Umbraco 7 Reaches End-of-Life: What You Need to Know

As of 30th September 2023, Umbraco 7 has reached its End-of-Life (EOL) phase. This means that Umbraco 7 will no longer receive support or security updates, making it crucial to consider migrating to the latest version of Umbraco if your site is currently running on this version.

What Does EOL Mean?

When a software product reaches its End-of-Life (EOL), it signifies that its development team will no longer provide support for that major version, as they focus their efforts on maintaining and improving newer versions. That means no further feature development, no bug fixes, and no security updates. EOL is the final stage in the life cycle of any software product, following a phase of security-only updates, where only critical fixes are made.

Is It Safe to Use Umbraco 7 After EOL?

While it is still possible to continue using Umbraco 7 in its EOL phase, it's important to consider the potential risks:

1) Security

Umbraco will no longer provide fixes for security issues, making your website more vulnerable to threats. 

Umbraco is a super safe CMS, with only a handful of security advisories over the last few years. However, EOL means that any potential issues won’t be patched automatically, with no fixes released, so for the extra peace of mind, it’s worth keeping up-to-date.

2) Compliance

Using EOL software may violate compliance rules in various industries, potentially leading to security issues. Migrating your existing site, or rebuilding it using the latest version of Umbraco is the best way of mitigating this risk. For instance, integrating data protection by making sure systems are supported is a legal requirement as part of GDPR, so staying updated is important from a legal perspective too.

3) Outdated Features

Staying on an outdated version means missing out on new features, improvements, and patches available in the latest Umbraco releases.

Since version 9, Umbraco regularly releases new major versions, minor updates every six weeks, and patches as needed to ensure optimal performance, security, and functionality. Updates to Umbraco 7 have been limited security-only since 2019, so even though it’s still technically usable, it might not be at its best.

Migrating to Umbraco 13

Given the risks associated with using Umbraco 7 after its EOL date, we (and Umbraco themselves) strongly recommend considering a migration to Umbraco 12. This latest version will provide you with cutting-edge features, enhanced security, and a reliable platform for your website. You can read more about these features in our recent "What's the future of Umbraco?" blog post.

Migration is right up our street at Yoyo.  Our team of Umbraco certified professionals work with the latest version and updates to Umbraco as standard, so we’re well-placed to make sure your site is as good as it can be . As an Umbraco partner, we have the expertise and experience to ensure a smooth process that preserves your website's content, functionality, and design, while making sure it enjoys the best security, compliance, and latest updates too.

Want to know more about us, or about your migration options and how to take advantage of the latest version of Umbraco? Get in touch for a chat about how we can help.