How futureproof is your Umbraco website?

Umbraco 13 support ends this December, and older versions are already on end of life support. Take our two-minute readiness check to see where you stand and what moving to Umbraco 17 will take.

Why upgrade? And what are the benefits of Umbraco 17?

Upgrading to Umbraco 17 brings with it enhanced stability and predictability, intuitive workflows and a modern backoffice.

For those on Umbraco versions 7-12 and 16, support has ended. That means no more security patches, no new functionality such as performance improvements or editor features, and the issue of compound technical debt. Simply, the longer you wait, the bigger the eventual task.

Those upgrading will find Umbraco 17 brings increased performance, a more accessible and customisable back office, and support for a raft of new capabilities including Umbraco AI and Umbraco Automate.

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.

The Umbraco MCP enables experiences such as AI-powered chatbots, advanced search, and direct AI agent integration with published content.

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.

— Rob Modica Architecture Lead, Umbraco

What does the Umbraco upgrade process look like?

Having a clear implementation scope and pathway removes risk and uncertainty and ensures a smooth transition to Umbraco 17. If you've never commissioned an upgrade, the rough stages are as follows:

  • Audit

    A review of your current implementation should be undertaken which should include a comparison against breaking changes, if your site uses any depreciated 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.

Umbraco upgrade case studies

Mind

Enhanced digital presence with Umbraco upgrade and streamlined support.
View the project

University of Bedfordshire

Transforming digital infrastructure for optimal performance and reliability.
View the project

Over a decade of Umbraco experience

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