Case Study: Drupal 9 to Drupal 10 Upgrade
Antwerp Maritime Academy: From Drupal 9 to 10 with Zero Downtime
Maritime university in Belgium upgraded to Drupal 10 with no data loss or service interruption
https://www.amacademy.beMaritime University
Antwerp Maritime Academy, a maritime university in Belgium, trains students for careers at sea and in maritime industries. The institution serves a multilingual audience in Dutch, English, and French and complies with International Maritime Organization (IMO) standards.
Drupal 9 to 10 Upgrade
Upgrade the Academy's Drupal 9 website to Drupal 10 with no data loss, service interruption, or compromise on multilingual or compliance features.
The Approach
Reviewed Entire Platform
Mapped existing features, modules, and multilingual content. Audited for outdated modules, code dependencies, and content workflows.
Defined Migration Strategy
Outlined a dry-run upgrade and rollback plan. Set up parallel environments for comparison.
Automated Theme and Data Conversion
Used AI tools to convert templates, upgrade modules, and migrate content. Focused on maintaining all career pathways, forms, and access control rules.
Ran Parallel Deployment
Implemented the new version alongside the current one. Editors continued work without noticing changes.
Validated with Screenshots and Tests
Compared thousands of pages via automated screenshot tools. Verified multilingual interfaces, application workflows, and visual consistency.
Zero-Downtime Compliance Upgrade
CodeLift delivered a full Drupal 10 upgrade that preserved all functionality and content. Student application systems, multilingual pages, and career tools were untouched. IMO-compliance features remained intact. Automated visual regression testing confirmed no differences before going live.
Key Matrics
- 0 minutes downtime
- 100% data and functionality preserved
- 3 languages validated across 1,000+ screens
- Reduced manual QA effort by 90% via automation
- Hosted on CodeLift's high performance infrastructure