We upgrade Umbraco websites safely so they stay secure, supported and ready for what comes next.
At Yoyo Design, we deliver structured Umbraco upgrades for organisations that rely on their website to work properly every day. Our focus is on moving websites off unsupported Umbraco versions and onto stable modern releases without disrupting performance, content or search visibility.
As an Umbraco certified web development agency, we understand that Umbraco upgrades are not a cosmetic change. It is a technical rebuild that protects your website from security risk, removes platform limitations and ensures your CMS remains supported long term.
Umbraco runs on a clear lifecycle model. Each major version has a defined support window and once that window closes, the platform no longer receives security updates, bug fixes or compatibility improvements. Running an unsupported Umbraco version puts your website at risk and limits what you can do with it.
Many organisations are still running older versions such as Umbraco 7 or early releases of Umbraco 8. These versions are now at an end of life stage from a support perspective which means known vulnerabilities are no longer patched and integrations with modern tooling become increasingly fragile.
Upgrading is not just about staying current. It is about protecting the reliability of your website and ensuring it can evolve alongside your organisation. We typically upgrade clients onto supported long term stable releases, the most recent version being Umbraco 17, we can also consider other previous versions of Umbraco such as Umbraco 10 and 13. However, we recommend Umbraco 17 to ensure this isn’t a frequent repeatable process you’re having to go through. These versions offer modern architecture, extended support and far greater flexibility for future development.
What changes between Umbraco versions and what you gain?
Each major Umbraco release introduces meaningful architectural changes. Moving from legacy versions to modern Umbraco is not a simple version bump and this is where value is created when the upgrade is handled properly.
Key improvements clients gain from an Umbraco upgrade include:
Long term platform support - Ensuring your CMS remains secure and maintained
Improved performance - With cleaner rendering pipelines and modern frameworks
Greater flexibility for future features - Allowing development without workarounds
Better editor experience - Making content easier to manage internally
Stronger security foundations - Aligned with current best practice
Improved compatibility - With hosting providers analytics tools and integrations
The result is a website that is easier to maintain, more stable under load and better positioned for future changes without needing another rebuild in the near term.
Our upgrade process and how we handle your website safely
Umbraco upgrades require careful planning because they involve far more than updating software. An upgrade touches your content structure, templates integration, hosting environment and how search engines understand your website. If handled poorly it can introduce performance issues, content loss or drops in organic visibility.
Our upgrade process is designed to minimise risk whilst keeping progress steady and controlled. We treat every Umbraco upgrade as a managed website migration, combining development delivery with SEO and technical migration expertise to ensure nothing critical is lost in the transition.
We also work in isolated environments wherever possible so your live website continues to operate as normal whilst the upgrade is underway. This allows thorough testing, clear review stages and informed decision-making without pressure. The result is a structured upgrade that protects performance, preserves trust and gives your team confidence at every stage.
Our typical upgrade process follows a clear structure:
Initial assessment and audit: We review your current Umbraco version codebase integrations and content model to understand scope and constraints.
Upgrade strategy and planning: We define the target Umbraco version, identify rebuild requirements and agree on a clear delivery plan.
Environment setup and rebuild: The upgraded website is rebuilt in a controlled environment allowing development and testing without affecting the live website.
Content and data migration: Existing content is migrated carefully ensuring structure integrity and consistency.
Testing and validation: We test performance functionality and editorial workflows to confirm stability before launch.
Launch and handover: The upgraded website is deployed with clear documentation and optional CMS training.
This approach ensures your website remains stable throughout and avoids rushed changes that introduce long term issues.
What do we check for during our upgrade projects?
An Umbraco upgrade is an opportunity to address far more than just the CMS version number. Whilst moving onto a supported release is essential, upgrades often expose wider issues that have built up gradually over time. These can include legacy code, outdated integrations, inefficient templates or content structures that no longer reflect how the website is actually used.
As part of every upgrade, we review the wider health of your website to ensure nothing breaks during or after the transition. This means looking beyond the CMS itself and assessing how different parts of the website interact, how reliably features perform and whether existing technical decisions still support your current needs. By identifying and resolving these issues during the upgrade, rather than ignoring them, we reduce risk and avoid introducing instability into the live website.
This approach allows the upgraded website to launch in a stronger position than before. Instead of simply being newer, it becomes more reliable, easier to maintain and better aligned with how your organisation uses the website day to day.
During every upgrade project we review:
Compatibility - Including integrations hosting and third party tools
Performance - Ensuring load speed and stability meet modern expectations
SEO foundations - Preserving URL structures metadata and search visibility with links to our SEO team where required
Security - Removing deprecated components and tightening access controls
Consistency - Checking templates content types and behaviours across the website
This reduces post launch issues and ensures the upgraded website performs as expected from day one.
Typical timelines and effort
Every Umbraco upgrade we deliver is managed through a defined project plan, regardless of the size or complexity of the website. This ensures progress is controlled, risks are identified early and nothing is rushed or overlooked.
Timelines are shaped by the structure of your website, the level of custom development involved and the dependencies that need to be handled safely. Smaller, content focused websites can often be delivered more quickly, while larger or heavily customised builds require additional planning, testing and phased delivery.
Rather than applying fixed timelines, we assess each website individually and agree on a schedule that reflects your priorities, internal availability and the level of assurance required. All timelines are discussed upfront, clearly documented and agreed before work begins, so expectations are aligned from the start and delivery remains predictable throughout the project.
Platforms versions and compatibility
We specialise in Umbraco and work across legacy and modern versions. Our focus is on safely upgrading websites onto supported long term releases that provide stability and flexibility.
We regularly work with:
Umbraco 7 and 8 upgrades
Modern Umbraco versions including 10, 13 and 17
Custom Umbraco builds with bespoke integrations
Websites hosted across major managed and self hosted environments
Our recommendations are based on support lifecycle technical requirements and long term maintainability.
Ongoing support and maintenance after upgrade
An upgrade doesn’t have to be the end of the relationship. Once your Umbraco website is upgraded we’re able to continue to support clients through structured maintenance and development services.
This includes:
Ongoing Umbraco support and maintenance
Security updates and version management
General Umbraco development support
Feature improvements and enhancements
Out of hours support
And more….
This ensures your upgraded website stays supported and avoids falling back into technical debt.
Ready to upgrade? Let’s talk
If your Umbraco website is running on an unsupported version or approaching end of life now is the right time to plan an upgrade. We can review your current setup, explain the best path forward and deliver a safe structured upgrade that protects your website and future investment.
Get in touch with Yoyo Design to start the conversation.
FAQ's
Which Umbraco versions are currently end of life or no longer supported?
Umbraco operates on a defined support lifecycle. Older major versions such as Umbraco 7 and Umbraco 8 are now end of life and no longer receive security patches, bug fixes or framework updates. Running these versions means the CMS is effectively frozen in time.
At Yoyo Design, we regularly work with organisations still on these legacy versions and help them move onto supported long-term releases where ongoing maintenance and security updates are available.
What risks are there in running an unsupported Umbraco version?
Unsupported Umbraco versions introduce several layers of risk. Known security vulnerabilities are no longer patched which increases exposure to attacks. Compatibility with hosting environments, browsers and third-party tools also degrade over time.
There is also a commercial risk. As fewer developers agencies support older versions it becomes harder and more expensive to maintain the website or add new features. Over time this often leads to rushed upgrades under pressure rather than planned migrations.
Do all Umbraco upgrades require a rebuild of the website?
Most major Umbraco upgrades do require a rebuild at a backend code level. This is because modern Umbraco versions are built on different frameworks and architectural patterns compared to legacy releases.
That said a rebuild does not automatically mean a redesign. In many cases the visual presentation (frontend of your website) remains the same while the underlying CMS and templates are rebuilt to meet current standards.
How do you protect SEO during an Umbraco upgrade?
We treat every Umbraco upgrade as a managed website migration. SEO expertise and strategy is considered from the start rather than after development is complete.
This includes preserving URL structures, managing redirects where required, maintaining metadata internal linking and crawl behaviour. We also validate page rendering and performance before launch to ensure search engines can continue to access and understand the website correctly.
Will our website experience downtime during the upgrade process?
In most cases no. We build and test the upgraded website in a separate environment while the live website continues to operate as normal.
The final switch is planned carefully and executed during an agreed launch window. Any downtime is minimal and communicated clearly in advance where unavoidable.
Can you upgrade heavily customised Umbraco websites?
Yes. We regularly upgrade Umbraco websites with bespoke functionality, custom integrations and complex content models.
Heavily customised builds require more upfront assessment and planning but they can be upgraded safely when handled properly. We identify what needs to be rebuilt, adapted or retired as part of the upgrade strategy.
What happens to our existing content during an upgrade?
Existing content is carefully migrated into the upgraded Umbraco build. We map content types structures and relationships to ensure nothing is lost or misaligned.
Where content models need to evolve we manage this in a controlled way so editors retain familiarity while gaining a cleaner more maintainable structure.
Do third-party integrations need to be rebuilt during an upgrade?
Often yes. Many integrations depend on frameworks or APIs that change between Umbraco versions.
As part of the upgrade we review all integrations such as forms, analytics, CRM connections and marketing tools to confirm compatibility. Where rebuilding is required we plan this into the project to avoid surprises later.
Can you upgrade our website if it was built by another agency?
Yes. A large proportion of our Umbraco upgrade work involves websites originally built by other agencies or internal teams.
We begin with a technical audit to understand how the website was constructed and then define the safest upgrade path forward. Ownership or authorship of the original build is not a blocker.
What Umbraco versions do you usually upgrade clients to?
We typically upgrade clients onto long-term supported versions such as Umbraco 17, however upgrading clients to later versions such as Umbraco 10 or 13 are also possible. Our recommendations are based on supporting lifespan stability and suitability for future development rather than simply choosing the newest release.