Umbraco Spark 2026: small sparks, big ideas
Scroll downThere’s something about Umbraco events.
You can try to explain them; talks, tech, networking but that never quite captures it. It’s the conversations in between, the shared “have you seen this?” moments, and that familiar feeling of being surrounded by people who just get it.
Umbraco Spark 2026 was no different.
A one-day hit of ideas, debates, live demos (some braver than others), and just enough AI to make you question whether you’re still the one in control.
Here’s what stuck with us.
A strong start: the pre-party
Before the talks, before the slides, before the inevitable “which session are you heading to?”—there was the pre-party.
Held at Roxy Lanes in Bristol, it delivered exactly what it promised: a proper warm-up to the main event. Ping pong, duck pin bowling, pool, karaoke (some braver than others), and just enough friendly competition to break the ice. With drinks flowing and food making the rounds, it didn’t take long for the room to fill with that familiar Umbraco energy—part reunion, part first introduction.
It helped, too, that Bristol was absolutely showing off. Clear skies, sunshine, and that early hint of spring made the whole evening feel even more vibrant, spilling out into the streets as people moved between venues and conversations.
Search, decisions, and the shape of what’s next
We kicked off with Umbraco Search – Developer’s Perspective from Kenn Jacobsen (Umbraco HQ), and it set the tone nicely: flexibility is the future.
Search is no longer “pick a provider and hope for the best”—it’s becoming composable, swappable, and developer-friendly. Kenn walked us through the latest improvements in indexing, query performance, and integration with modern APIs. For developers, the takeaway was clear: you can now build search experiences that are fast, precise, and easy to extend, without reinventing the wheel. It’s a subtle but crucial evolution for any Umbraco project that relies on content discovery.
Developers Assemble
Joe Glombek’s Developers Assemble felt less like a talk and more like a rallying cry. He emphasised that being a developer in the Umbraco ecosystem is not just about shipping features—it’s about community. From contributing packages to sharing solutions and mentoring newcomers, the session celebrated the ways developers actively shape the platform. Joe also highlighted the growing importance of collaboration between frontend, backend, and content teams, reminding everyone that building better products requires breaking down silos as much as writing good code.
Accross the Cloudiverse
Richard Jackson’s talk, Across the Cloudiverse, was a deep dive into the increasingly interconnected world of cloud infrastructure and integrations. The key theme was subtle but important: complexity is increasing, but so are the tools to manage it. He also emphasised monitoring, observability, and automated scaling—critical factors as more Umbraco projects move into high-traffic, cloud-first environments.
Lunch with Candid Contributions
Lunch leaned into that community spirit with Candid Contributions. This wasn’t about slides or demos; it was about honesty. Attendees shared lessons learned, failed experiments, and the small hacks that actually keep projects running smoothly. It was one of those moments where you realise everyone, even the experts on stage, is figuring things out as they go. These conversations often spark the most valuable ideas because they come straight from experience rather than a slide deck.
AI: helpful assistant or overconfident intern?
AI was never far away.
Mike Masey asked a deceptively simple question:
Can AI build an accessible tool if you only write the spec?
The answer? Sort of… but not quite.
Mike’s talk explored the opportunities and limitations of AI in software development. AI can generate code, suggest accessibility improvements, and even draft documentation, but it can’t yet replace human judgement, especially when it comes to nuanced areas like accessibility. The session made it clear that AI is a powerful assistant—but we’re still the ones responsible for creating tools that truly meet user needs.
“A website, an email and an AI summary walk into a bar…”
The AI theme continued with Georgina Bidder and Matt Sutherland’s brilliantly titled session. They explored how AI can be integrated across workflows, from website content generation to email campaigns and automated summaries. Unlike other AI talks that focus on futuristic possibilities, this one was grounded in practical use cases, showing how teams can adopt AI without sacrificing quality or control. It reinforced a trend we’re seeing more broadly: AI is becoming embedded in the way we build and manage digital experiences, not just an optional add-on.
Much Ado About Nothing
Kevlin Henney’s Much Ado About Nothing was a philosophical interlude. Less about tools and more about thinking, the session challenged us to question assumptions and strip away unnecessary complexity. Kevlin reminded the audience that sometimes the best solution is to remove, simplify, or rethink rather than add more. In a world of ever-growing frameworks and APIs, that lesson feels more relevant than ever.
What’s Next in the Back Office
Finally, Niels Lyngsø gave a glimpse into What’s Next in the Back Office. The roadmap is clear: more extensibility, modern technology, and greater control for developers. Newer back office features are designed to be more modular, configurable, and efficient, giving teams the flexibility to tailor the editor experience to their exact needs. For anyone managing larger projects or multiple sites, these improvements will be game-changing, reducing friction for editors while keeping developers in control.
The Block Library: a quiet revolution
Lee Kelleher (Staff Engineer at Umbraco HQ) shared early insights into the Block Library, a new section in Umbraco alongside Content, Media, and Users. Building on Umbraco’s existing block editors, it shifts the focus from one-off implementations to reusable, shared blocks that can live beyond a single project. Instead of recreating the same components repeatedly, teams can build a library of proven content patterns, making delivery faster, more consistent, and easier to maintain.
What makes it particularly exciting is how it aligns with the platform’s broader direction. As Umbraco moves toward a more composable, modular architecture, the Block Library feels like the content-side equivalent of a design system—bringing structure, reuse, and governance into how content is created. It’s still early days, but if it lands well, it has the potential to fundamentally change not just how we build pages, but how we scale and standardise Umbraco projects.
Ending on a high: package awards
We wrapped up with the Package Awards, always a highlight.
If there’s one thing that defines the Umbraco community, it’s this: people don’t just use the platform, they build for it. And they share what they build, whether that’s a tiny productivity hack or a widely adopted package that changes how projects are delivered. These awards are a celebration of that spirit.
Final thoughts
Umbraco Spark 2026 wasn’t about one big announcement or a single defining moment.
It was about lots of small sparks:
Better tools
Smarter decisions
Honest conversations
A growing role for AI
Individually, they’re incremental. Together, they point to something bigger.
Umbraco continues to evolve not just as a CMS, but as a platform shaped by its community. And events like this are where that evolution becomes visible.
Same time next year?