In this guide, we assess the value that Umbraco 17 offers, what the upgrade process looks like depending on your existing setup, and the key dates and information you need.
Umbraco 13 will reach end of life in December 2026 meaning no more security patches will be delivered to the platform, potentially leaving your site vulnerable.
Umbraco 17 is the current Long-Term Support (LTS) release. It's a culmination of a complete realignment of Umbraco and brings with it increased performance, an improved and more customisable back office, as well as support for a raft of new capabilities including Umbraco AI and Umbraco Automate.
What do you get with Umbraco 17?
Umbraco 17 brings the improvements you would expect from a new CMS version, including enhanced performance, improved backoffice accessibility, and new features to make content management more efficient.
Umbraco 17 is the next generation of Umbraco evolution, providing AI and integrated visual automation tooling.
Umbraco AI provides the foundation for organisations to shape their own AI journey within the CMS. You can choose the LLMs you use, define the tone of AI-generated content, and leverage prompts and agent plugins to generate content, audit pages, and automate time-consuming processes.
Even more AI capabilities are planned for 2026, including the Content Delivery MCP server, enabling experiences such as AI-powered chatbots, advanced search, and direct AI agent integration with published content.
The date you need to know
Since Umbraco 10, Umbraco HQ have outlined a predictable delivery schedule for major releases of Umbraco. This delivery cycle allows for pre-planning and budgeting for core Umbraco upgrades and when a release will stop receiving general bug fix and security patches.
Your current version of Umbraco will determine if your version is already out of support, is soon to be out of support or will take you right up to the next LTS version.
Here's where today's versions stand:
Umbraco 7 to 12: Already out of support with no security patches.
Umbraco 16: Support ends June 2026.
Umbraco 13: Support ends December 2026.
Umbraco 17: Supported until late 2028.
If it looks odd that 16 runs out before 13, here's why: Umbraco 13 is an LTS release, built to last three years, while 16 was a Standard Term Support (STS) version of Umbraco which are major releases that sit in between LTS versions.
What "out of support" actually means for you
It can be unclear what “out of support” actually means. What it doesn’t mean is that from the dates outlined above, even if the version you are currently using is out of support, that your website will stop working.
What it does mean is…
No more security patches
When a vulnerability is found in an unsupported version it will not be patched by Umbraco, and sometimes this can occur silently as unsupported versions are not actively penetration tested like the in-support versions are. For many organisations this is also a compliance and cyber-insurance problem and one that affects their accreditations and CyberEssentials compliance.
You stop getting anything new
No performance improvements, no new editor features or newer functionality that the newer versions of Umbraco bring. Whilst FOMO is not something you should associate with a CMS upgrade, capabilities that are most likely on your roadmap such as AI adoption are features that are currently only supported on newer versions of Umbraco.
The longer you wait, the bigger the eventual job
Upgrade debt compounds. Technical debt, deprecated features and large content estates that use those features all add up to the scale of the upgrade task. Having a core upgrade budget and schedule can allow you to plan way ahead of time and keep your site up to date and secure.
Does the version of Umbraco affect the upgrade complexity?
The short answer is yes. Due to the changes that Umbraco have made to the core product between specific versions, there are different elements that have to be considered when identifying the complexity of an upgrade.
For example, from Umbraco 8 to 9 there was a framework change that meant you couldn’t upgrade directly. And between versions 13 and 14, a significant backoffice rewrite was undertaken alongside deprecation of features like macros. How a site is structured and what deprecated features it uses would determine how complex that particular jump is.
If you're on Umbraco 14, 15, or 16, the big change is already behind you. Moving to 17 is a routine upgrade.
If you're on Umbraco 10 to 13, the short answer is, it depends.
If your site doesn’t use deprecated features like nested content or macros, and has limited or no custom plugins then, whilst still a milestone upgrade, there is a direct path to 17.
If you are using these features, however, the upgrade becomes more complex. Content may need migrating to supported alternatives, and any unsupported plugins may need to be ported to the new backoffice framework if compatible versions for Umbraco 17 are not available.
If you're on Umbraco 7 or 8, this is more a replatform than an upgrade. The underlying technology changed completely and whilst possible, all options, including a rebuild in Umbraco 17 should be considered.
What makes one upgrade harder than another?
Each organisation has their own implementation of the various systems that exist in their digital estate, especially a CMS – where you can have custom components, integrations and additional layers that all sit on top of Umbraco. You may not know all the answers but here are some of the things that can make an upgrade more challenging than another:
Add-ons and plug-ins
Using third-party extensions can affect the upgrade pathway. Some extensions have ready versions for Umbraco 17, the ones that do not have to be migrated or replaced.
Deprecated features
Nested content, legacy grid and macros are some of the elements that are no longer supported in Umbraco 17. If your site uses any of these features then they, along with their content, will have to be migrated to their v17 equivalents.
Bespoke backoffice
If your site has bespoke sections or tooling built into Umbraco, most likely they would use the legacy tooling that existed in Umbraco prior to Umbraco 14. As part of an extensive modernisation, Umbraco 14 completely re-wrote the backoffice meaning that custom sections built would need to be migrated.
Custom code
If custom code is using Umbraco elements that have been deprecated, then that code will need to be updated to work with Umbraco 17. This is more noticeable in older versions of Umbraco but there are some changes between 13 and 17 that also need to be addressed if your site uses them.
What does the process look like?
If you've never commissioned an upgrade, here's the shape of one, so you know what you're buying:
Audit. A review of your current implementation should be undertaken which should include a comparison against breaking changes, if your site uses any deprecated functionality, plugins and custom code. This holistic view will determine what the shape of the upgrade looks like.
Scope. The audit is the schematic of the upgrade requirements and is the tool that defines a full upgrade scope, including timeline and costs.
Upgrade. The site is upgraded as per the scope and if content migration is required, content is updated to work with the new Umbraco 17 constructs.
Test. A thorough test using manual and automated tooling to ensure all functionality works as expected before the live rollout
Go live. The new version is switched on and the old version is retired.
Having a clear implementation scope and pathway removes risk and uncertainty and ensures a smooth transition to Umbraco 17.
Find out where you stand
Every Umbraco site is different, and the complexity of an upgrade depends on the version you are currently on, the features you use, and the customisations that have been made.
To understand what this means for your site, someone will need to review your current implementation. But before starting that conversation, our 5-minute Umbraco 17 Readiness Assessment can help you understand the likely complexity of your upgrade.
Prefer to talk it through? Book a short call and we can help you understand your route to Umbraco 17.
A seasoned technology leader with extensive experience architecting and delivering enterprise-scale .NET solutions and mobile applications. Drives technical strategy and innovation while leading high-performing development teams to deliver cutting-edge digital products.