Drupal is living through a defining moment in the history of large-scale CMS platforms. After years of being known for its technical robustness and almost unlimited potential for complex architectures, the platform is finally taking a decisive step toward the Low-Code landscape. This move responds to a global market demand for tools that reduce dependencies, shorten publishing cycles, and empower content teams without compromising technical governance.
This shift takes shape with the new native visual page-building module of Drupal CMS 2.0: Drupal Canvas, a visual page builder that reorganizes how pages are created, edited, and customized. In practice, this expands Drupal’s reach, brings the CMS closer to contemporary efficiency demands, and addresses a growing need for tools that enable content to scale quickly without breaking technical structures.
Understand the impact of Drupal Canvas on your website
Drupal Canvas in practice
Drupal Canvas is the native visual environment of Drupal CMS 2.0, responsible for the page composition layer within the platform’s architecture. It operates on top of Drupal’s layout, component, and rendering systems, enabling modular page construction based on structured elements, with layout control, component reuse, and adherence to the security, performance, and governance rules defined by the CMS.
Because it is part of Drupal CMS, which is a ready-to-use Drupal installation with essential modules and configurations already included, Canvas does not require additional installation or complex setup. When Drupal CMS is installed, the visual environment is already available and integrated into the rest of the platform.
Unlike page builders that function as extensions or external layers, Drupal Canvas is deeply integrated into Drupal’s core. This ensures that the components used follow consistent standards of security, performance, and governance from their origin, reducing technical risks and increasing predictability as the project evolves.
It is important to emphasize that this system manages visual elements and was designed to operate within the CMS’s structural logic. This means it also observes taxonomies, entities, workflows, and everything that supports a wide range of portals, from corporate to governmental.
The essence of Drupal Canvas is built on three fundamental ideas:
Editorial autonomy without the risk of structural breakage or visual inconsistency.
Design system-based components, ensuring consistency and simplified maintenance.
Full integration with Drupal’s technical layers, allowing complex pages to be built with optimized code, without relying on external scripts and without compromising performance.
In practice, a team can:
Create complete landing pages in minutes using pre-approved components.
Build layout variations for seasonal campaigns while maintaining visual standards.
Customize institutional pages without opening recurring requests to the development team.
Preview changes in real time, following Drupal’s own rules for review, publishing, permissions, and versioning.
While many builders on the market focus exclusively on visual appearance, Drupal Canvas was designed to solve scalability and governance challenges. It does not replace architecture; it operates on top of it with technical rigor.
Read: Design system: what it is and why we use it at Dexa →
Origin and evolution: the maturation of Drupal Canvas
Drupal Canvas emerged in April 2024 as an experimental module hosted on Drupal.org. Its initial proposal was to allow site builders to create complete interfaces directly in the browser, using front-end resources only when necessary. The idea matured quickly, driven by the Drupal community and by discussions around editorial accessibility and the simplification of build workflows.
Transition to Drupal CMS 2.0
In 2025, the project evolved from an experiment into one of the core features of Drupal CMS 2.0. This advancement was made possible thanks to community support, technical sponsorship from Acquia, and the growth of initiatives involving Single Directory Components (SDC). The interface was rebuilt with a focus on user experience, including React support for front-end component creation.
Proof of robustness
October 2025: Presentation at the State of Drupal, announcing Canvas as the future of visual building within the platform.
November 2025: Release of version 1.0 at DrupalCon Vienna, consolidating its arrival to the market and reinforcing its suitability for production environments.
2025: Reaching Release Candidate 1, with confirmed stability.
The project remains open source, with active community contributions and planned integration with premium themes such as DripYard.
How the tool transforms visual building in Drupal
The evolution of Drupal with Canvas represents a profound change in how pages, components, and visual structures are created within the CMS. This tool reframes the building experience by unifying design, content, and development into a single visual environment, reducing reliance on code for structural tasks and accelerating the publication of interfaces that are consistent, scalable, and aligned with modern UX and performance standards.
Unified interface for creation and editing
Drupal Canvas introduces a single interface for page assembly, replacing traditional workflows such as Manage Display. Visual editing is organized into three central areas: a top bar for navigation and responsive preview; a left-side panel for the component library and layered structure; and a right-side panel for properties and fine-grained adjustments.
Reusable components and support for multiple technologies
The system works with blocks, patterns, SDC components based on Twig, and JSX components written directly in the editor. This variety provides freedom for organizations that operate with robust design systems and require large-scale reuse of elements. Canvas supports configurable props and slots for nesting complex components.
Layers and hierarchical structure
The tree-based visualization makes it easier to navigate deep structures such as accordions, grids, and grouped elements. This hierarchy reduces the risk of editorial errors and improves control over elements that are repeated across different contexts.
Visual templates are the natural evolution of Manage Display
Visual templates allow content types to have their layouts reorganized graphically. Editors can map fields to different page elements, controlling headings, groups, and variations without touching any line of code.
Global editing of structural elements
Areas such as headers and footers can be edited centrally, propagating changes across the entire site with security and predictability. This is a critical point for maintaining brand consistency.
Essential integrations for complex environments
Canvas incorporates Views for dynamic listings and Webforms for advanced forms. Integration with SDC, Figma, Storybook, and GitHub allows design, development, and content to be connected within a single workflow.
Canvas AI for assisted generation
Optionally, the Canvas AI module adds prompt-based creation features, enabling the generation of structured components from simple instructions. Activation requires Drush, and the feature is currently in an experimental phase.
Learn how to apply Drupal Canvas to your project
Why the new feature stands apart from traditional builders
Unlike generic page builders, which operate as overlay layers on top of the CMS, Drupal Canvas is born integrated into Drupal’s own architecture. This characteristic completely changes the role of the tool, allowing it to operate within the core’s governance, security, performance, and scalability rules. The result is a visual builder that does not compromise project structure, maintaining technical control, brand consistency, and high performance from the foundation.
Deep integration with architecture and governance
External builders often operate as additional layers that do not fully interact with the CMS structure. Drupal Canvas, on the other hand, was designed within the core of the platform itself. Each component respects permissions, workflows, editorial revisions, and publishing policies. This reduces inconsistencies and keeps the environment aligned with the core’s security practices. From a risk management and compliance perspective, this is the decisive differentiator.
Components that follow defined standards
Generic builders allow excessive freedom, which leads to misaligned pages, uncontrolled variations, and constant rework. In Drupal Canvas, components follow design systems and structural standards. This means that every page created reinforces the project’s visual identity and technical logic, minimizing long-term maintenance costs.
Performance driven by core guidelines
While other builders add heavy script layers, Drupal Canvas preserves performance by following the same logic as the Drupal Core Performance Initiative. The resulting pages avoid redundancy, excessive scripts, and the loss of loading and SEO metrics.
Compatibility with the full Drupal ecosystem
Views, custom entities, taxonomies, the Media Library, advanced fields, and integrations. Canvas does not introduce new problems. Instead, it visually exposes what already works technically and fully respects the ecosystem.
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The consistency of day-to-day operations
The daily operation of a corporate website requires predictability, visual standards, and continuous editorial control. With Drupal Canvas, consistency becomes a structural characteristic of the project. The tool organizes layouts, components, and publishing rules so that every new page created automatically follows the same criteria for identity, usability, governance, and performance, reducing operational errors and ensuring quality at scale.
Structured layouts with adaptive capacity
Layouts define how elements occupy space on a page. Drupal Canvas allows the creation of grid structures that can be applied to different editorial contexts. Examples include:
Institutional pages with headers, central content areas, and sidebars.
Landing pages with impact sections, testimonials, and CTAs.
Structures designed for service areas, using cards, listings, and informational blocks.
In every case, the layout functions only as the skeleton. The visual component that fills it follows predefined standards.
Reusable components based on design systems
Each Canvas component corresponds to an interface module that can be inserted into any page. Examples include:
A banner component with title, subtitle, and button, respecting official typography and color rules.
A listing component that automatically pulls content from a configured View.
A testimonial component integrated with a specific entity created for this purpose.
A gallery component connected to the Media Library.
These elements ensure consistency and prevent the creation of improvised versions. Standardization reduces rework and long-term development costs.
Editorial rules that preserve governance
Drupal Canvas does not ignore processes. It adapts to them. Editors continue to follow:
User permissions.
Approval workflows.
Content versions.
Review and audit policies.
A junior editor, for example, can build pages but only publish them after review. An administrator can view historical changes and safely restore previous states.
Technical team: how to test, install, and experiment
Local environment setup
To experiment with Drupal Canvas, a local environment using DDEV is recommended. The basic workflow includes creating the project, configuring Drupal 11 as the project type, installing Drupal CMS in its alpha version, and adjusting stability settings to allow experimental dependencies.
Template selection and access to the editor
Users can start with the Starter template or the Byte template, which includes sample content. Access to Canvas is available through the /canvas route or via the Pages tab in the administrative panel.
Recommended theme
The Mercury theme, the successor to Olivero, delivers performance and compatibility with the new generation of Drupal visual tools.
Supporting materials and practical demonstrations
Guides such as those produced by WebWash and videos created by the community showcase real-world page creation scenarios, including FAQs built with accordions and responsive grids.
When is Drupal Canvas the right choice?
Drupal Canvas is especially suited for organizations that need to balance editorial autonomy, visual consistency, and mid-to-high technical requirements. It adapts well to complex scenarios because it operates on top of Drupal’s native architecture, preserving governance and internal standards even when there is a large volume of pages and multiple editorial workflows.
This feature is categorically recommended for:
Corporate portals with multiple teams responsible for content creation and updates, each with specific needs but all required to follow institutional standards.
Government organizations that publish information frequently and depend on strict workflows, versioning, and traceability.
Large institutions that rely on design systems to maintain visual consistency and must ensure that every update follows established standards.
High-intensity communication environments, such as marketing and institutional communication teams, that need to build landing pages and campaigns quickly without relying on continuous requests to technical teams.
Portals with complex editorial workflows involving multiple approval stages, detailed reviews, and distinct permission profiles.
In smaller operations, the benefits exist but become more evident at scale. In medium and large structures, the impact is immediate, especially in reducing technical requests and increasing editorial predictability. In other words, a faster Return on Investment (ROI) in high-complexity environments.
Comparative view of Drupal Canvas within the builder ecosystem
To understand the positioning of Drupal Canvas in relation to other alternatives on the market, it is important to observe its structural differentiators. This comparison highlights fundamental characteristics related to security, governance, performance, standardization, evolution, and scalability. These criteria help technical and editorial teams evaluate which solution best fits the needs of each project.
The table below organizes these points in an objective way:
| Criteria | Drupal Canvas (native) | External builders |
|---|---|---|
| Security | Integrated into the Drupal core | Variable |
| Governance | Complete and aligned with the native system | Limited |
| Performance | Optimized according to core guidelines | Generally heavy |
| Componentization | Standardized based on design systems | Irregular |
| Evolution | Guaranteed by Drupal’s official roadmap | Dependent on third parties |
| Scalability | High, based on Drupal architecture | Low to medium |
Relationship between Drupal Canvas, Site Studio, and other builders
The arrival of Drupal Canvas redefines the role of visual builders within the Drupal ecosystem and repositions its relationship with already established solutions such as Acquia Site Studio and Layout Builder itself. The tool emerges as a layer of technological evolution, expanding visual capabilities, strengthening integration with modern components, and preparing the CMS for a new generation of digital experiences based on design systems, React, and advanced visual workflows.
Strategic convergence
Canvas is compatible with Acquia Site Studio, which continues to evolve with a focus on brand governance, design systems, and enterprise features. The prevailing trend is that both solutions will share components in future development cycles.
Direct comparisons with Layout Builder
Although Layout Builder was one of the earliest attempts at visual editing, Canvas surpasses it in technical capability, flexibility, and ease of use. The inclusion of React, integration with SDC, and native drag-and-drop make Canvas a more robust tool for medium- and large-scale projects.
Community reception and adoption within the Drupal ecosystem
Since its initial announcements, the new feature has generated strong interest from the global community, especially among developers, solution architects, and editorial teams working on medium- and high-complexity projects. The tool’s rapid presence at international events, combined with the emergence of real-world adoption cases, shows that Canvas is more than a technological promise. It represents a practical evolution in how Drupal is being used for visual construction, governance, and productivity at scale.
Presence at events and conferences
Canvas has been a recurring topic at events such as DrupalCon Nara, DrupalCon Vienna, and Drupal Dev Days. Live demos demonstrate the maturity of the tool and its potential to replace traditional workflows.
Feedback from technical and editorial teams
Developers report that Canvas reduces dependence on Paragraphs and Layout Builder. Site builders point to faster construction workflows. Companies such as Webhaven have already adopted it as a standard, and independent initiatives, such as the SDC starter kit released by Pravesh Poonia, further reinforce its expansion.
Integration with AI capabilities
Interest in Canvas AI continues to grow, especially among teams looking to accelerate prototyping or the creation of simple components.
Direct impact on productivity and ROI
The adoption of Drupal Canvas reduces operational bottlenecks and reorganizes editorial workflows. Studies on the adoption of visual builders in corporate environments show a significant increase in publishing efficiency, particularly when the builder operates on top of structured components.
In essence, Drupal Canvas improves production velocity by solving a recurring pain point: the excessive dependence on technical teams for every visual detail, freeing development teams to focus on projects with higher strategic value.
What to expect going forward?
Drupal Canvas is still in an active evolution cycle, but it already clearly signals the direction Drupal is taking in the coming years. The combination of advanced visual editing, structured components, AI integration, and alignment with SaaS strategies positions Canvas as one of the platform’s most relevant initiatives in terms of innovation, productivity, and enterprise adoption. The future of the tool is directly tied to the consolidation of Drupal as a modern, visual, and efficiency-driven DXP at scale.
Planned improvements and ongoing evolution
The development roadmap includes enhancements for developers, improvements in server-side rendering, advanced translation features, more detailed workflows, and expanded support for both coupled and decoupled setups.
Enterprise adoption
Acquia plans to integrate Canvas into its SaaS offering, reinforcing its role in scenarios that require reduced maintenance and strong initial value. The focus on strengthening the ecosystem points to continuity and long-term investment.
The arrival of Drupal Canvas at Dexa
At a time when Drupal still did not offer a native solution for visual page creation, Quark anticipated a market movement and was widely adopted by our specialists. It introduced editorial teams to the possibility of building pages by reusing structured components, with technical reliability and visual standardization, which consolidated a working method centered on editorial autonomy.
With the arrival of the native feature in Drupal CMS 2.0, the scenario changes. There is now a solution officially integrated into the core, with guarantees of continuous evolution, future compatibility, and alignment with the platform’s official guidelines. This naturally brings the cycle of independent tools such as Quark to a close.
This transition does not represent a loss, but rather the consolidation of a concept. Everything that Quark offered has been incorporated and expanded by Drupal Canvas. The experience we accumulated over years of implementing Quark has been transformed into deep expertise. After all, we understand in detail how a canvas-based system should work, which components are essential, how to structure editorial governance, and which standards prevent visual fragmentation over time.
Trust those who are prepared to implement the feature in your project
Adopting Drupal Canvas requires a deep command of the platform’s architecture, an advanced understanding of componentization, and the ability to organize complex editorial workflows without compromising technical standards. This is not a process limited to enabling a feature. It involves translating business requirements into solid components, building structures that remain consistent over time, anticipating risks of visual fragmentation, and ensuring that editorial autonomy operates within a fully governed environment.
At Dexa, we rely on a team of specialists who master the foundations that support the implementation of a native canvas in Drupal environments. We know how to design components that respect design systems, accessibility, and architectural requirements without creating fragile or redundant structures. We develop mature strategies to organize workflows that give editorial teams freedom while maintaining traceability, permission control, rigorous versioning, and predictable review processes.
This level of preparation allows us to anticipate common problems that arise when organizations adopt visual builders without clear guidelines, such as loss of consistency between pages, uncontrolled proliferation of variations, and performance degradation. At Dexa, we design environments that remain stable over the long term, even under high content volume, multiple editors, and continuous growth in demand.
As a Drupal reference, we have deep knowledge of how the CMS behaves, its internal relationships, the technical boundaries that must be respected, and the opportunities offered by the low-code model incorporated into Drupal Canvas. This combination of practical knowledge and architectural vision positions us as specialists in implementing the feature in scenarios that require technical maturity, strong governance, and the ability to scale content with precision.
If your operation cannot fail, you need a partner who already knows the road.
