Experience Builder: A New Era for Site Building in Drupal
Drupal has long been known for its flexibility, robustness, and scalability. But for many marketers and content creators, that flexibility can come with a steep learning curve — especially when it comes to building layouts and managing design without the help of a developer. That’s about to change in a big way.
Enter Experience Builder, a new initiative in Drupal that promises to radically streamline and simplify how we build and design pages. While still in its early stages, Experience Builder is ready for testing and experimentation — and it’s something marketers should absolutely have on their radar.
What is Experience Builder?
Experience Builder is the evolution of Drupal’s current method of flexible page building called Layout Builder. It takes what we know from layout builder and expands it into a unified, user-friendly tool that allows non-developers to build and theme websites directly in the browser. It’s a huge leap toward making Drupal more accessible for site builders, marketers, and content creators alike.
Unlike other page builders, Experience Builder doesn’t just provide drag-and-drop layout tools. It leverages Drupal’s core strengths — structured data, fine-grained access controls, and reusable components — to ensure consistency across channels and scalability across enterprise-level websites. This makes it uniquely powerful for large organizations managing multiple digital properties.
Dries Buytaert, Drupal’s founder, described it as a response to the fragmented landscape of site-building options in Drupal today. The vision is to consolidate functionality from tools like Paragraphs and Layout Builder into a single, cohesive solution. One that’s intuitive, efficient, and packed with modern capabilities.
Here is a fantastic video demo from DrupalCon Atlanta that was shown by Dries during the keynote address:
Why Now?
The timing couldn’t be better. While Layout Builder was a step in the right direction when it launched in 2018, its limitations became clear as more site builders demanded easier workflows, styling tools, and richer content composition features.
At recent Drupal conventions, the community has rallied around the idea of enhancing user experience across the board. As part of the broader Starshot initiative (now named Drupal CMS), Experience Builder is a key component in bringing Drupal’s usability in line with the expectations of modern content teams.
Why I’m Excited About It
As an engineer who has worked closely with Drupal for years, what excites me most is how Experience Builder can bridge the many gaps in Drupal’s current page-building ecosystem. Today, there are so many ways to structure content — Blocks, Paragraphs, Layout Builder, Panels — that choosing the right one can be overwhelming.
Experience Builder is shaping up to be that “one-stop-shop” we’ve needed. It reduces decision fatigue and gives teams a faster way to get projects off the ground without needing to architect every page structure from scratch.
Even better, it supports creating single-page overrides, component-level editing, and even React-based components right in the editor. That’s something I’ve personally looked forward to for a long time. The ability to build and save reusable components that can be dropped into any page makes this a tool that truly enhances productivity — not just for developers, but for marketers and content creators, too.
My First Look
I had the chance to see Experience Builder in action at DrupalCon Atlanta this year. The live demos were impressive and really opened my eyes to what this tool could do, both for newcomers to Drupal and seasoned site builders. Along with Drupal CMS, and recipes, Experience Builder is easily one of the hottest topics in the Drupal ecosystem right now.
The energy in the room during the sessions was palpable—people are genuinely excited about this. It’s not just another experimental module; it’s a shift in how we think about building on Drupal.
A Game-Changer for Marketers
One of the biggest barriers for marketing teams has always been reliance on developers to make even small layout edits. That’s starting to change.
With Experience Builder, non-developers will be able to build out dynamic, visually engaging pages — without needing to dive into code. That’s a massive win, especially for small teams in government, education, or nonprofit sectors, where resources are limited and time is of the essence.
Being able to make changes quickly, reuse content intelligently, and maintain a consistent brand without touching a template file is something many organizations have wanted for years. Experience Builder delivers on that promise.
Want to Try It Yourself?
If you’re curious to see what the buzz is about, the best way to get started is simple: head to Drupal.org and download the latest version of Drupal CMS. It now comes with an optimized installer that makes getting started faster than ever. Once you’re up and running, you can add the Experience Builder module and start exploring.
Looking Ahead
It’s important to note that this is just the alpha version of the Experience Builder initiative. The team behind it is committed to rapid iteration and community feedback, which means what we’re seeing today is just the beginning.
If this is the foundation, I can only imagine how powerful the tool will become in the next year or two. The Drupal community is known for its collaborative spirit and constant innovation — and Experience Builder is shaping up to be one of the most important steps forward in years.
So if you’re a marketer, content strategist, or anyone who’s ever been frustrated by the limits of page building in Drupal — now’s the time to dive in. Experience Builder is here, and it’s ready to change the game. Contact us for a demo or more information about Experience Builder in Drupal.
