Drupal is one robust CMS, and it's getting one of the most significant improvements over all past versions of Drupal.
Drupal 8 was first released on November 2015. and the community has announced a major upgrade, which is version 8.6.0.
Drupal 8.6.0 delivers a better user experience. From easier installation process, more stable upgrades for the technical teams, to improved user experience for the marketing and content editor teams.
Drupal version 8.6.0 also has a demo version which can inspire website developers, letting them know what's possible using the CMS. A demo profile not only help onboard new users, but it can also be used by Drupal professionals and digital agencies to showcase Drupal to their potential customers.
The version also allows users to publish complex content with ease using the newly introduced content editor features. There is also an improved video embed support, an updated media library, a workspaces feature for enhanced workflow moderation, and significant layout improvements.
As with any major feature update, the CMS version packs some fixes as well as other minor improvements.
Breaking them down, Drupal 8.6.0 has a built-in stable support for embedding "remote media types", pre-configured to support YouTube and Vimeo videos. The media library can be customized depending on the developers' needs.
The version also improved layout capabilities, with the experimental Layout Builder module, Drupal starts supporting per-display customizations. This way, users can create layouts with dynamic sections, rather than being limited by fields stacked on top of each other.
This allows opportunities to create more customizable layouts. It is also possible to add content unique to a specific layout, which is useful for things like a promotion that is only visible within a single landing page.
Then there is the Workspaces module which can come in handy when reviewing large amounts of content.
While existing content moderation functionality already packs a punch when moving individual pieces of content through an editing and approval workflow, the Workspaces module allows packages of content to be reviewed all at once.
"Drupal 8.6 is a significant upgrade because of its emphasis on ease of use. This version levels up the customer experience, making it easier and less expensive to migrate from older versions, easier to install, as well as easier for marketing teams to deliver impact, faster," said Megan Sanicki, Executive Director of the Drupal Association.
"With a highly engaged community focused on delivering features that make customers shine, I'm excited about this release and what is on the horizon for Drupal."
Handy features introduced in Drupal 8.6.0 also include an improvement for migrating from Drupal 6 and 7 to 8.
This is by using Migrate Drupal (migrations from previous major Drupal versions) as well as Migrate Drupal UI (upgrade user interface) modules.
While developers can update older Drupal versions to 8 with relative ease, unfortunately for multilingual Drupal sites, developers don't have this luxury yet, as Multilingual migrations that is wrapped in the Migrate Drupal Multilingual module, is still experimental.
"Releases like Drupal 8.6.0 only happen with the help of hundreds of contributors and organizations," said Dries Buytaert, founder and lead developer of the Drupal. "Thank you to everyone that contributed to this release."