Umbraco 13 – What’s the difference?

In the ever-evolving digital landscape, staying updated with the latest Content Management System (CMS) versions is crucial for any business striving to maintain a competitive edge. Umbraco 13, the latest iteration of this popular CMS, brings a host of enhancements and new features designed to boost performance, security, and user experience. This article dives into the standout features of Umbraco 13 and explores why upgrading to this version could be a game-changer for your business.

Umbraco 13 is here, and whilst it boasts the same user friendly, intuitive design it always has, some delightful new features have been added to entice developers and non-technical users alike.

Let’s dive into those features shall we. (Fear not non-technical readers, I will explain why these  features are beneficial for all of us in the next section )

Runs on .NET 8 and C#12

Umbraco 13 is the first version of Umbraco to run on .NET 8, providing access to the latest performance improvements, security features, and language enhancements, allowing for faster, more scalable, and more robust Umbraco applications with better development capabilities. The new C# features in .NET 8 help teams keep their Umbraco projects up to date with modern technologies and best practices, leading to a better user experience and improved developer productivity.

Introduction of Blocks in the Rich Text Editor

Now, rather than using macros in our Rich Text Editors we can incorporate blocks (from Block Grid and Block List), which according to Umbraco themselves will, “allow for a more structured and dynamic content creation experience.” With block functionality coming more and more to the forefront over recent Umbraco releases, this seems like a fitting update.

Built-in headless capabilities (Content Delivery API, Media Delivery API, Webhooks)

Umbraco 13 introduces powerful built-in headless capabilities, enhancing its flexibility for developers. With the new Content Delivery API, Media Delivery API, and Webhooks, developers can seamlessly access and deliver content and media across various platforms and devices. These APIs enable efficient and dynamic content distribution, whilst Webhooks allow for real-time notifications and updates.

Even if you're not a developer, running Umbraco on .NET 8 means you benefit from the latest performance and security improvements. This translates to a faster, more reliable website, and a more secure browsing experience for your visitors. For you, for me, for us, it means fewer technical issues and downtime.

Blocks provide a more intuitive and user-friendly way to create and manage content. Instead of dealing with complex macros, you can use blocks to build structured and dynamic content easily. This makes content creation simpler, more visual, and much less technical, giving you more control over how your content looks and feels.

Even if you don't need to know the technical details, headless capabilities allow your content to be delivered efficiently across various platforms and devices. It means your content can reach your audience wherever they are, in real time. It also ensures that your site can easily integrate with other services and platforms, providing a seamless user experience.

In a nutshell, these updates make Umbraco more powerful, user-friendly, and versatile, ensuring you can manage your website content with ease and confidence, which as a non-technical user is all you want? Right?

Firstly, if you are still using an unsupported version of Umbraco that has reached end-of-life, upgrading/migrating is vital for receiving security patches and updates. Without these updates you are opening yourself up to potential cyber-attacks, malicious software, and information leaks that could damage your reputation, and possibly even land you in some legal bother.

Moreover, Umbraco 13 offers significant improvements in performance, security, user experience, and scalability compared to older versions, including a more modern interface, enhanced content management features, better integration with third-party services, and support for the latest .NET framework, making it a more robust and future-proof platform for your website.