Dries Buytaert's leadership, the platform remains at the forefront of open-source development. On January 15, 2025, a new version of Drupal was released; the latter called Drupal CMS integrates tools related and using AI, thus marking a new chapter in the platform's evolution. Designed to simplify the website creation process, the Drupal CMS combines Drupal's open-source roots with advanced AI tools, making it easier than ever for marketers and content teams to craft amazing digital experiences.

What is the Drupal CMS?

The Drupal CMS is a Content Management System built on the solid foundation of Drupal Core. It is considered to be more low-code than it used to be, using AI tools to accelerate website development.

How does the "Drupal CMS" differ from "Drupal core"?

Whilst both Drupal CMS and Drupal Core are built on the same Drupal architecture, they cater to different audiences and use cases:

1. Target Audience:
• Drupal Core: primarily aimed at developers who want full control over website structure and functionality.
• Drupal CMS: designed with marketers and content creators in mind, offering intuitive tools to help manage content allowing content creation with less technical expertise using a chatbot.
2. AI Integration:
• Drupal CMS: includes AI modules that streamline tasks such as, content generation, optimization, and automated suggestions. This makes the process faster and more efficient for content teams.
3. User Experience:
• Drupal Core: offers complete customization but requires developers to manually configure everything.
• Drupal CMS: simplifies the experience with visual tools and pre-configured templates (recipes), allowing for easier management of content and digital experiences.
4. Purpose:
• Drupal Core: best suited for complex, customized websites where ambitious developers need flexibility and control.
• Drupal CMS: aimed at creating and managing content quickly and effectively, whilst still offering the flexibility that Drupal is known for.

To conclude, the "Drupal CMS" is arguably a great product, but it doesn’t provide the freedom that Drupal Core provides. Drupal CMS is not suitable for large and scalable websites since its goal is to provide solutions for content creators and marketers. On the other hand, developers can carry-on developing advanced and scalable websites using Drupal Core since the development of Drupal core will continue. They can develop simple websites which don't require Drupal Core's capacities, faster, using the new Drupal CMS.