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Drupal 11 has been out for over half a year now. It’s time to discuss the improvements. The latest Drupal version, released on August 2, 2024, introduces several improvements and new features that significantly increase the performance, usability, and flexibility of the platform. Here are some of the most important changes in Drupal 11:

Revamped admin interface: The admin interface has been overhauled with a cleaner and more intuitive design, including a collapsible menu for better accessibility and ease of use.

Single Directory Components (SDC): This feature allows developers to place all files belonging to a component in a single folder, improving efficiency and codebase maintenance.

Recipes: This functionality allows users to easily apply pre-configured sets of modules, settings, and default content, making complex setups faster to achieve.

Workspaces: This allows multiple versions of a website to be managed simultaneously, allowing content changes and updates to be tested before they go live.

Project Browser: A new tool that enables the discovery and installation of modules and themes directly from the Drupal interface, without technical knowledge of Composer.

Automatic updates: Drupal is making good progress with automatic updates. This feature simplifies the maintenance of updates for both the Drupal core and modules, which contributes to the security and stability of the website.

Optimized loading times: Thanks to improved caching mechanisms and database optimizations, Drupal 11 loads faster, which improves the user experience.

At iDelft, we are now running various websites in Drupal 11 (including this website). Our experiences are good: The websites are fast, secure and stable.

Are you unsure whether you handle user data, ownership of this data and privacy with respect? Matomo, is not only a software alternative to Google Analytics, but also a Japanese term that can be translated as 'decent'. Matomo positions itself as 'the Google Analytics alternative that protects your data and your visitors' privacy'.

A frequently heard criticism of Google Analytics is that the visitor data that you collect as an organization is also used to enrich personal profiles within Google. In this way, Google's advertising platform can select people in a more targeted manner to display relevant advertisements. A method that website visitors are often not aware of. 

Matomo wants to place ownership of visitor data in the hands of the customers and promises that no external parties will view the data collected by the customer. The customer is the owner of the website to which web analysis is applied and also the owner of the data. iDelft can help to install and set up Matomo. Contact us for the possibilities.

A new version of Gratis-Kaart.nl is on-line as of today. This site makes free web maps within The Netherlands available to everyone .  Web maps can be used in blogs, websites or in social media messages. You can send out for example an invitation with a link to point out the address. It is also possible to depict the exact location of a sport match  on the map. The potental applications are endless and a web map is valid for three months. 

iDelft completed today an incident Application Programming Interface (API) for a customer in The Netherlands. With this API it is possible for everyone to read and process incident messages from the Security Region Veiligheidsregio Noord-Holland Noord. A news paper organisation can in this way automatically publish  reliable information from the region North Holland. European regulations require (semi)-governmental organisations to publish relevant and public information in a way that the information can be reused to the maximum extent.  The following page shows the  various filter- and display capabilities of the VRNHN API, including a so-called ticker tape with incident messages.

Sample page API for incidents published by VRNHN

VRNHN API-documentation is avaliable as well.

The API helps VRNHN to comply with the EU 2019/1024 regulation for open data and reuse of public information.

A successful PenTest has been performed on a critical server managed by iDelft. In this case, successful means that a specialized security company was unable to gain access to the server and the available software. The server is used to host (semi) government websites. An extensive PenTest is therefore mandatory.

iDelft always pays a lot of attention to the security of the software and servers. Please contact us if you would like to discuss this with us.

Government agencies are obliged to provide clarity about the accessibility of their official websites since September 23, 2020. Accessible websites can be used by everyone; also by people with, for example, an auditory or visual impairment.

If websites do not meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA guidelines, government agencies are required to present an improvement plan. These plans must be stored in a central register. It is now possible to determine for each government organization how effective the Legislation on Digital Accessibility has been implemented.

iDelft is able to test and improve existing websites to comply with WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines and to advise on web accessibility. If you would like to discuss this, please contact us.

Drupal 10 has been available for almost a year now. Time to consider the situation and migrate Drupal 8/9 websites.

First of all, it is important to note that support for Drupal 8 and Drupal 9 has ended. Many people do not realize it yet, but support for Drupal 9 has officially stopped on November 1, 2023. This means that regular security updates will no longer be made available for Drupal 8 and 9. It is adviced to migrate those websites to Drupal 10.

For customers who run a Drupal 8/9 website, we can perform an analysis: We then check whether the migration from Drupal 8/9 to Drupal 10 is easy. In general: If there is not too much complexity, and if the website is built by a professional Drupal developer, then the migration will be possible. Websites that are currently running on a recent Drupal version will almost always be able to migrate, but adjustments are always required to the code and the server: For example, it is often necessary to upgrade the PHP and Drush versions. It may also be necessary to address the method of email sending, for example, because Drupal 10 no longer supports some older Drupal modules due to security risks.

In short: A migration is really a task for specialists. We have extensive experience in converting websites from Drupal 7/8/9 to Drupal 10.

Contact our office for a quick analysis of your website. We can then immediately give you an advice on the best strategy for your organisation.

iDelft has developed a one-way connection between Power BI and Drupal. Power BI is the Business Intelligence solution of Microsoft.  

Image that it is possible to show PowerBI reports in a Drupal portal. That is exactly what we have achieved at the iDelft office for a customer in the public sector. The great advantage is that data storage is only taking place at one location. It is also not necessary to recreate dashboard elements (in a PowerBI setup) in order to show them in a Drupal portal. 

Security is of paramount importance:  Non-open data should be protected at all times. An extra security layer is therefore  present. This layer specifies which reading permissions are being granted.

Is your organization also interested in PowerBI connectivity? Just contact us. 

We have launched the Tub & Table webshop. The website www.tubandtable.nl offers creative workshops and bathroom- and table items.

We optimised the product presentationd over the last few weeks. iDelft also installed an online booking module for workshops for TubandTable (or TubenTable as sometimes referred to). In addition we connected the webshop www.tubentable.nl with Mollie for online payments.

Do you also want a website and/or a webshop? Contact us so that we can make an appointment to discuss the various possibilities.

Yes, that is possible! With help of the Drupal Content Management System it is possible to quickly launch an interactive site. Multi-language texts, a location map, a dynamic menu, responsiveness: it is all feasible based on existing themes and our reliable hosting solutions. Safe and fast.

A sample website is www.Schoolstraat25.nl that needed to be on-line at very short notice: The period between the domain name request and the website launch was exactly 6 hours. 

Do you also want to obtain quick results? Do not hesitate and contact us to discuss your needs with an expert.

iDelft co-operated in a team in order to renew and expand a nation-wide data portal in Drupal 8. We are currently creating advanced glossary. The customer is requesting this functionality in order to make the contents better accessible. The project will be finished mid-2020.

The brand new website DelftsAardewerk.nl has been launched by the Kunstmuseum in The Hague. iDelft developed the website back-end in Drupal 8. The first graphical design was made by the company Vruchtvlees.  

With this website it is possible to upload imagery of Dutch Delftware so that experts can submit comments on the various objects. The website will be improved in the upcoming weeks.

PURA-Softwarecatalogus.nl has been improved. iDelft completely renewed the software platfom.  Safe and reliable hosting is of paramount importance since the website contains information about software titles, applications and vendors for the Medical Services for the Municipalities (GGD).  

iDelft took over parts of Triquanta last year including the GGD account. All Triquanta clients have been migrated to a new platform over the last year.

We renewed our Virtual Private Server (VPS) cluster including our monitoring procedures. The servers are part of the hosting and support solution for our iDelft customers. We primarily host webportals developed in-house with Drupal. In addition, we support some older VPS servers that we took over from Triquanta ealier this year. We are in contact with the customers because we want to fade out these servers in the near future.

The website WerkenBijPeutz.nl is now on-line. The site is specially targetted for mobile phones and tablets. The engineering firm Peutz is using WerkenBijPeutz.nl to inform applicants on the latest vacancies. The website is being made by iDelft in Drupal 8 without the need for any license fees.

iDelft applied today an important Drupal SA-CORE-2019-003 security patch at client websites. A vulnerability of Drupal in combination with RESTful webservices occured. Only a fraction of the websites is being affected, but we try to upgrade Drupal consistently. Drupal security is something you can rely upon.

The new Drupal 8 website of a Dutch security organisation (Veiligheidsregio Noord-Holland Noord) is live: www.vrnhn.nl.

Our client worked hard over the past few months to introduce new videos end imagery. This combined with our efforts to implement a new platform resulted in a brand new website with a clear design (by Kees-TM Internet)). Emphasis has been put on social media and quick performance through advanced caching mechanisms.

There was special attention for mobile applications and the introduction of forms to reduce the workload of VRNHN staff members. This new website is compliant with the new European privacy regulations and provides a stable on-line channel for the years to come.

The Court in Amsterdam declared Triquanta Web Solutions B.V. bankrupt on January 16th. iDelft has partly taken over the company which always had an excellent reputation in the market. This acquisition is meant to reinforce the position of iDelft as leading developer of complex websites based on Drupal.

Big companies often operate (many!) large websites. iDelft helped a major engineering firm in the Netherlands over the past months to migrate a range of websites to Drupal 8. The sites are multi-langual and context sensitivity plays an important role. In many cases, iDelft is responsible for the entire implementation project, but in this instance we acted as consultants and worked together with the building team of the customer. This advisory role was crucial for the success of the migration.

iDelft participated in the NITECT 2017 conference in Ottawa. The NATO Communication and Information (NCI) Agency awarded iDelft BV with the Defence Innovation Challenge prize. With 9 other international companies, iDelft demonstrated new technology at the 2017 NCI Agency Conference / AFCEA TechNet International (NITEC17), 'Sharpening NATO's Technological Edge: Adaptive Partnerships and the Innovative Power of Alliance Industry'. A total of 48 companies submitted proposals to NATO; 10 spearhead technologies had been formulated by NATO upfront.

iDelft created a software solution for procurement processes based on the Drupal platform. Combining this software with so-called Container technology (Docker) is offering maximum scalability and flexibility. With this solution, NATO can optimize their procurement processes on various platforms and geographic locations.

The other winning companies were from Norway, Germany, UK and the USA, focussing on Cyber Security, Secure Voice, Service Management Automation, Long Range Communication and Infrastructure.

NATO will spent more than 3 billion Euro's in the coming years on new projects and the NITEC 2017 conference paid attention to those upcoming projects that will need to incorporate new technologies.