Umbraco: decoded

Umbraco is an-easy-to-use, open-source content management system (CMS) used by numerous companies worldwide.

Overview

A popular, powerful, and flexible CMS, Umbraco currently supports over 0.5 million websites - ranging for start-ups to global corporations such as Sony, Vogue and McDonalds. Built on the Microsoft . NET framework, it can be endlessly customised and scaled to manage content on everything from simple websites, to complex intranets or web applications.

Why we use Umbraco

16i has worked on hundreds of Umbraco projects for clients such Dynamic Lives, Grant UK, Oxford Ski and Roald Dahl; with the system providing a blank canvas for our developers to work with and adapt based on the individual needs of the project. It’s open-source nature also means that we have access to rich developer tools,  full control over the code and seamless .NET integration, enabling us to build everything from simple websites to complex, enterprise-level applications. 

What are the benefits to our clients

Umbraco offers several benefits not just to us as developers, but also for our clients, including: 

Cost-effective

• Open-source and free core: predominantly free to use, Umbraco helps to avoid any licensing fees typically associated with proprietary CMS platforms - providing a very cost-effective solution, especially to those with budget constraints
• Low maintenance costs: Umbraco’s flexibility and scalability reduces the need for frequent major changes, helping to keep long-term maintenance to a minimum.

Tailored, scalable solutions

• Fully customisable: Umbraco can be used for tailored solutions, allowing the website or application to be customised to match the individual business needs, design preferences, and functionalities; ultimately allowing for a highly specific digital experience, rather than a generic template-based solution
• Scalability: Umbraco is built for scalability, meaning the website can evolve and adapt (through new sections, features, and/or multiple sites) to match business growth.

User-friendly for content editors

• Easy content management: featuring an intuitive, user-friendly admin interface, managing and updating content is simple even for non-technical staff; allowing users to update text, images, videos, and more with minimal training
• Flexible content structuring: Umbraco allows for custom content structures aligned to the individual business model; helping to improve the overall user experience for internal teams.

SEO-friendly

• Built-in SEO features: tools such as easy URL management, meta-data handling, and image alt texts allow users to improve their search engine visibility and rankings without needing additional plugins or third-party services
• Fast loading times: Umbraco’s clean and optimised code can result in faster page load times which is crucial for SEO rankings and user experience.

Strong security

• Security updates: Umbraco is regularly updated with security patches to address vulnerabilities - helping to ensure sites remain secure and protected - ultimately reducing the risk of data breaches or attacks
• Granular permissions: specific user roles and permissions can be set to control who can access and modify content, adding an additional layer of CMS security and control.

Responsive and mobile-friendly

• Responsive design: websites built using Umbraco can be customised to be fully responsive, ensuring they work seamlessly across all devices and screen sizes
• Mobile optimization: Umbraco supports mobile-friendly design, ensuring each site offers a smooth, optimised experience for mobile users.

SEO and marketing integrations

• Marketing-friendly features: Umbraco can easily integrate with email marketing platforms, social media, and other marketing tools, providing users with the ability to run campaigns, track conversions, and connect their digital presence with broader marketing efforts
• Third-party integrations: the CMS can also be integrated with analytics and third-party tools, enabling website performance, user behaviour, and other critical marketing metrics to be tracked and monitored.

Flexibility and future-proofing

• Headless CMS capability: Umbraco can be used in headless mode (delivering content via APIs), allowing sites to be integrated with other platforms such as mobile apps or custom front-end frameworks, and providing the flexibility to adapt to future digital needs
• Easy to upgrade and maintain: with regular updates and upgrades available, users benefit from the most-up-to-date features, security patches, and performance improvements without the need for drastic redesigns or overhauls.

Multi-lingual and multi-site capabilities

• Multi-lingual websites: with the ability to manage multilingual content, Umbraco is ideal for those with a global audience or looking to expand into different markets
• Multi-site management: multiple websites can be managed via one central CMS, perfect for businesses with multiple brands, regions, or services.

Content versioning and workflow

• Content history and rollbacks: users can roll back to previous versions if a mistake has been made or past content needs to be referred to
• Approval workflows: custom workflows and approval processes can be created, ensuring that content changes go through the right channels before being published.

Integrated e-commerce options

• E-commerce integrations: ability to integrate with custom-built, or pre-existing platforms such as uCommerce
• Payment gateway integration: Umbraco can be integrated with various payment gateways, offering users the flexibility to choose how they process transactions.

Cloud hosting options

• Umbraco cloud: for those who prefer managed hosting with automatic updates, backups, and scaling, Umbraco offers a cloud-based hosting solution.

Custom integration - how we can help

Interested in hearing more? Get in touch with the 16i team.