Drupal’s Ecosystem Challenges and the Push for Sustainable Growth

Carlos Ospina, in an article published by A Drupal Couple, presents a pyramid model to illustrate Drupal’s ecosystem sustainability, highlighting how the shift from Drupal 7 to Drupal 8 narrowed the entry-level base while strengthening enterprise adoption. The model categorizes Drupal users into four tiers, from hobbyists and small businesses at the base to enterprise implementations at the top, emphasizing the need for a balanced ecosystem. Carlos attributes the shrinking base to increased complexity, which has limited new developer entry and shifted smaller projects to alternative platforms like WordPress and Wix. 

He discusses regional disparities in project scales and developer rates, noting that Drupal’s complexity further restricts adoption in regions with smaller markets. To address these challenges, he advocates for initiatives like Drupal CMS, aimed at improving out-of-the-box usability, and the IXP Fellowship, which fosters local talent by incentivizing regional hiring. Ospina argues that rebuilding Drupal’s base and strengthening mid-tier adoption will create a more sustainable ecosystem, allowing projects to scale within Drupal rather than migrating to other platforms.