In This Blog

TL;DR

  • Umbraco is an open-source CMS built on Microsoft’s .NET framework and known for flexibility, scalability, and ease of use.

  • The platform provides a user-friendly editing experience while still supporting highly customized enterprise-grade websites.

  • Umbraco works especially well for organizations that want a composable digital experience platform (DXP) integrated with existing business systems.

  • Compared to WordPress, Sitecore, and Kentico, Umbraco offers a strong balance between customization, usability, and cost efficiency.

  • Working with an experienced Umbraco development partner helps businesses maximize the platform’s flexibility and long-term scalability.

If you’re creating a new website or refreshing your existing site, one of the biggest decisions you have to make is which content management system (CMS) to use. Any CMS will let you create, edit, and publish content on your site. But not all of them will provide the same user experience or the same level of customization, scalability, security, and flexibility.

One CMS that we recommend to many of our website development customers is Umbraco. In this article, we’ll explain what Umbraco is, the top Umbraco features you should know about, and which types of businesses may benefit most from using Umbraco for their website.

What Is Umbraco?

Umbraco is an open-source content management system built on Microsoft’s .NET framework and written in C#. It’s a well-established CMS platform that was first created in 1999 by Niels Hartvig before becoming fully open source in 2005. Since then, it has grown into a global CMS platform with more than 700,000 active installs and a large international developer community.

Umbraco is often nicknamed “the friendly CMS” because of its intuitive editing experience and flexibility for both developers and content editors.

Unlike many rigid website platforms, Umbraco gives organizations the freedom to create highly customized digital experiences while still maintaining a user-friendly content management interface.

Looking for Umbraco developers? Read about our Umbraco CMS development services.

What Are the Benefits of Using Umbraco for Your CMS?

There are hundreds of content management systems on the market, and platforms like WordPress or Joomla may have stronger name recognition than Umbraco. However, we’re big fans of Umbraco because it combines flexibility, scalability, and usability extremely well.

Here are five reasons organizations choose Umbraco for their CMS.

1. An Intuitive Editing Experience

Umbraco can support sophisticated enterprise websites without becoming difficult to use.

In fact, on software review platform G2, Umbraco scores highly for ease of use compared to many other CMS platforms including WordPress, Sitecore, Joomla, and Drupal.

For content editors, Umbraco includes several features that simplify content management:

  • Searchable content trees

  • Drag-and-drop content organization

  • Easy page creation and restructuring

  • Multi-device preview functionality

  • Versioning and rollback support

  • Multilingual content management

The editing experience is one of the reasons organizations often prefer Umbraco over more technically rigid platforms.

For example, before publishing content, editors can preview pages across multiple device types to validate mobile responsiveness and layout behavior.

Organizations with international audiences also benefit from Umbraco’s multilingual capabilities, allowing content variations to exist within a single website instance.

And if someone accidentally publishes incorrect content? Umbraco’s versioning and audit trails make it easy to restore previous versions quickly.

2. Flexibility and Customization

One of Umbraco’s biggest strengths is flexibility.

Umbraco’s open API architecture allows developers to build custom extensions, integrations, and functionality tailored to an organization’s specific needs.

That flexibility becomes especially valuable for businesses with:

  • Complex workflows

  • Custom integrations

  • Unique user experiences

  • Specialized content structures

  • Existing enterprise systems

Developers can extend Umbraco through custom development while also leveraging hundreds of free community-built extensions and packages.

Umbraco also works extremely well as the foundation for a composable DXP (digital experience platform).

Instead of relying on a single monolithic platform, organizations can integrate Umbraco with:

  • Ecommerce platforms

  • CRM systems

  • Marketing automation tools

  • Product information management (PIM) systems

  • Third-party SaaS platforms

According to Gartner, organizations using composable DXP strategies can deliver new features significantly faster than businesses relying on traditional monolithic suites.

Umbraco’s API-first flexibility makes it an excellent fit for that approach.

3. The .NET Framework

Because Umbraco is built on Microsoft’s .NET framework, organizations benefit from the scalability, reliability, and security associated with Microsoft technologies.

This also makes Umbraco particularly attractive for organizations already invested in the Microsoft ecosystem.

Since the release of Umbraco 9, the platform now runs on .NET Core, Microsoft’s modern cross-platform development framework.

This provides several advantages:

  • Improved performance

  • Modern development tooling

  • Long-term Microsoft support

  • Access to modern C# features

  • Cloud-native deployment flexibility

For development teams already experienced with .NET, Umbraco often feels very natural to work with.

4. A Large and Supportive Community

Umbraco’s “friendly CMS” reputation extends beyond the platform itself.

The global Umbraco community is extremely active and collaborative.

Developers and organizations can use Our Umbraco to access:

  • Documentation

  • Community support

  • Tips and tutorials

  • User-created packages

  • Forums and discussions

There are also Umbraco meetups and conferences around the world where developers and organizations share ideas and best practices.

Umbraco HQ itself remains highly engaged with the community through events, office hours, and ongoing platform improvements.

5. Umbraco Is Open Source (Free!)

One of Umbraco’s biggest advantages is that the CMS itself is free and open source.

Organizations do not need to purchase expensive software licensing simply to use the platform.

That allows businesses to invest more heavily in:

  • Custom design

  • User experience

  • Integrations

  • Performance optimization

  • Cloud hosting

Of course, successful implementation still requires strong development expertise, but the lack of licensing costs can make Umbraco highly cost-effective compared to enterprise CMS platforms.

Umbraco Alternatives (and When to Use Them)

Umbraco is not the only CMS available. The right platform depends heavily on your business goals, operational needs, and desired website experience.

Several common alternatives include WordPress, Sitecore, and Kentico.

Umbraco vs. WordPress

WordPress is by far the most widely used CMS platform globally, powering more than 43% of websites on the internet.

For smaller websites or organizations looking for a simple out-of-the-box solution, WordPress can absolutely make sense.

However, Umbraco often outperforms WordPress in areas like:

  • Customization flexibility

  • Enterprise architecture

  • Security management

  • Structured content modeling

  • Scalable development workflows

If you want to launch a basic marketing website quickly using pre-built templates, WordPress may be sufficient.

But if your organization needs highly customized workflows, advanced integrations, or long-term scalability, Umbraco is often the stronger choice.

Umbraco vs. Sitecore

Like Umbraco, Sitecore is also built on the .NET ecosystem.

Sitecore is commonly used by very large enterprises with complex digital marketing and personalization requirements.

It includes built-in capabilities for:

  • Marketing automation

  • Analytics

  • Personalization

  • Enterprise ecommerce

However, Sitecore is not open source and typically involves significantly higher licensing and operational costs than Umbraco.

We often recommend:

  • Umbraco for organizations prioritizing flexibility, customization, and usability

  • Sitecore for organizations requiring advanced enterprise marketing capabilities at massive scale

Read more about the differences between Sitecore and Umbraco.

Umbraco vs. Kentico

Kentico is another CMS platform built on .NET.

Unlike Umbraco, Kentico requires annual licensing fees and tends to focus more heavily on out-of-the-box business and marketing functionality.

Umbraco generally provides greater flexibility and customization potential, while Kentico may appeal to organizations looking for more bundled functionality immediately available within the platform.

Umbraco CMS Website Examples

It’s easy to talk about CMS features in theory, but real-world examples are usually more helpful.

Here are two examples of Umbraco websites we’ve built for clients.

Kalahari Resorts & Conventions

After years of enhancing Kalahari’s existing Umbraco platform, the organization partnered with Emergent Software to refresh the website using the latest version of Umbraco.

Key priorities included:

  • User-friendly content editing

  • Multilingual support

  • Migration to modern .NET architecture

  • Flexible page composition

The resulting website delivered both an improved customer experience and a much stronger content authoring experience.

In fact, the project won an Umbraco award for Best Editing Experience.

The website also includes a custom ecommerce experience integrated directly into Umbraco.

Read the case study

Disability Hub MN

Disability Hub MN needed a website that prioritized accessibility and usability for visitors using:

  • Screen readers

  • Keyboard navigation

  • Text-to-speech tools

Umbraco’s flexibility allowed us to integrate accessibility-focused experiences while also modernizing the overall site architecture.

The platform also supported custom web form integrations to improve communication workflows for users seeking assistance and resources.

Work with an Umbraco Gold Partner

The true strength of Umbraco lies in its flexibility and customization potential. But maximizing that potential requires experienced Umbraco developers who understand how to architect scalable, maintainable solutions.

Emergent Software is one of the few development firms in the United States to achieve Umbraco Gold Partner status.

Our team has extensive experience designing, developing, modernizing, and supporting Umbraco websites for organizations across multiple industries.

Tell us about your website project

How Emergent Software Can Help

We help organizations design, build, modernize, and support scalable Umbraco CMS websites integrated with modern cloud, ecommerce, CRM, and marketing platforms. Our team combines custom software development, Azure cloud expertise, and website development experience to create flexible digital experiences built for long-term growth. If this sounds familiar, we can help.

Final Thoughts

Choosing the right CMS has a major impact on your website’s scalability, flexibility, usability, and long-term maintainability. While no single platform is perfect for every situation, Umbraco offers an excellent balance of customization, usability, Microsoft ecosystem compatibility, and cost efficiency.

For organizations looking to build modern, scalable digital experiences without being locked into rigid proprietary platforms, Umbraco is often an outstanding choice.

If you're ready to build or modernize your website using Umbraco, Emergent Software is here to help. Reach out — we'd love to learn more about your goals.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Umbraco CMS?

Umbraco is an open-source content management system built on Microsoft’s .NET framework. It allows organizations to create, manage, and publish website content while supporting highly customized development and integrations. Umbraco is known for flexibility, scalability, and an intuitive editing experience. The platform is widely used for marketing websites, enterprise digital experiences, ecommerce integrations, and multilingual websites. It has a large global developer community and long history within the .NET ecosystem.

Is Umbraco better than WordPress?

The answer depends on the organization’s goals and technical requirements. WordPress is often a good choice for simple websites and fast deployments using pre-built themes. Umbraco generally provides greater flexibility, customization potential, and enterprise architecture capabilities. Organizations with complex integrations, structured content needs, or long-term scalability requirements often prefer Umbraco. Businesses already invested in Microsoft technologies may also benefit from Umbraco’s .NET foundation.

What programming language does Umbraco use?

Umbraco is built using Microsoft’s .NET framework and written in C#. Since Umbraco 9, the platform has been running on .NET Core, Microsoft’s modern cross-platform development framework. This allows developers to use modern .NET tooling and development practices. Organizations already using Microsoft technologies often find Umbraco especially attractive because of its alignment with the broader .NET ecosystem. The platform also supports API-first architectures and modern cloud hosting approaches.

Is Umbraco free?

Yes, Umbraco is open source and free to use. Organizations do not need to purchase expensive software licenses to use the CMS itself. However, businesses still need to account for development, implementation, hosting, maintenance, and support costs. Many organizations work with experienced Umbraco development partners to build and support customized websites. Compared to some enterprise CMS platforms, Umbraco can be very cost-effective.

What types of websites can Umbraco support?

Umbraco can support a wide range of websites including marketing sites, enterprise websites, multilingual websites, ecommerce experiences, customer portals, and composable digital experience platforms. Its flexibility makes it suitable for highly customized solutions with complex integrations. Organizations can also integrate Umbraco with CRMs, marketing automation systems, ecommerce platforms, and other SaaS products. The platform scales well for both mid-sized and enterprise organizations. Development flexibility is one of Umbraco’s biggest strengths.

Why work with an Umbraco Gold Partner?

An Umbraco Gold Partner has demonstrated significant experience and expertise with the Umbraco platform. Working with an experienced partner helps organizations design scalable architectures, implement integrations properly, and avoid long-term technical debt. Gold Partners also stay current on Umbraco updates, best practices, and modernization strategies. Because Umbraco is highly flexible, implementation quality has a major impact on long-term success. An experienced development partner helps maximize the platform’s capabilities.

Author

Kevin Meilander