It's time to move to Umbraco 17

Upgrading your CMS isn’t just about keeping the lights on – it’s about ensuring your digital platform can keep pace with a rapidly evolving landscape. The release of Umbraco 17 will help you make the move towards a future-proof, AI-ready foundation.

Mario Lopez

11 February 2026

4 minute read


The ‘upgrade conversation’ can feel like a balancing act between stability and innovation. You want a platform that is familiar and reliable, you want to know if the upgrade is really worthy, and last but not least, you want to know if you will need another upgrade anytime soon. 

Umbraco 17 represents a significant milestone for the CMS. It isn't just a major update; it’s the culmination of a multi-year architectural shift. If you are currently running Umbraco 13 – or worse, an older, out-of-support version – the arrival of version 17 marks the ideal time to plan your next move.

Here is why you should consider upgrading to Umbraco 17.

1. Long-Term Support

Long-Term Support (LTS) is critical. It provides the predictability and assurance that IT departments and budget holders need. Umbraco 17 is the latest LTS release since Umbraco 13, which means Umbraco HQ guarantees bug fixes, and improvements until November 2027 and security updates until November 2028.

This is particularly important for those currently on Umbraco 13. While v13 has served as a reliable workhorse, its end-of-life (EOL) is fast approaching, in December 2026. By upgrading to v17 now, you bypass the cycle of short-term updates and secure a stable foundation for the next three-plus years. This long runway allows your team to focus on building features and driving marketing ROI rather than worrying about the next underlying platform migration.

2. A backoffice rebuilt for the future

For years, the Umbraco backoffice relied on AngularJS. While revolutionary at the time, AngularJS has long been obsolete, creating a technical debt ceiling for developers and sometimes a sluggish experience for editors.

Umbraco 17 fully embraces Project Bellissima – a ground-up rewrite of the backoffice using modern web components and written in TypeScript. This means you are working with industry-standard, future-proof technologies that make the CMS easier to extend and maintain.

For your marketing and editorial teams, the difference is felt in speed and usability. The interface is snappier, more accessible, and designed for the demands of modern content operations. It also introduces features like load-balanced backoffice support, allowing large, distributed editorial teams to work simultaneously without performance bottlenecks.

Moving to v17 also means that you will enjoy the latest improvements and features.

3. AI-ready and extensible

AI is no longer a nice-to-have feature; it is becoming the backbone of content productivity. Umbraco 17 has been designed with an ‘AI-intentional’ mindset. Rather than bolting on a generic AI chatbox, Umbraco 17 offers a range of extensions and a foundational framework (Umbraco.AI) that integrates seamlessly with the latest LLMs.

This allows organizations to:

  • Automate repetitive tasks: Generate alt-text for images, SEO meta descriptions, or content summaries directly within the workflow.
  • Maintain control: Unlike other platforms that force specific AI models on you, Umbraco 17 gives you the flexibility to choose your own provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.) and set your own governance rules.
  • Assistive coding: The new Management API and Developer MCP (Model Context Protocol) allow AI tools to better understand your CMS structure, speeding up development and troubleshooting.

4. Performance driven by .NET 10

Under the hood, Umbraco 17 runs on the latest Microsoft .NET 10. This isn't just a version number change; it brings tangible business benefits:

  • Superior speed: .NET 10 offers significantly improved execution speeds and better memory handling, which translates to faster page loads and a more responsive CMS.
  • Best practice security: Running on the latest framework ensures you are protected by the most recent security protocols and encryption standards.
  • Modern C# features: Developers can utilise the latest C# features to write cleaner, more efficient code, reducing the time required for custom development and testing.

5. Why the LTS-to-LTS path matters

Moving from Umbraco 13 to Umbraco 17 is designed to be a direct ‘LTS-to-LTS’ path. Umbraco has worked hard to ensure that the migration process is as smooth as possible, with many of the database updates handled automatically.

Upgrading now isn't just about getting the latest features; it’s about risk mitigation. Staying on a version nearing its end-of-life (like v13) or one that is already past it (like v7, v8, or v10) exposes your organisation to security vulnerabilities and compliance issues.

The bottom line

Umbraco 17 is more than just an upgrade; it is a declaration of where the platform is headed. By combining the stability of a three-year support window with the cutting-edge performance of .NET 10 and a modern, web component-driven backoffice, it provides the perfect platform for enterprise-grade digital experiences.

Planning an upgrade? 

At Luminary, we specialise in helping organisations navigate complex CMS migrations. Whether you are moving from an older version of Umbraco or looking to modernise your current v13 instance, our team can help you audit your current setup and build a roadmap for a seamless transition to Umbraco 17.

Get in touch

Keep Reading

Want more? Here are some other blog posts you might be interested in.