Umbraco 8 End of Life: What It Means for Your Website and What to Do About It

Umbraco 8 is reaching end of life in February 2025. Here’s what you need to know.

If your website is built on the Umbraco 8 content management system (CMS), big changes are on the horizon. In February 2025, Umbraco 8 will officially reach its End of Life (EOL). That end of life means no more updates, no more security patches, and no official support from Umbraco HQ.

For many of our clients, this news raises an important question: What should you do with your Umbraco 8 website? The good news is, you have options – but they all require planning and action. Let’s walk through what end of life means for your website and the decisions you’ll need to make.

What Does 'End of Life' (EOL) Mean for Umbraco 8?

"End of Life" doesn’t mean that your website will just stop working in February 2025. When software reaches its end of life, it means the developer will no longer release updates, patches, or fixes, including security updates. For Umbraco 8 users, this translates to several risks:

• No security updates: Any new vulnerabilities discovered after February 2025 will not be patched, leaving your site exposed.
• No technical support: If something breaks on your site or stops functioning due to compatibility issues with future technologies, official support will no longer be available.
• No new features or improvements: You won’t benefit from ongoing improvements, making your site potentially slower or less efficient over time compared to competitors who are on newer versions.

It’s important to understand that this isn’t just a minor update – it’s a major transition. If you’re still on Umbraco 8, the sooner you start planning, the better.

What Are Your Options?

If your website is built on Umbraco 8, you have several options to consider before February 2025.

Upgrade to the latest Umbraco LTS (Long Term Support) version

The most straightforward path forward is to upgrade your site to the latest version of Umbraco. Umbraco has announced a product roadmap with LTS version that will receive a guaranteed timeline for support, allowing you to better plan the next several years.

Benefits of upgrading:

• Access to the latest features and performance improvements.
• Ongoing security patches and technical support.
• Improved site speed and user experience.

However, an upgrade isn't always simple. Depending on the complexity of your website, this can range from a relatively easy transition to a full-scale project that requires significant time and investment. Custom features or third-party integrations (like plugins) may not be compatible, which could require custom development work.

Rebuild the Website

For some websites, especially those with a lot of custom development or outdated code, upgrading may not be feasible. In this case, a rebuild may be necessary.

A rebuild involves starting fresh with a new version of Umbraco or possibly another CMS, but generally leaving the design, content, and other features the same as the old version. This allows your development team to simply focus on migrating you to the new platform without all the extra effort and expense of a full redesign.

Benefits of a rebuild:

• A more expedited move to an LTS version if your current website is mostly ‘okay’ as far as site structure, content, and design.

Redesign Your Website

Let’s be honest, you’re probably overdue for a redesign if you’re still on Umbraco 8. If you’re considering a full rebuild, you may want to take this opportunity to also redesign your website. A redesign can breathe new life into your online presence, improving not just how your site looks but also how it functions for your visitors.

Benefits of a redesign:

• Better user experience (UX) that aligns with modern web standards.
• Increased mobile-friendliness and responsiveness.
• Opportunities to improve SEO, conversions, and overall performance.

A redesign will involve both a rebuild and a rethinking of your site’s look and feel, content, functionality, the whole shebang. This process makes a redesign more time-consuming, but the potential for long-term gains in traffic and customer satisfaction are significant.

What Happens if I Do Nothing?

While it might be tempting to avoid the costs and complexity involved in upgrading, rebuilding, or redesigning your site, doing nothing comes with significant risks.

If you choose not to take action, your site will still run after February 2025, but here’s what you must accept:

• No more security patches: Your site will become vulnerable to any new security issues or exploits.
• No updates: Future server, hosting, or software updates might break your site.
• Compatibility problems: Plugins, payment gateways, and third-party integrations may stop working or become unreliable.

Doing nothing may seem like a way to save money now, but it can lead to much higher costs later on when your site experiences issues, becomes hacked, or stops functioning properly. These consequences can harm your site’s performance, SEO rankings, and your business’s reputation.

Additional Considerations for Umbraco 8 End of Life

While you’re deciding what to do with your Umbraco 8 website, it’s important to consider how certain plugins and customizations might be affected by an upgrade or rebuild.

• Custom developed features: If your Umbraco 8 site includes custom developed features, your options are more complex. The new versions of Umbraco use a different version of the .Net framework under the hood and these features will require the careful hand of a skilled developer to migrate to the newer versions.
• Articulate: If your site uses Articulate, Umbraco’s primary blogging extension, you’ll need to consider whether to keep it or move to a new blog plugin. Spoiler alert: your site probably does. The future of this blog plugin is in question and you may find that moving to a new blog solution was necessary regardless.
• uSkinned Site Builder: This exciting new(er) plugin offers an incredible site building CMS experience including more design options and animation without the need for a developer. However, using it guarantees you’ll have to take the rebuild or redesign option (and move away from Articulate as your blog solution).

Each of these tools adds complexity to your decision, so it’s critical to work with a team that understands the potential impact of these features on your site’s performance and future compatibility.

Don’t Wait to Upgrade Umbraco Until It’s Too Late

The End of Life for Umbraco 8 will be here before you know it, and waiting until the last minute to make a decision could leave your website vulnerable and outdated. Aztek has been helping clients with Umbraco websites for many years, and we’re ready to guide you through the upgrade or rebuild process.

Let’s start planning now to ensure your website is ready for the future. Our team can help talk you through the decision to upgrade, rebuild, or redesign. Contact us today and let’s keep your website secure, fast, and up to date.