Umbraco 14 Release

Overview:

• Key Concepts in Umbraco 14
  • A new Foundation for the CMS
  • Extension-first Approach
  • Future-proof Technology
  • As Headless as You Need
  • New yet Familiar UI
  • Standard-term Support Version
• Umbraco Cloud and Add-ons
• Great Start with new Documentation
  • Backoffice UI & API
  • Upgrade & Breaking Changes
• Start using Umbraco 14 today
• Roll the Credits

Key Concepts in Umbraco 14

Before we dive into the new features and improvements in Umbraco 14 it’s important to note that the backend remains largely unchanged. Umbraco is still running the latest and greatest version of .NET with all the stability and performance that comes with it. The main focus for this release is the backoffice (the user interface and editing experience), and the API layer that makes it all possible. 

In short, if you’re extending and customizing the editing experience in Umbraco, this release comes with significant and exciting changes. For everyone else, it improves the foundation of the CMS and paves the way for even more stable and groundbreaking releases in the future. 

Lotte (DevRel), Bjarke (CMS Group Lead), and Jacob (Frontend Teamlead & Architect) as they take a look at the overall architecture of the new release, the Management API, the new backoffice, extension points, breaking changes, upgrade considerations and more. There's a lot to unwrap 😊

A new Foundation for providing World-class Content Management

Being able to manage content in the browser requires the ability to effectively communicate with the backend (database and services). This is where the first big (r)evolutionary step is taken.  The new Management API enhances the communication between the backoffice and the backend and has made it possible to provide a clean separation of concerns. 

This not only improves the internal architecture of Umbraco it also simplifies integration with external systems and custom applications and sites, all conveniently documented via Swagger. The Management API is based on the same headless (RESTful) principles as the Content and Media Delivery APIs, adding content management to Umbraco CMS’ headless arsenal. This opens up a world of possibilities for headless and microservice architectures, providing a better platform for building flexible and customized solutions. It’s truly exciting to see what will be built with this.

Rebuilding Umbraco’s UI to be Extension-first

One of the great strengths of Umbraco is the unparalleled extendability and level of customization that can be added to the user interface to provide a tailored and fully integrated content management experience. And it’s in this area the second jump forward is being made.

The Extension API marks a commitment to an extension-first approach. It ensures that all UI in Umbraco is built using this API and the Umbraco UI Library. And all of this is fully available for developers to use for custom extensions, packages, and integrations. This uniform approach benefits everyone working with the backoffice UI and helps improve consistency and maintainability. 

The Context API complements the Extension API and is a powerful addition that streamlines the management of contextual information. It provides access to things such as User information, site settings, and content properties, all while improving both performance and developer experience. By providing a centralized, consistent way to access and manage context data, it enables developers to build more efficient and maintainable extensions.

Future-Proof Technology Choices

Umbraco 14 is not just an update introducing new APIs; it’s a complete transformation of the clientside technology stack. It marks a shift to modern development standards like TypeScript and Web Components which both help reduce technical debt and ensure that the CMS remains compatible with future web technologies.

These new technologies also serve to enhance productivity for anyone working with the backoffice, so whether you’re contributing to or customizing the backoffice you can benefit from improved IDE integration, IntelliSense, and much more. The backoffice itself is built using Web components (including the Umbraco UI Library), TypeScript, Lit, and Vite, but you can use any technology and framework that helps you achieve your goal in the best way.

As Headless as You Need

Umbraco already offers significant headless capabilities with the Content and Media Delivery APIs, and the introduction of the Management API completes the picture by adding a true CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) API that is not only used for the backoffice but also available to add content management capabilities in external services and applications.

This means you now make use of this in your headless setup, without having to build your own. Everything that is available in the backoffice is available in an authenticated and conventions-based way, just as it is for content and media delivery.

Entirely New yet Reassuringly Familiar

As it is a complete rebuild of the backoffice, it also means the UI has been built from the ground up. Don’t fret, working in the backoffice will be a very familiar experience. The trusted and tried design and workflows have been reimplemented, updated, and tweaked where applicable.

This helps to provide a fresh and modern feel while maintaining the great editing experience content editors and marketing teams expect from Umbraco.

Standard-term Support Version (STS)

Umbraco 14 is an STS version which means it has a shorter support life-cycle than the recently released Umbraco 13 LTS. This can help inform which version to choose for a new project. As a general rule of thumb, STS is a good choice for projects that are in ongoing development, and if they contain features required for a specific project. 

We encourage going with the latest version where possible but this of course has to be in service of project requirements. In some instances, the Long-term Supported version is the sensible choice. Note that there are a few features that we have decided not to include in the first version of Umbraco 14. These include Tours and Copy/Paste for Block-based editors and more detailed in the release notes. We are looking to improve and re-introduce them in upcoming versions. 

For more details on STS vs LTS refer to the Support Lifecycle page, and for details on features available and considerations for new and existing projects see the version-specific upgrades linked below for details.

Umbraco Cloud and Add-ons

We’re also happy to announce that Umbraco 14, as of today, is available on Umbraco Cloud. That means you get the latest version of the CMS pre-installed and ready to go at the click of a button. This includes brand new version 14 releases of Umbraco Forms and Umbraco Deploy, also available as of today. 

Umbraco Commerce and Umbraco Workflow are released as alpha releases for Umbraco 14. Final releases for both are expected in the coming weeks and Umbraco UI Builder will follow later this year. 

All the add-ons have had the entire UI rebuilt to benefit from the new APIs and features in Umbraco 14. This has been a crucial piece of battle testing Umbraco 14’s extension-first approach. Together with the recently launched face-lift for the Umbraco Cloud portal, all Umbraco products have an updated look and feel, and are ready for the future.

You can try out the latest versions and find out where to give feedback on the Umbraco Marketplace:

• Umbraco Forms (14)
• Umbraco Deploy (14)
• Umbraco Commerce (14 alpha)
• Umbraco Workflow (14 beta coming May 31)

Get off to a great start with Umbraco 14 Documentation

The documentation for Umbraco 14 has also seen a big overhaul to reflect the new implementation of the backoffice and the new APIs. You’ll find many new articles and tutorials that will help you get off to a great start extending and customizing in Umbraco 14 and beyond. 

Installing Umbraco, whether you’re on Umbraco Cloud or working with on-premise is unchanged, as is most of the experience of working with the backend, building websites with Razor and MVC, and working with the Content and Media Delivery APIs. 

Backoffice UI and API Documentation

Explore the new backoffice features and APIs introduced in Umbraco 14, which offer greater flexibility and customization options. Here are just a few of the new articles to dive into:

• Backoffice Customization: Understand the structure and functionality of the Umbraco backoffice, including common terms and concepts.
• Creating Your First Extension: Learn how to develop custom extensions for the Umbraco backoffice, including setting up dashboards and property editors.
• Management API: Detailed documentation on the new Management API, which replaces older backoffice controllers, providing a more streamlined and efficient approach to API development.

Upgrading to Umbraco 14

Guidance on how to transition your existing Umbraco projects to version 14 should also be familiar. You can find best practices and troubleshooting tips that can help you evaluate whether to go for Long-Term Support (currently Umbraco 13 LTS)  or upgrade to the latest Standard-term Support version (Umbraco 14 STS). 

• Upgrading Your Project: Follow this guide for step-by-step instructions on upgrading your Umbraco project.
• Version Specific Upgrades: Learn about specific changes and considerations when upgrading to Umbraco 14 from previous versions including handling breaking changes and deprecated features.

And much more

By exploring these resources, you'll be well-equipped to harness the full potential of Umbraco 14. More than 20 articles and sections have been updated or created specifically for Umbraco 14. For more, visit the Umbraco Documentation.

Start using Umbraco 14 Today!

Get started with Umbraco 14 today, available on Umbraco Cloud and NuGet. A strengthened CMS offering running the latest version of Microsoft .NET under the hood AND with a shiny new coating of modern, convention-based web technology to create a fantastic user interface and provide unparalleled flexibility to deliver content where and how you need it. 

Find out how you can make your digital experience landscape future-proof, flexible, scalable, and cost-effective by talking directly to us - we’re here to help:

Explore Umbraco with a Discovery Call

Roll the Credits

This project has been a massive undertaking, years in the making, and there are so many people that deserve thanks and a big High Five You Rock 🙌 

⭐ The Backoffice Community Team has played a huge role in shaping up the release.
⭐ Package Developers have been working hard to update their packages, and have been generous with feedback.
⭐ Our lovely MVPs have been enthusiastically involved
⭐ As have a number of our Partners
⭐ And all the rest in the Umbraco Community

It’s been truly amazing to see all the videos, blog posts, and forum entries - You can see some of the community activity and Umbraco 14 resources gathered here in this open-source list.

255 contributions by 58 people - be it pull requests, issues, or participation in RFCs - have participated from the community throughout the years. A huge thank you and congrats on the release to all of you as well: