Upgrading from Umbraco 13 to 17, without the guesswork
Umbraco 13 is approaching the end of its long-term support window in December 2026, with Umbraco 17 now the new long-term support release.
But upgrading isn't simply a case of switching to a newer version. It can involve significant changes to how your website works behind the scenes, particularly if you rely on custom features or third-party tools.
The editing screens your team uses every day (the "backoffice") have been rebuilt from the ground up. The way some page-builder content is stored has changed. Some add-on packages have new versions, while others may need replacing. Custom tools built specifically for your team may also need rebuilding to work with the new platform.
At Enjoy, we're using AI to make this process more efficient, consistent and predictable, without removing the expertise and oversight of our developers.
We've developed a set of AI skills that help us identify potential issues, carry out routine updates and rebuild custom features. Our developers remain responsible for the technical decisions, quality checks and final sign-off.
For our clients, that means fewer surprises, clearer timelines and greater confidence that their website will continue working as it should.
Before any work begins, you'll understand what needs updating, where the potential risks are and what the upgrade is likely to involve. Once the work is complete, we'll test your website against its original version to help ensure nothing important has been lost or broken.
What is an AI skill?
An AI skill is a set of instructions that helps an AI assistant complete a particular task consistently.
Think of it as a detailed checklist built from our developers' experience, covering what to look for, common problems and how to check the results.
We've developed our own skills specifically for Umbraco upgrades, combining what we've learned from previous projects with Umbraco's official guidance.
This means we're not starting from scratch with every upgrade. We're applying a consistent approach while adapting the work to each website's individual needs.
Our upgrade process uses four AI skills developed by Enjoy, alongside official Backoffice skills published by Umbraco.
Skill |
What it does |
| Umbraco Major Upgrade | Coordinates the upgrade and checks each stage is approved before moving forward |
| Upgrade Readiness Audit | Checks the existing website and produces a report highlighting potential issues |
| Backoffice Extension Migration | Rebuilds custom editing tools to work with Umbraco 17 |
| Upgrade Verification | Tests the upgraded website against the original to check everything works as expected |
Once you are on Umbraco 17, a fifth skill, Umbraco Minor Upgrade, keeps your site current with each smaller Umbraco release.
Our approach in five stages
Every Umbraco upgrade follows a structured five-stage process, from understanding your existing website to testing the upgraded platform before launch.
Each stage has its own checks and approvals, helping us identify and resolve issues before moving forward.
Our AI skills support different parts of this process, handling repetitive technical work while our developers oversee the decisions and approve each stage.
Below, we'll take a closer look at three particularly important parts of the process: understanding what's involved, rebuilding custom functionality and proving everything works as expected.
the AI readiness check
Before making any changes, our Upgrade Readiness Audit skill checks your existing website for anything that could cause problems when moving from Umbraco 13 to 17.
It then produces a Readiness Report explaining what we've found, why it matters and what needs to happen next.
The initial audit is strictly read-only. It checks your website's code and configuration without changing anything.
We also don't rely on memory or assumptions about what's installed. The AI reads version information directly from your project files, so our recommendations are based on your actual website setup.
What the AI looks for
What we check |
In plain English |
Why it matters |
| Custom backoffice tools | Dashboards, custom fields and editing panels we built for your team | Some custom tools need rebuilding to work with the new editing platform |
| Add-on packages | Every third-party plugin your site depends on, such as forms, SEO and sync tools | Some may need upgrading, replacing or removing |
| Page-builder layouts | Older "Grid" and "Nested Content" layouts editors use to build pages | Older layouts may need migrating to newer formats |
| Image and media pickers | How pages link to images and files | Some older connections may stop working correctly after an upgrade |
| Rich text editor | The Word-style text box editors write in | Custom features or toolbar buttons may need updating |
| Forms | Umbraco Forms and any custom form designs | Some forms may need changes to their appearance or functionality |
| Custom code and settings | Site code, configuration files and the .NET version | Older code may no longer be compatible with Umbraco 17 |
| File and media storage | Where images and documents are stored, such as cloud storage | Storage tools must remain compatible with the upgraded platform |
Some upgrade issues aren't immediately obvious. For example, a website might still load correctly while certain images disappear, editing fields stop displaying content or forms lose important functionality.
These are exactly the kinds of issues our checks are designed to identify early, before they become problems for your team or website visitors.
What you receive
Following the audit, you'll receive a Readiness Report explaining:
- What needs updating and why.
- Any potential risks or compatibility issues.
- What we recommend doing about them.
- How complex your upgrade is likely to be.
- An indicative timeline for completing the work.
We then place your website into one of three readiness tiers, helping you understand the scale of the project before committing to the upgrade.
Green: Straightforward. A largely standard website with few add-ons and minimal custom functionality.
Amber: Some additional work. A website with third-party packages, forms or older content layouts that need updating.
Red: More complex. A website with bespoke editing tools, a separate front end or a large and complex content library.
If we identify anything that could significantly affect the scope, cost or timeline, we'll discuss your options before work begins. That might mean replacing an outdated feature, prioritising essential functionality or planning a more gradual upgrade.
The aim is to give you the information you need to make confident decisions, without unexpected complications further down the line.
Rebuilding your custom features for Umbraco 17
One of the biggest challenges of moving to Umbraco 17 is making sure any custom tools your team relies on continue to work as expected.
Our Backoffice Extension Migration skill helps us rebuild these tools for the new platform, using Umbraco's official guidance and development standards.
Why custom tools need rebuilding
Umbraco introduced significant changes to its editing interface from version 14 onwards. As a result, some custom tools built for Umbraco 13 won't work on the newer platform without being rebuilt.
These might include dashboards, custom content fields or editing features developed specifically for your team.
The challenge is that problems aren't always immediately visible. Your website might appear to work normally, but when an editor logs in, they could discover that a dashboard is blank or an important feature no longer works.
By identifying these tools early and rebuilding them as part of the upgrade, we can help avoid disruption to your team's day-to-day work.
How we rebuild your custom tools
Our AI-assisted approach helps us rebuild custom features using Umbraco's official development guidance, while our developers oversee the work.
The process has four main stages:
- Understand the existing functionality. We identify what each tool does, how your team uses it and what needs to be preserved.
- Rebuild it for Umbraco 17. AI helps our developers recreate the functionality using the new platform's technology and recommended standards.
- Test it in practice. We check that the rebuilt tool works as expected, including the tasks your editors need to complete.
- Review and approve. Our developers check the code and functionality before removing outdated components.
Where a website has several custom tools, we can work on them separately to make the process more efficient.
The priority isn't simply getting the new technology working. It's making sure your team can continue doing their jobs without losing the functionality they rely on.
What stays in human hands
The AI applies routine code and settings fixes automatically, but our developers remain in control of any decisions that could affect your website's content, functionality or security.
This includes:
- Content changes. Any changes to how your content is structured are carefully planned and reviewed rather than made automatically.
- Complex decisions. Where there isn't a clear solution, our developers assess the options and decide the best approach.
- Backups and data protection. We confirm that the necessary backups are in place before making changes.
- Final approval. Every change is reviewed before being introduced to your live website.
Proving it works: testing before and after the upgrade
A successful upgrade isn't just about getting your website running on Umbraco 17.
Your pages still need to display correctly, your forms need to work and your editors need to be able to manage content without problems.
That's why our Upgrade Verification skill tests your website before and after the upgrade, comparing the results to identify anything that's changed unexpectedly.
This helps us catch problems that might otherwise go unnoticed until your team or customers encounter them.
Before and after, side by side
Before making changes, we capture a record of your website's content, key pages and functionality. Once the upgrade is complete, we run the same checks and compare the results.
We'll agree which pages and features matter most to your team, including your homepage, important landing pages and the different types of content your editors work with.
Six layers of testing
The tests run in layers, from quick checks to thorough ones. Each layer focuses on a different potential risk, giving us a more complete picture of whether the upgrade is ready to go live.
Test |
What we check |
What it helps identify |
| 1. Content checks | Pages, images, documents and other content before and after | Missing or duplicated content |
| 2. Data checks | The information powering key pages and features | Missing fields or content that no longer displays |
| 3. Editor tests | Whether editors can open, edit and publish content | Broken editing tools or missing fields |
| 4. Website tests | Whether key pages load and display correctly | Missing images, content or functionality |
| 5. Visual comparison (optional) | Screenshots of important pages | Unexpected changes to layouts or styling |
| 6. Human quality checks | Tasks completed by your team and ours | Issues that automated testing may not identify |
Alongside these website-wide checks, each rebuilt custom tool has its own tests to make sure it works in practice, not just that the underlying code passes technical checks.
What you receive
You'll receive a Verification Report showing which checks have passed, whether any issues remain and what needs resolving before launch.
The report includes comparisons of key content and functionality, with any unexpected changes highlighted for investigation.
We'll also work with your team to complete the agreed checks, making sure the upgraded website is ready for the people who use it every day.
The result is a more thoroughly tested upgrade, with clear evidence of what's been checked before your website goes live.
How long will it take? Timelines by readiness tier
Every Umbraco website is different, so there's no single timeline that applies to every upgrade.
The biggest factors are the complexity of your website, the number of third-party packages you use and whether you have custom tools that need rebuilding.
Our readiness check helps us understand these requirements and provide a more accurate estimate before work begins.
In the red tier, custom tools are rebuilt in parallel, so each extra tool adds days, not weeksÂ
Tier |
Typical site |
What the readiness check finds |
Indicative timeline |
| Green: Straightforward | A relatively standard marketing website with few add-ons or custom features |
Few add-on packages, all with version 17 releases. No custom backoffice tools. Rich text and media already in modern formats |
1-2 weeks |
| Amber: Some additional work | An established website with third-party packages or older content layouts to update | Several add-on packages, some needing upgrades or replacements. Umbraco Forms with custom designs. Older Grid or Nested Content page layouts to migrate | 2-4 weeks |
| Red: More complex | A website with bespoke tools, integrations or a more complex technical setup | Custom dashboards, fields or sections in the backoffice. A "headless" front end, such as a separate Next.js site. A large content library | 4-8 weeks |
What can make an upgrade more complex?
- Third-party packages that aren't compatible with Umbraco 17 and need replacing
- Large content libraries or older page layouts that require additional migration work
- Custom editing tools or features that need rebuilding
- Forms and integrations that require additional updates or testing.
- A separate front end, such as a website built using Next.js, that may require additional compatibility checks.
Where possible, we can rebuild separate custom tools simultaneously, helping to manage the timeline without compromising testing or quality.
We'll also build in time for your team to review and test the upgraded website before it goes live, so the process works around your business priorities.
AI does the heavy lifting, our developers make the decisions
AI helps us work through time-consuming technical tasks, but it doesn't replace the experience and judgement of our developers.
We use it to identify known issues, check compatibility, support routine code changes and help rebuild custom functionality.
Our developers remain responsible for the decisions that require experience, context and an understanding of your business.
That includes:
- Technical judgement. Deciding whether a feature should be updated, replaced or removed.
- Your priorities. Making sure the upgrade fits your deadlines, budget and business needs.
- Managing risk. Choosing the safest and most appropriate upgrade approach for your website.
- Quality assurance. Reviewing and approving changes before they reach your live website.
By combining AI-assisted processes with experienced developer oversight, we can spend less time on repetitive tasks and more time solving the challenges that matter to your business.
Safety built in
Using AI doesn't mean giving it unrestricted control over your website.
Every upgrade follows safeguards designed to protect your content, functionality and day-to-day operations.
- Backups before changes. We confirm that the necessary backups are in place before upgrading.
- A separate testing environment. We build and test the upgrade away from your live website.
- Developer oversight. Our developers review and approve changes throughout the process.
- Before-and-after testing. We check that your content, pages and key features continue working as expected.
- Final sign-off. Your team and ours complete the agreed checks before the upgraded website goes live.
This gives us the benefits of AI-assisted development without compromising the care and oversight your website needs.
FAQs
Do we have to upgrade through versions 14, 15 and 16 first?
No. It's possible to upgrade directly from Umbraco 13 to 17, although the work involved will depend on your website's setup. For more complex websites, we may recommend a staged approach to reduce risk.
Will our editors need retraining?
Umbraco 17 has a more modern editing interface, so your team may notice some differences. However, the core process of creating and publishing content remains familiar. We can also provide a walkthrough to help your editors get comfortable with the changes.
Will our website be offline?
We build and test the upgrade separately from your live website, helping to minimise disruption. We'll agree on a suitable time for the final switch-over and explain any expected downtime in advance.
Is the AI making changes unsupervised?
No. AI helps with the repetitive technical work, but our developers oversee the process, review changes and approve the final release.
What if a package we use has no version 17 release?
We'll identify this during the readiness check and recommend the best option, whether that's replacing the package, rebuilding the functionality or removing something you no longer need.
Planning your move to Umbraco 17?
With Umbraco 13 approaching the end of its support window, it's important to understand what upgrading will involve for your website.
Whether you're running a relatively straightforward marketing site or a complex platform with bespoke functionality, our AI-assisted approach helps make the process clearer, more predictable and easier to plan.
Start with an Umbraco readiness check.
We'll help you understand what needs updating, identify potential risks and recommend the best approach for your website.
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