Benefits of upgrading Umbraco to the latest version

Umbraco is a world-leading content management system (CMS) used by multiple business across a variety of sectors.

The open-source nature of Umbraco means that it is constantly evolving, and updated versions are frequently released; each providing new features, fixes, and enhanced security. In fact, Umbraco have recently announced that following the launch of v9 (scheduled for September 2021), they plan to release new major changes two times per year and minor versions every 6 weeks, to “advance the software in the best possible way, without creating technical debt”.

Umbraco have stated that they want “everyone to continually upgrade” however with this being both time-consuming and costly, how often do upgrades need to be made?

Where possible, the 16i team would advise making patch updates as/when available, with any minor updates (e.g., from v8.9.1 – v8.10.1) being applied at least every 6 months to take advantage of any new features and/or security updates; ultimately helping to prevent a full rebuild from being required.

Still not sure? Here are the top reasons to upgrade: 

• User experience (UX) 
  Built with user experience in mind, the Umbraco CMS is simple and easy to use, with each new upgrade providing an even more enhanced content editor experience. In particular, the newest version (v8) features infinite editing - a frictionless editing experience that allows users to edit pieces of content and media directly, without having to click around the CMS. 
• User interface (UI) 
  New versions provide the opportunity for the user interface to be reviewed and updated, with v8 providing an even clearer and much more intuitive design.  
• Productivity 
  Upgrades often include new features or enhancements which help to improve the productivity of the user. As an example, v8 has seen the introduction of new features such as side-by-side editing (particularly useful for multilingual sites), and content apps (providing the ability to view on-page statistics via the editing tool); ultimately helping editors to manage everything via the CMS. 
• Bug fixes and enhanced security 
  The majority of updated versions contain some level of bug fixes and/or security improvements, helping to ensure your website is as effective and secure as it can be. 
• Improved speed and performance 
  Most new versions are focused on resolving speed issues and increasing platform performance. In particular, the latest releases have focused on improving site and page loading (mainly image rendering), which can significantly help SEO performance, as well as ultimately enhancing the user experience. 

Interested in hearing more? Contact the 16i team.