Simon Georges Highlights UX Progress at DrupalCon Lille 2023
In a recent blog post1 on Makina Corpus, Simon Georges shed light on the unfolding of DrupalCon Lille 2023 and the spotlight it has placed on user experience (UX) within the Drupal community. The event, hosted in Lille, France, drew the attention of Drupal enthusiasts worldwide.
As the keynote by Drupal's founder, Dries Buytaert, kicked off the conference, the spotlight was firmly on UX. According to Simon Georges, from Buytaert's keynote to the Birds of a Feather (BoFs) sessions (informal discussions between community members on selected topics), the Drupal community demonstrated a notable focus on improving ergonomics.
The emphasis on UX comes as Drupal's feature set has reached a high level of maturity, making it a formidable contender for newcomers in the content management system (CMS) arena. Emerging CMS platforms are banking on providing dynamic, user-friendly, and visually appealing contribution experiences, an area where Drupal has historically faced challenges. However, according to Georges, these weaknesses are being addressed.
One standout moment during the conference was the attention given to the "Field UI" redesign. The Field UI is the interface for creating fields on entities, and its overhaul is nearing completion. The revamped interface is expected to be incorporated into Drupal core in version 10.3.0, enhancing the experience for site builders and web admins.
Another surprise was the prominence of discussions surrounding "Layout Builder," a module within Drupal's core that enables complex page layout design. This marked a shift in the Drupal community, which has often been divided over technical solutions. The unified focus on improving this module and its usability is a refreshing and promising sign for Drupal's future.
In his blog post, Georges expressed optimism for the future, predicting that 2024 will be when Drupal's user experience leaves no room for comparison with its competitors.
You can read Simon Georges' full blog post on Makina Corpus for further insights and details.
Footnotes
- 1Simon Georges, Makina Corpus, DrupalCon Lille 2023: when Drupal (finally?) takes the UX turn, Original Title (in French): DrupalCon Lille 2023 : quand Drupal prend (enfin ?) le virage de l'UX, Published 2023 October 20, URL: https://makina-corpus.com/drupal/drupalcon-lille-2023-quand-drupal-prend-enfin-virage-ux