The future of Drupal CMS 2.0: All Innovations expected in 2025

Drupal is changing, experiencing an evolution truly without precedent. The recent State of Drupal presentation of March 2025 given by Dries Buytaert, along with the brand new presentation "Drupal CMS Now and Beyond" by the Drupal Association, have outlined an ambitious roadmap that not only responds to the current needs of enterprise organizations but also anticipates future trends in digital experience management. No less important, there is a clear parallel focus on simplification, lowering many of the "barriers to entry" that have, unfortunately, characterized the Drupal world.

As Drupal developers with years of experience in the sector, we have carefully analyzed the announced innovations and are excited to share our evaluations on how these will transform the Drupal ecosystem and the CMS landscape as a whole.

The innovations redefining Drupal in 2025

The presentations by Dries (available in full on YouTube) and the Drupal Association (also on YouTube) unveiled an ambitious development program, born from a deep reflection on the need to evolve and adapt quickly to remain competitive in the CMS landscape, as well as attracting new users to the Drupal community. The program is articulated on several strategic fronts: let's look in detail at the most significant innovations.

Experience Builder: revolution in visual authoring

The Experience Builder (XB) represents a generational leap compared to the previous Layout Builder, with a completely rethought approach to creating digital experiences. During our exploration of the demo, we identified several characteristics that clearly distinguish it:

• A completely WYSIWYG interface that eliminates the boundary between authoring and preview, allowing contextual changes in real-time
• Advanced drag-and-drop system with intelligent positioning management and automatic alignment
• Advanced builder that allows creating new components in React, directly live from the interface
• Integrated responsive previews that simultaneously show rendering on different devices (real-time preview for both desktop and mobile, side by side)
• Granular versioning controls that allow visually comparing changes
• Possibility to publish changes massively, publishing multiple pages and components in a single operation

In short, the Experience Builder promises to combine the best of Layout Builder, the best of Paragraphs, in-browser visual theming, and highly customizable components (SDCs that expose props to easily customize content and properties).

In our experience with complex enterprise projects, one of the main obstacles to Drupal adoption has always been the complexity of the authoring interface. The Experience Builder directly addresses this critical issue, finally positioning Drupal on par with or even ahead of proprietary solutions in terms of usability for content editors.

Particularly interesting is the composable approach: unlike other page building systems that limit users to predefined templates, Experience Builder maintains Drupal's philosophy of flexibility allowing the creation and reuse of custom components within an intuitive interface.

Features to be defined and improvements

Since the Experience Builder is still in alpha and in full development, there are some aspects still being defined that are important to highlight.

• Multi-language content management is planned but not yet implemented. The importance of this feature in enterprise contexts is recognized, and there is a clear commitment to its implementation.
• The current development of XB focuses primarily on implementation in new Drupal projects. For existing sites, the possibility of upgrading to Experience Builder is still in the analysis phase. The initial priority will be to determine which conversion pathways to support (particularly from Layout Builder and Paragraphs). This also implies that migration might not be possible for all sites.
• Migration concerns not only sites on previous versions of Drupal but also sites built with different systems (e.g., WordPress). Support for these scenarios is still purely hypothetical.

Site Templates: acceleration of time-to-market

Site Templates respond to a need we encounter daily in our projects: drastically reducing implementation times and complexity, particularly for new projects started from scratch. All this, without compromising quality and customization. The system presented by Dries offers:

• A curated library of complete templates optimized for different vertical sectors (e-commerce, media, institutions, etc.)
• Modular architecture that allows combining and customizing components from different templates
• Integration with preconfigured but highly customizable design systems
• Automated deployment pipelines that significantly reduce setup times
• Not just themes and design, the templates also combine recipes, modules, features, and default content.

The most innovative aspect is not so much the availability of preconfigured templates (a feature present in many CMSs), but the enterprise-ready approach: each template includes not only design elements but also optimized security configurations, predefined content structures, recipes, and preset editorial workflows. In short, Site Templates have all the credentials to become a powerful ally in every project to reduce setup time.

Design System

In addition to XB and Templates, the development team's intention is to integrate a robust Design System directly into Drupal CMS. The goal is to define a shared and reusable design system that is also easily customizable.

More specifically, the aim is to provide a number of reusable components of various types (buttons, hero sections, cards, headers, layouts, etc.). These will be based on Single Directory Components (SDC) and compatible with React/Twig.

Obviously, they will be usable within the XB (in drag & drop mode), but also in classic mode (Twig and traditional theming). Each component will also be visually customizable (at least, in XB), but consistency with the Design System's graphic guidelines will be maintained.

This feature is actually closer than it seems. In fact, the first site templates will be built on the design system, thus sharing the same components but offering different look & feel depending on the context (e.g., event vs. product).

This approach will not only improve the visual and functional coherence of applications created with Drupal but will also provide a solid foundation for collaboration between designers and developers. No less important, it can drastically reduce development times from weeks to days.

To delve deeper into this aspect, we also recommend our talk on building Design Systems in Drupal, which illustrates best practices and practical approaches to implementing effective Design Systems with Drupal CMS.

Drupal Marketplace

In the immediate future, the goal is to complete the first Site Templates and include them directly in the release of Drupal CMS 2.0. However, the idea is to reach the point where hundreds or thousands of Templates are available.

To bring this vision to light, a "hot" and still-under-discussion news is to establish a centralized marketplace on Drupal.org. A curated marketplace that includes both open source and commercial templates.

This initiative has the obvious potential to become an incredible resource, facilitating users (new and old) to quickly launch professional sites. At the same time, templates can help attract increasing attention to the Drupal world, thanks to examples of high-quality templates that demonstrate the platform's strength.

Last but not least, an official Marketplace can generate new opportunities for Drupal agencies and developers, but also support the project's sustainability through a revenue-sharing model with the Drupal Association.

On the other hand, it's clear that a Marketplace is a revolutionary idea for the Drupal world, capable of making several noses in the community wrinkle. In his blog, Dries explores the pros and cons of a Marketplace and invites an open discussion. Although the idea is still under discussion, it seems quite certain. On our side, we are convinced that this is a natural evolution of the ecosystem, capable of bringing new vital energy to the project and considerable advantages to all stakeholders involved.

Desktop Launcher App

Drupal CMS is also available as a desktop application (Mac and Windows). Its utility? To allow anyone, regardless of technical knowledge, to install Drupal and all its components locally and try it immediately. No commands, no Docker setup, no configuration, simply install and try.

When the user launches the app for the first time, they are guided through an installation process, with the possibility to select the desired features. In particular, it's possible to select different types of content you want to create (blog, events, news, case studies, etc.), as well as some optional or advanced features (search, Google analytics, contact form, etc.). All these options will still be selectable later, since they are essentially Recipes.

Although it may seem a small thing, in our opinion, it is one of the most important innovations announced. This feature, combined with Site Templates, is able to drastically lower the barriers to entry to the Drupal ecosystem.

AI Framework: artificial intelligence at the service of content

One of the most surprising innovations announced by Dries is AI Framework, a complete framework for integrating artificial intelligence capabilities within the Drupal ecosystem. Unlike other CMSs that have implemented isolated AI functionalities, Drupal adopts a systemic approach:

• Modular architecture that supports different AI models (both cloud-based and on-premise)
• Unified API that allows extending any functionality with AI capabilities
• AI agents integrated into Experience Builder and other key Drupal CMS functions
• Focus on transparency and human control ("Human in the Loop"), with tools to verify and modify results generated by AI
• Tools for content personalization based on behavioral data, with full respect for privacy

The most relevant aspect is the flexibility of the architecture: AI Studio does not bind to specific AI providers, but creates a standardized interface that allows integrating both commercial and open source solutions, adapting to the specific governance and budget needs of the organization.

Another interesting aspect is the rapid growth of AI functionalities. Currently, there are over 30 AI agents available, compared to the initial 5, and there are even AI agents capable of creating other AI agents, which demonstrates the complexity and innovation of the framework. Agents can dynamically modify CSS and make real-time adjustments, allowing users to see the impact of changes directly in the browser. Additionally, the framework includes integrated undo functionalities, allowing agents to review their work and make necessary corrections.

Importantly, Drupal CMS's AI functionalities will benefit both site builders (e.g., Agents that create and customize new content structures) and marketing and editorial teams (e.g., SEO and content generation). AI capabilities can also be further enhanced according to specific needs, thanks to dedicated modules.

An example is the Typesense module, developed and maintained by the SparkFabrik team. This solution allows implementing AI-powered semantic search in your Drupal site, overcoming the limitations of traditional search based on exact keywords. In fact, Typesense supports keywords, related terms, spelling errors, and even search through the use of conversational questions via Natural Language Processing (NLP). The result is a completely new experience that doesn't frustrate the user and can bring economic benefits to the company, thanks to the relevance of search results.

Our expert Drupal developers Roberto Peruzzo and Luca Lusso have recently shared with the community the innovation and potential of Typesense in Drupal. The slides from their respective talks are available below:

• AI-Powered Semantic Search in Drupal with Typesense
• Search API meets Typesense

Drupal CMS 2.0: enterprise vision

Drupal CMS 2.0 represents the evolution of the vision we had already analyzed in our previous article. According to predictions, the update will be launched in conjunction with Experience Builder 1.0 and the first Site Templates in October 2025. The innovations presented by Dries confirm the strategic direction towards a complete digital experience management system for complex organizations:

• Role-based customizable dashboards that present information and tools relevant to each stakeholder
• Advanced workflow system with multi-level approvals, intelligent notifications, and integrated analytics
• Native integration with marketing automation tools and enterprise CRM systems
• Native features for Privacy, Consent Management, SEO, and even application accessibility verification (see the Drupal Association video on Youtube)
• A particularly significant element is the introduction of "Content Hubs" that allow managing and reusing content across multiple channels, touchpoints, and sites, maintaining a unified vision of the organization's digital ecosystem.

Overall, all the upcoming innovations outline a truly exciting future for the Drupal ecosystem. In particular, Drupal CMS, with its approach oriented towards simplification and a visual editing experience, has the potential to position itself in the market as the best low-code/no-code system, effective even for structured enterprise projects.

Technological and strategic implications

The announced innovations are a revolution for the Drupal world. Not only that, they also represent a radical redefinition of Drupal's positioning in the market of CMSs and digital experience platforms.

Composable architecture: the real revolution

The common thread of all presented innovations is the evolution towards a completely composable architecture that manifests at different levels:

• Frontend level: with Experience Builder that completely decouples presentation and data (and makes Drupal a first-rate low-code/no-code solution)
• Content level: with Content Hubs that allow cross-channel reusability
• Infrastructure level: with API-first integrations that facilitate interoperability with external systems

This approach perfectly responds to the needs of modern digital architectures that require flexibility, scalability, and adaptability in multi-channel contexts.

Impact on developer experience (DX)

A less visible but equally significant aspect concerns improvements in the developer experience:

• The new theming system significantly simplifies the implementation of custom designs
• Site Templates considerably reduce the time and friction of starting a project
• Automation tools included in Site Templates and Recipes reduce repetitive tasks
• API standardization facilitates integration with modern development workflows

In other words, the evolutions expected in Drupal's future will not be limited to mere technical improvements. On the contrary, they will translate into both business benefits, such as faster development times and reduced time-to-market, and improved Developer Experience and greater satisfaction of technical teams (factors that are often underestimated but have a direct impact on project success).

Roadmap and implementation timelines

A particularly appreciable aspect of Dries' presentation was the clarity regarding implementation timelines. The presented roadmap provides:

• Q1 2025: We witnessed the release of Drupal CMS 1.0 in January, and more recently in April the Drupal CMS 1.1 update, which included bugfixes and minor improvements.
• Q2 2025: Public beta release of Experience Builder and first wave of Site Templates
• Q3 2025: General availability of Drupal CMS 2.0. Includes Experience Builder 1.0, the first Site Templates, full integration of AI Framework. Indicatively, by October 2025.
• Q4 2025: Potential launch of the centralized marketplace for templates

This detailed planning allows organizations to strategically plan the adoption of new technologies and developers to adequately prepare for the new required skills.

Our evaluations and recommendations

After a careful analysis of the announced innovations and based on our field experience, we believe that:

1. Experience Builder represents a game-changer for Drupal adoption in organizations with extensive and non-technical editorial teams. We recommend planning controlled pilots as soon as the beta is available. Since the possibility of migration to the new Experience Builder is still to be explored, it will be necessary to evaluate case by case whether the switch is effective and strategic.
2. Site Templates offer a significant competitive advantage for agencies and implementers, allowing to drastically reduce delivery times without compromising quality. Templates can subsequently be modified and customized for specific projects. Organizations should evaluate how these templates can be integrated into their development processes.
3. The integration of Design Systems directly into Drupal will favor both implementation speed and visual coherence of Drupal applications. It will be necessary to verify the depth of this functionality, also in relation to the accessibility requirements imposed in Europe by the Accessibility Act (WCAG 2.1 AA). Accessibility is no longer an option, and the best approach is to provide for it starting from that great asset that is a brand's Design System.
4. The Marketplace will allow choosing from a wide range of Site Templates, both open source and commercial. This will make it possible to launch a new site in record time, open new opportunities for developers and agencies, and contribute to the long-term sustainability of the project. We recommend in any case not considering a template as the final solution, but as a starting point. A template can provide an advanced starting point, but it cannot replace the strategy, consulting, and customization of dedicated development and a trusted partner, fundamental in professional and enterprise projects.
5. Drupal CMS 2.0 consolidates Drupal's position as an enterprise platform, offering functionalities that previously required the integration of expensive third-party solutions. For organizations already using Drupal, the upgrade should be considered a priority, planning a migration to the new features.
6. AI Framework opens new possibilities for content personalization and optimization, but requires careful strategic planning. We recommend starting to evaluate specific use cases and data governance requirements in preparation for adoption.
7. Overall, Drupal CMS has all the credentials to become the best no-code/low-code platform, maintaining all the flexibility and power that have historically distinguished it and made it the best for high-level enterprise solutions.

Conclusion: a decisive moment for the Drupal ecosystem

The presented innovations mark a truly decisive moment in the platform's evolution. More than simple incremental improvements: this is a strategic redefinition that positions Drupal as a leader in the field of enterprise Digital Experience Platforms.

As implementers with years of experience in the sector, we are excited about the opportunities these innovations open up for both us and our clients. The combination of improved usability, accelerated time-to-market, and advanced content management capabilities perfectly responds to the challenges that modern organizations must face in the rapidly evolving digital ecosystem.

2025 looks to be a turning point for Drupal, with innovations that not only keep the platform competitive but position it at the forefront in defining the future of digital experience management.

NEXT STEPS

If your organization is considering adopting Drupal CMS, we invite you to:

1. Explore our SparkFabrik Drupal Services Suite with particular attention to security and compliance aspects
2. Request specific consultation on the regulatory needs of your sector
3. Check out all our articles dedicated to Drupal.

This article is part of our series dedicated to Drupal CMS. To explore other aspects of the platform, we invite you to consult our previous articles on features and benefits, comparison with alternatives, migration strategies and security and regulatory aspects.