Move your Drupal site onto EU infrastructure
For sites that mostly present information, Drupal's real cost is the platform around the pages: upgrades, contrib patching and the developer time both consume. An AI rebuild turns those pages into static files, and VibeDeploy serves them under EU jurisdiction with nothing left to patch.
First, the honest version
No importer runs over your Drupal database here, and pretending otherwise would waste your time. The route is an AI rebuild from your existing content and design, deployed as static files. It suits informational and institutional sites, exactly the ones where EU jurisdiction tends to be a requirement. Sites built around content modelling, editorial workflows or many editor roles should stay on Drupal.
Why people move off Drupal
Version jumps that become projects
A major Drupal upgrade is rarely an update; it is a budgeted project with developer days attached. Static files end that cycle outright, because there is no framework version left to migrate and no module matrix to keep compatible.
Every edit needs a specialist
Routine changes on a Drupal site tend to queue behind whoever knows the stack. After a static rebuild, the queue disappears: a prompt to an AI, or a direct edit of the source files, replaces the developer ticket for everyday tweaks.
The security bulletin subscription
Running Drupal responsibly means tracking core and contrib advisories and patching on their schedule, not yours. With no server-side application and no database in the stack, that entire category of obligation goes away rather than getting easier.
Infrastructure the pages never asked for
PHP hosting, a database, a caching layer and often a CDN exist mostly to make Drupal feel fast. Pages that are already static need none of it, and a flat plan from €15 a month covers the hosting question entirely.
How the rebuild works
The AI rebuilds; EU infrastructure hosts. This is the realistic sequence, including the domain cutover.
- 1
Split the site into static and truly dynamic
Walk the sitemap and mark which sections merely present information and which genuinely exercise Drupal's content modelling, workflows or editor roles. Only the first group belongs in the rebuild; the second is your signal to keep (or scope down) Drupal.
- 2
Let the AI reconstruct the public pages
Provide Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini with the content plus screenshots or notes on the current design, and ask for a responsive static site that keeps your institution's branding and page structure. Iterate inside the conversation until it holds up.
- 3
Replace the webform layer
Contact and request forms point at VibeDeploy's built-in forms relay, which delivers submissions by email with no backend behind the page. Maps, embeds and newsletter providers keep working as ordinary client-side integrations.
- 4
Deploy onto EU infrastructure
An MCP-connected Claude session can push the site up directly, the exported deploy guide steers ChatGPT or Gemini through the same steps, or the dashboard accepts a drag-and-drop upload. Under a minute later the site is serving on a live URL.
- 5
Move the domain when you are ready
Repoint DNS at VibeDeploy once the rebuild passes review; certificates issue automatically. Reducing the TTL beforehand shortens the switchover window and keeps a rollback trivially quick.
- 6
Maintain without a module queue
Ongoing changes are prompts to the AI followed by a redeploy, or direct edits to the source copy VibeDeploy keeps per site. Nothing about that routine involves module updates or another migration plan.
Is this right for your site?
A static rebuild is a great fit for some Drupal sites and the wrong call for others. Here is the honest split.
Good fit
- doneInformational, institutional, and marketing sites
- doneSites where Drupal has become more maintenance than benefit
- doneSmaller sites that were built on Drupal mostly out of habit
- doneOrganisations that want EU hosting and lower upkeep
- doneMicrosites and campaign pages spun out of a larger Drupal install
Stay on Drupal if
- closeSites built around Drupal's content types, taxonomy, and workflows
- closeLarge editorial teams needing role-based admin access
- closeMembership, login, or personalised-content areas
- closeCommerce, complex search, or heavy dynamic functionality
- closeLarge content repositories edited continuously by non-developers
Drupal vs a VibeDeploy static site
| Drupal | VibeDeploy | |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | PHP + database + modules | Static files on EU edge |
| Version upgrades | Major-version migrations | None |
| Security patching | Core + contrib modules | No server app to patch |
| Who can edit | Drupal admin + developer | Edit via AI or source files |
| Performance | Needs caching + CDN | Fast static by default |
| Hosting location | Depends on host | EU (Belgium) |
| Typical cost | Hosting + dev upkeep | Flat, from €15/mo |
Honest questions about leaving Drupal
Is there an automatic Drupal-to-static export?expand_more
None that we would stand behind for a custom theme and content model, so we do not claim one. What works in practice is the AI rebuild: your content and design go in, a clean static site comes out. Informational sites make that journey comfortably; sites leaning hard on Drupal's modelling should not attempt it, and we say so.
What about my content types and views?expand_more
They are the parts that cannot come along, because a static site has no equivalent machinery. The useful test: if the public site would look the same rebuilt as plain pages, the content model was carrying overhead, not value. If views and types genuinely drive what visitors see, Drupal is still your platform.
Can editors still update the site?expand_more
Yes, through a different door. Rather than a Drupal login, an editor asks an AI for the change and redeploys, or edits the stored source files directly. That rhythm fits sites updated weekly or monthly; a newsroom publishing all day needs a real CMS and should keep one.
Will I keep my search rankings?expand_more
Rankings follow the fundamentals, and the fundamentals are portable: keep URL paths stable where you can, bring titles, metadata and heading hierarchies across unchanged, and hand search engines a fresh sitemap. Larger sites should prepare a redirect map before the DNS switch; the speed gain from static usually works in your favour afterwards.
Where is it hosted?expand_more
Belgium, full stop. Site files and visitor data remain inside EU jurisdiction, and a DPA comes with every paid plan. For public-sector bodies and EU organisations that requirement is often the whole reason this migration is on the table.
Other migrations
One rebuild, then a stack you own
14-day free trial, no credit card. Your domain, forms and snapshots on EU infrastructure from day one.