New underlying framework in Umbraco

Umbraco changes the underlying framework

Back in 2019 Microsoft announced the plan for replacing the .NET Framework with .NET Core starting from 2020. This has of course also affected Umbraco. And to future proof the CMS, Umbraco has made the switch where Umbraco 9 is the version on the new .NET Core framework. But what does this mean if you have a website based on Umbraco 8? In this article we bring forward the most important aspects you need to know and consider, if your site is based on Umbraco 8.

What to consider if your website is on Umbraco 8

Websites that are running on the latest minor version of Umbraco 8 (8.18) is supported until February 2024 and have additional twelve months of security fixes afterwards. Hereafter Umbraco 8 will reach it’s end of life (EOL) at February 24, 2025.
So, if your website is currently running on Umbraco 8 you need to make some important considerations regarding the future of your website.

From Umbraco 8 to Umbraco 9

There’s no direct way to upgrade from Umbraco 8 to Umbraco 9, meaning that you’ll need to migrate your solution. This is because Umbraco 8 is based on the .NET Framework whereas version 9 is based on .NET Core. How difficult the migration will be, depends on the complexity of your Umbraco 8 site. If your site uses custom code, i.e. business logic, integrations to underlying systems etc., the custom code needs to be revisited due to the change to the .NET Core framework. A change that might require changes to your code.

Furthermore, if you’re using Umbraco packages in your Umbraco 8 solution, you need to clarify if these packages are supported in Umbraco 9. If some of the packages aren’t updated to support Umbraco 9, you need to clarify if they will be updated and when. However, if some packages won’t be updated then next step is to look for alternative packages or investigate, if the need are covered by new features in Umbraco 9.

You can read more about migrating from Umbraco 8 to Umbraco 9.

From Umbraco 8 to Umbraco 10

If you want to move away from Umbraco 8 and instead get up and running on Umbraco 10 you have two options:

Migrate to Umbraco 9 and then upgrade to Umbraco 10 or
Start from fresh on Umbraco 10. This is especially relevant if you’re looking at a complete redesign of your site.

Once you are migrated to Umbraco 9, you’re able to upgrade directly to Umbraco 10. However, you’ll need to ensure the packages you are using are available in Umbraco 10 or covered by new features.
However, if you’re looking at redesigning your Umbraco 8 solution, it might be worth starting from fresh on a completely new Umbraco 10 installation. There might be a limited amount of logic, page setup, layout and styling which can be reused from the old Umbraco 8 solution, but if the new design changes the overall structure of the pages, then time might be saved to start fresh, instead of migrating and updating from Umbraco 8 to Umbraco 10.

You can read more about upgrading Umbraco 9 to Umbraco 10.

Stay on Umbraco 8? Or move forward?

If possible, we recommend that you migrate your site from Umbraco 8 to Umbraco 9. This is among other things due to some of the benefits following a migration to the .NET Core framework such as improved runtime performance, better scalability and cleaner architecture. Furthermore, Umbraco 9 is the new official version of Umbraco meaning that focus will be on developing new features for version 9.

However, if you’re looking into a redesign of your entire site we recommend that you look into the possibility to start fresh on a new Umbraco 10 solution.

Move away from Umbraco 8

Umbraco 8 will soon reach it’s end of life. But don’t worry. We have listed the three scenarios which you need to consider.

Umbraco Contributing Gold Partner

We are awarded Umbraco Contributing Gold Partner! It is an acknowledgement of our commitment, experience and competences within the Umbraco platform and we are of course very proud.

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