| Performance | Lazy loading & improved JS/CSS aggregation | Faster page loads, especially on content-heavy pages, improving visitor experience and SEO |
| Performance | Overhauled caching system (merged rendering/cache layers) | Fewer database queries and cache operations, better performance under high traffic |
| Performance | Enhanced Page Cache & Dynamic Page Cache | More efficient handling of dynamic content, supports high-traffic environments without a proportional cost increase |
| Performance | 4x faster installs | Less downtime/setup overhead when standing up new environments (dev, staging, DR) |
| Performance | Native WebP/AVIF image support | Smaller image payloads, faster mobile load times, no extra tooling needed |
| Usability (Admin) | Redesigned navigation (collapsible vertical menu) | Easier for admins to find tools and content, reduces training time for new staff |
| Usability (Admin) | Announcements Feed on dashboard | Surfaces security advisories and release news directly in-product, reduces risk of missing critical updates |
| Usability (Editorial) | Workspaces (content staging) | Editors can prepare and review content changes before they go live, reducing publishing errors |
| Usability (Editorial) | Same Page Preview | Real-time preview of edits without navigating away, speeds up content workflows |
| Usability (Editorial) | Streamlined content editing / automatic formatting | Less manual formatting work for editors, more consistent output |
| Usability (Site Building) | Simplified menu, taxonomy, block, and permission management | Reduces reliance on developers for routine content-structure changes |
| New Capabilities | Recipes API (experimental) | Pre-built configuration bundles speed up building new features/sections without custom development |
| New Capabilities | Single Directory Components (SDC) | Reusable, self-contained UI components improve design consistency and speed up theming |
| New Capabilities | Experience Builder / Project Browser (in progress) | Lowers the barrier for non-technical staff to build pages/find modules, reducing developer bottleneck |
| New Capabilities | Automatic Updates | Automates routine core patching with rollback safety and a sandboxed test-apply step; contrib module/theme automation is still experimental and not yet recommended for production, so those still require the normal manual update/testing process |
| New Capabilities | Access Policy API | More flexible, fine-grained permissions logic for complex governance needs |
| Technical Foundation | Symfony 7 (from Symfony 6) | Keeps the platform on a currently-supported underlying framework, reducing future security exposure |
| Technical Foundation | Reduced jQuery, modern ES6 JS | Smaller, more maintainable frontend codebase; easier to recruit developers familiar with current standards |
| Technical Foundation | Deprecated Drupal 10 code removed | Cleaner codebase with fewer legacy paths to test, patch, and secure |
