Berklee College of Music
A carefully managed Drupal 7-to-8 transition for Berklee College of Music, covering theme implementation and backend development.
At a glanceDoodleWeb helped Berklee College of Music transition from Drupal 7 to Drupal 8. The engagement combined theme work and backend development so the institution could move to Drupal 8 as one coordinated transition rather than treating the public-facing experience and the underlying platform as separate projects.
Where they started.
Moving from Drupal 7 to Drupal 8 was a substantial platform transition. Berklee needed the site theme and backend to move together, with the dependencies between presentation, content, and platform behaviour handled as one migration effort.
What we built.
DoodleWeb supported Berklee's Drupal 7-to-8 transition through theme implementation and backend development. Coordinating both workstreams helped the institution move the experience and its supporting Drupal functionality forward together.
Where it landed.
Berklee completed a successful transition to Drupal 8 with its theme and backend work aligned through the migration. The engagement remains a practical example of DoodleWeb's experience with higher-education Drupal transitions.
The work behind the launch.
Each engagement covers strategy, design, build, and post-launch care — orchestrated by a single senior team.
Barriers we had to overcome.
A concise look at the constraints that shaped every decision in the build.
A major Drupal architecture change
Drupal 8 changed the platform architecture substantially from Drupal 7. The transition therefore required coordinated implementation rather than a routine in-place update.
Theme and backend dependencies
The front-end theme and backend behaviour had to progress together so that templates, content output, and Drupal functionality remained aligned throughout the transition.
What we built.
The pieces that shaped the final build — each tied back to a real business outcome.
Theme implementation
DoodleWeb helped implement the Drupal 8 theme as part of the wider transition, keeping presentation work connected to the new platform.
Backend development
The engagement included backend Drupal work needed to support the move from Drupal 7 to Drupal 8.
One coordinated transition
Theme and backend work were handled as connected parts of the same migration, supporting a successful transition for Berklee.
What changed.
What changed for the team and their audience after launch — measured in real behavior, not vanity metrics.
- Successful transition from Drupal 7 to Drupal 8
- Theme implementation delivered as part of the migration
- Backend development aligned with the Drupal 8 platform
- A coordinated transition rather than disconnected front-end and backend projects
Inside the build.
A few selected screens from the live product.
Numbers we are proud of.
Verified outcomes and delivery details from the engagement.
Other Education work, worth a look.
Frequently asked questions about the Berklee College of Music case study
- What did DoodleWeb do for Berklee College of Music?
- DoodleWeb helped Berklee College of Music transition from Drupal 7 to Drupal 8. The engagement included theme implementation and backend development.
- Was the Berklee work a Drupal migration?
- Yes. DoodleWeb supported Berklee's transition from Drupal 7 to Drupal 8, coordinating work across the theme and backend.
- Did DoodleWeb build both the theme and backend?
- The confirmed scope included Drupal theme implementation and backend development as part of the Drupal 7-to-8 transition.
- Can DoodleWeb support a modern Drupal migration today?
- Yes. DoodleWeb now plans and delivers migrations to supported Drupal releases, including content mapping, theme rebuilding, backend development, testing, redirects, and launch support.