Umbraco migration services
Umbraco Migration Services Without the Drama
Our Umbraco migration services move your website to Umbraco — or to a supported version of it — with your SEO rankings, content and integrations intact. Whether you are escaping WordPress or Sitecore, or facing Umbraco 8’s end of life, every migration starts with a forensic audit and ends with a zero-downtime cutover, typically in 6–14 weeks.
Migrations fail for boring reasons: missed URLs, unmapped content, untested integrations. We have run enough of them — 60+ CMS migrations to Umbraco [Source: Northbend Digital internal project register, 2010–2025] — to have a process that removes the drama. Nothing goes live until a full redirect map, content QA and rollback plan are signed off.
This is the Build phase of our Build. Support. Evolve. framework — and it comes with the Evolve plan baked in, so you never face another end-of-life emergency.
Your route
Which Umbraco migration do you need?
There are three common Umbraco migration scenarios: upgrading away from Umbraco 8, which reached end of life in February 2025; moving from an older supported version to the Umbraco 17 LTS wave; or leaving a different CMS entirely — most often Sitecore or WordPress. Each has its own route, timeline and price shape.
Umbraco 8 End of Life
Umbraco 8 stopped receiving security patches in February 2025. If your site still runs on it, every month adds risk. We move Umbraco 8 sites to a supported LTS with content, media and URL equity preserved.
Upgrade to Umbraco 17
On Umbraco 9–13? Umbraco 13 LTS is supported until December 2026, and Umbraco 17 is the current LTS wave. Our fixed-scope upgrade service gets you there with zero downtime and a tested rollback plan.
Sitecore to Umbraco
Sitecore licences keep climbing while the roadmap gets murkier. We rebuild Sitecore estates on Umbraco with feature parity — typically cutting annual platform cost by 60–80%. [Source: Northbend Digital client cost reviews, 2022–2025]
Moving from WordPress, Drupal or another CMS? The same process applies — a CMS migration to Umbraco follows the same audit → map → migrate → cutover path regardless of source platform.
Process
How does an Umbraco migration actually work?
Every Umbraco migration runs in six phases: audit, mapping, build, content migration, testing and cutover. Most take 6–14 weeks depending on content volume and integrations. You get a written migration plan with a full URL redirect map before any content moves.
| Phase | Typical duration | What happens | 1. Migration audit | 1–2 weeks | Full inventory: content, URLs, media, integrations, SEO equity, risks |
|---|---|---|
| 2. Mapping & plan | 1–2 weeks | Content model mapping, 301 redirect map, integration plan, fixed quote |
| 3. Target build | 3–6 weeks | Umbraco 17 LTS environment built; templates and back office configured |
| 4. Content migration | 1–3 weeks | Automated migration scripts plus manual QA on high-value pages |
| 5. Testing | 1–2 weeks | Redirect tests, form/integration tests, performance and SEO checks |
| 6. Cutover | 1 day | Zero-downtime DNS cutover, live monitoring, rollback plan on standby |
SEO
Will you lose SEO rankings when you migrate to Umbraco?
Not if the migration is handled properly. Rankings are protected by a complete 301 redirect map, preserved metadata and content, and post-launch monitoring. Our migrations are planned with an SEO specialist from day one, and we monitor Search Console for 90 days after cutover to catch anything that slips.
Most clients see a brief fluctuation of two to four weeks, then stability — and frequently improvement, because a fresh Umbraco build usually fixes the performance and structural problems the old platform had baked in.
After the migration
After the migration: support, not silence
A migrated site needs watching. Every migration includes 30 days of hypercare, then moves onto an Umbraco support and maintenance package with proactive patching and monitoring — so the platform you just invested in stays current, secure and supported.
Budgeting the whole picture? Our guide to how much Umbraco costs breaks down migration, hosting and support costs side by side.
FAQ
Umbraco migration questions, answered
How long does a CMS migration to Umbraco take?
A straightforward WordPress to Umbraco migration typically starts around £15,000–£25,000; complex Sitecore exits with integrations run from £60,000. The migration audit produces a fixed quote, so there are no surprises.
How much does an Umbraco migration cost?
Most migrations take 6–14 weeks from audit to cutover. Content volume, custom functionality and the number of integrations are the main variables — all mapped in week one.
Is Umbraco 8 really unsupported now?
Yes. Umbraco 8 reached end of life in February 2025 and no longer receives security patches. Running it is a growing security and compliance risk, and hosting providers are beginning to flag it.
Can you migrate our site without downtime?
Yes. We build and test the new site in parallel, then cut over via DNS with monitoring and a rollback plan. Typical user-visible downtime is zero.
Do you migrate WordPress sites to Umbraco?
Yes — WordPress to Umbraco migration is one of our most common engagements. We use automated migration tooling for posts, pages and media, with manual QA on your highest-value content.
What happens to our integrations during migration?
Every integration is inventoried in the audit, rebuilt against the new platform, and tested before cutover. Nothing goes live with an untested connection.
Talk to us before the deadline talks to you
End-of-life dates and renewal quotes have a way of becoming urgent overnight. A 30-minute call gets you an honest assessment of your route, timeline and budget — senior consultant, no sales script.
Free 30-minute call. Straight answers, no sales script.