What is Umbraco?

You may know by now that we're an Umbraco web development agency. But, what is Umbraco? Well, it’s an open-source content management system (CMS). We know, too much technical jargon in one sentence. So, let’s break it down. A CMS is software that’s used to build, manage and make changes to a website. The alternative to a CMS is building a website from scratch using code. And, let’s just say, that’s even more technical than the language we’ve just used. The open-source part? That just means it is free to use and developers across the globe have access to all of the code to modify it or add new features as required; literally thousands of developers are contributing to Umbraco websites with fixes, enhancements or testing. Continuous improvements made by the people who use it every day - it doesn’t get much more progressive than that!

If you’ve decided that you’re going to build a new website, or if you’re just starting out, you’ve probably been researching your options. And this means you’ve likely already come across another big open source CMS, WordPress. Umbraco is just like WordPress, the biggest difference being that WordPress started off as, primarily, a blogging platform and has adapted over time, meaning Umbraco has more flexibility. And, Umbraco is more niche so you just probably haven’t come across it before!

Did you know that Microsoft, Mercedes-Benz and McDonalds all have Umbraco websites?

So, here’s some must-know information about the benefits of this friendly CMS, whether you’re a developer, a marketing manager or a project manager:

Editor accessibility

Developers have the freedom to build the ‘editor’ pages: what they look like, the structure and the layout, for example. The pages are less rigid compared to other website builders and this allows content managers to add new content and make changes to the pages in an easier and more user-friendly way - without needing the input of a developer. When we build Umbraco websites, we very much tailor the editor experience so that it’s specific to our clients’ needs!

Suitability and scalability

You can use Umbraco to build websites of all kinds. From the public sector to eCommerce to international brands. Due to its flexibility, you can have a website as small and simple, or as big and complex as needed. And, if you’re a growing business, your requirements can be adapted over time through the integration of the many extensions or “packages” available. But, because Umbraco is easily extendable, it’s also possible to integrate websites into any third party API, meaning you’re not constrained to use their ready-made plugins.

Security

Umbraco is built on the Microsoft ecosystem which means, importantly, it is very secure, without the need for additional security options. But, to make the CMS as secure as possible, you do have the capability to add other security features such as two-factor authentication.

Integration with other systems

Marketing is most effective when your systems connect with each other, we know that! And that’s why Umbraco is a great option for marketers. Not only can you edit content with ease, you can also seamlessly integrate your Umbraco website with your customer relationship management (CRM) system or your email marketing provider.

Search engine optimisation (SEO) capabilities

On the subject of marketing, SEO is a hot topic isn’t it? Fresh, relevant content is vital for website optimisation, but you cannot forget about the technical aspects of SEO that are just as important (we have an eBook on this, by the way). Luckily, templates can be built in Umbraco to cover all SEO features such as metadata and descriptions, title tags, canonical tags, sitemaps, redirects, and much more. Umbraco makes technical SEO as simple as possible.

Cost

As mentioned already, Umbraco is free to use. Lower cost doesn’t always mean a better product but, in this case, it does! Depending on how many plugins and additional features you choose to include, you can really keep your costs down by just paying the developer or agency. And, because it’s open-source, you are not bound to any one particular developer.

Unbeatable community support

As an Umbraco web development agency (and Certified Umbraco Partner, may we add!), the support and community that surrounds us is amazing. There are specific areas of support, depending on the expertise, such as making Umbraco documentation easier to follow, improving the core functions of the CMS, making it more accessible to everyone, and more. No matter the questions or advice needed, you will always have someone to lean on within the Umbraco community. We also contribute back to Umbraco ourselves via testing, bug-finding or fixing code!

When it comes to building a new website or updating your existing one, you need to know that the website builder you use is reliable and meets your requirements. We’ve been building Umbraco websites for 20 years now and we love supporting people with their Umbraco sites. We also partner with other Umbraco agencies to provide extra support with their projects.

Want to see whether Umbraco is right for you? Send us an email: [email protected] and we’ll be happy to talk through everything Umbraco with you!