Kentico to Umbraco Migration: A Complete Guide for Seamless Transition

As digital experiences evolve, lots of businesses re-evaluate their technology stack to ensure it aligns with current and future goals. Which ultimately helps them to boost the businesses growth in numerous ways. So, out of so many, one such strategic move many organizations are making is migrating their old CMS to the latest CMS. But wondering which is the suitable one for the users.

In this competitive era there are so many content management systems are available in the market with inbuilt functionalities and useful features. One of the best- and well-known CMSs is Umbraco, and if you are using Kentico CMS, we are here to introduce you the migration steps from Kentico to Umbraco CMS. Migration from Kentico to Umbraco—a modern, open-source CMS that offers greater flexibility, ease of use, and scalability.

In this blog, we’ll walk you through the key reasons to migrate, benefits of Umbraco, and a step-by-step guide to a successful Kentico to Umbraco migration. Let’s discuss why you should consider migration from Kentico to Umbraco for better user experience.

Why Consider Migrating from Kentico to Umbraco?

While Kentico is a robust platform, certain business needs can prompt a move to Umbraco. Here are a few reasons why organizations are making the switch from Kentico to Umbraco.

Open-Source Flexibility

Umbraco is an open-source CMS, which means there are no licensing fees, and you have complete control over your website's code and customization. It empowers users with extensive customization capabilities, making it easy to build exactly what you need. Umbraco is a user-friendly and flexible platform, ideal for businesses of all sizes.

Developer-Friendly Environment

Umbraco architecture is clean, .NET-based, and developer-friendly, making building, extending, and maintaining websites easier. For efficient website development , its essential to have a CMS that is intuitive and easy to understand.

Intuitive Content Management

Umbraco provides a simple, user-friendly back-office experience that content editors enjoy working with. Its intuitive interface makes it easy to navigate, regardless of the user's technical expertise. This empowers editors to manage and update content effortlessly, without requiring extensive training or technical expertise.

Performance and Scalability

Built for performance, Umbraco can easily scale with your business without adding technical debt. It is obvious that a system has good in performance is fast and responsive, whereas scalability helps to a website’s ability to handle the traffic and growing demand.

Lower TCO (Total Cost of Ownership)

Umbraco offers lower TCO helps in a decrease in the overall expenses related to the CMS platform's ownership, upkeep, and operation over time. Umbraco seeks to reduce the total costs associated with its use by offering features like hosting options, effective infrastructure management, and simplified upgrades.

Faster time-to-market for digital updates

Umbraco is the capacity of a business to rapidly and simply alter the functionality and content of their website and make those changes live to users more quickly. This implies that, in comparison to other systems or platforms, a company's time to launch a new feature, update, or marketing campaign on their website is greatly shortened.

Improved editorial experience

By making it simpler and more effective for content editors to produce, oversee, and update material on the platform, Umbraco enhanced the editing experience. This entails simplifying processes, delivering user-friendly interfaces, and providing editors with tools that enable them to concentrate on content rather than intricate technical details.

Easy integration with third-party tools

Umbraco doesn't require a lot of coding or programming work because it is made to integrate and function with other programs and services. By integrating with third-party systems like CRM, e-commerce platforms, and marketing automation tools, users may expand Umbraco's capability and build a more cohesive and effective digital environment.

Active and supportive developer community

A collection of Umbraco users, developers, and enthusiasts who are actively involved in the Umbraco ecosystem are an active and supportive developer community in Umbraco CMS. This participation entails making contributions to the platform, offering assistance, exchanging information, and cultivating a cooperative atmosphere for Umbraco's general development and expansion.

This above section gave you the key considerations about Umbraco CMS. The following section will help you to understand the steps of Kentico to Umbraco migration.

Step-by-Step Kentico to Umbraco Migration Process

Migrating your website from Kentico to Umbraco involves a systematic process to ensure a smooth transition with minimal disruption.

Assessment and Planning

• Audit the existing Kentico website.
• Identify critical features, content types, and dependencies.
• Define goals for the new Umbraco setup.

Content Mapping and Migration Strategy

• Plan how Kentico content types will map to Umbraco document types.
• Determine whether content will be migrated manually or via automated scripts.

Umbraco Setup and Configuration

• Install the latest version of Umbraco.
• Set up document types, templates, and data structures to match existing Kentico models.

Custom Functionality Development

• Rebuild custom features from Kentico in Umbraco using Razor views, custom controllers, and packages as needed.

Content Migration

• Migrate content using manual entry, custom scripts, or third-party tools.
• Maintain URL structure where possible to avoid SEO loss.

Testing and QA

• Validate migrated content, links, forms, and functionality.
• Perform cross-browser and mobile testing.
• Ensure performance benchmarks are met.

Go-Live and Post-Launch Support

• Deploy the new Umbraco site.
• Monitor for issues post-launch.
• Provide training and documentation for editors.

Common Challenges and How to Overcome Them

• Data Structure Differences: Use clear mapping strategies and test early.
• SEO Preservation: Use redirects and canonical tags to maintain rankings.
• Training Needs: Schedule team training to help editors adapt to Umbraco.

Why Choose Addact for Your Kentico to Umbraco Migration?

Migrating from Kentico to Umbraco isn’t just about switching CMS platforms—it’s about unlocking new possibilities for content, development, and scalability. With the right strategy and expert support, your migration can be the start of a more agile and future-ready digital presence.

At Addact, we specialize in both Kentico and Umbraco platforms. Our migration experts ensure a seamless transition without data loss or downtime. We offer:

• End-to-end migration services.
• Custom feature development in Umbraco.
• Performance optimization and SEO preservation.
• Post-migration support and training.

Ready to migrate from Kentico to Umbraco? Connect with Addact today and let’s make your transition smooth, secure, and successful.

Maulik Dudharejia - Co-Founder & CMO - ADDACT

Sitecore MVP 3X || Digital Transformation Strategist || Marketer

Maulik Dudharejia is a visionary author, co-founder, Chief Marketing Officer, and a digital transformation expert with over 12+ years' of experience. He leverages industry certifications to translate complex tech concepts into engaging writing. His areas of expertise include Sitecore, IoT, and IT Service Management. Maulik offers valuable insights and strategies to help readers navigate the evolving tech landscape.