What is Umbraco

If you’re new to Umbraco or you’re thinking about moving your website onto a more flexible and reliable platform, this page will give you a clear idea of what to expect.

William Steed December 19, 2025
3 min read Umbraco, Development, Tutorial

Umbraco is a modern, open source content management system built on the Microsoft .NET platform. It’s designed to give businesses complete freedom over how their website works and how their content is managed. Unlike many CMS platforms that rely on rigid templates, Umbraco offers a flexible structure that can be shaped around almost any requirement, from simple brochure sites to complex, data driven systems.

Because it is open source, Umbraco benefits from a strong community and continuous development. New features, improvements and security updates are released regularly, making it a trusted choice for organisations that want a stable and future proof platform.

Why do businesses choose Umbraco?

Content editing that feels natural

Umbraco is well known for its clean and easy to use editing experience. Content teams can create pages, update text, manage media and publish changes without needing technical knowledge. The interface is designed to be intuitive, which reduces training time and makes it easier for teams to maintain their own website.

Total freedom in design and structure

Unlike systems that restrict you to predefined layouts, Umbraco allows developers to build the exact structure a business needs. This means you’re never limited by the platform and can avoid the “template look” that many CMS platforms produce.

Reliable and secure foundationl

Because Umbraco is built on .NET, it benefits from Microsoft’s robust security model and long term platform support. This makes it a strong choice for companies that value safety, reliability and regular updates. The core CMS is lightweight, stable and designed to scale as required.

Built to integrate

Many businesses rely on external systems such as CRMs, booking platforms, payment services and custom APIs. Umbraco is well suited for integration work, thanks to its flexible architecture and the strength of the .NET ecosystem. It allows organisations to join up their digital tools rather than running everything separately.

Open source with professional backing

Being open source means Umbraco can be used, customised and reviewed freely, with no licence fees. At the same time, it is backed by Umbraco HQ in Denmark, who provide official training, cloud hosting, support plans and long term version management. This gives businesses confidence that the platform is both community driven and professionally supported.

Long term stability with modern features

Umbraco has been around for more than twenty years and continues to evolve through regular releases. Features like block editors, content apps, improved APIs, multilingual capabilities and a polished backoffice make it a strong choice for organisations that need a CMS that can grow alongside their needs.

What Umbraco is used for

Businesses use Umbraco for:

  • Corporate websites

  • Campaign and marketing sites

  • E commerce solutions

  • Service based platforms

  • Membership sites

  • Government and public sector platforms

  • Internal portals and tools

Its flexibility means it can adapt to almost any industry or purpose.