Migrate from Kentico Xperience to Umbraco: what the move involves
Moving from Kentico to Umbraco is a rebuild of templates, content types and integrations on Umbraco, not a database copy. Kentico's page types, widgets, forms, marketing objects and content tree do not map one to one onto Umbraco document types, block elements and property editors, so the database schema and the stored content cannot simply be carried across. Most of the effort sits in the front end, the content model and the integrations that feed or read from the site, and the reader should treat the project as a re-implementation with a content migration step rather than an upgrade. Kentico 12 and 13 sites are the typical starting points, and the Xperience 13 end-of-support date and the upgrade-or-replace decision are covered on the sibling page on that topic. The work is usually done by the organization's internal .NET developers working alongside an implementation partner. Internal staff know the business rules, the editorial workflows and the systems the site talks to, while a partner typically handles the architecture, the template rebuild, the content and URL migration scripts and the hardening. Before any quote, ask for a written inventory of page types, widgets, form definitions, personalization rules, custom code and third-party integrations, because that inventory drives most of the estimate. The short answer on risk is that URL redirects, search engine visibility, form submissions and tracking are where launches usually fail, so plan parallel running and a rollback path before cutover.
On licensing, Umbraco CMS is free and open source under the MIT license, and its source is published in the Umbraco-CMS GitHub repository. Umbraco Forms and Umbraco Engage are separate commercial add-ons. Forms runs unrestricted locally but needs a valid license on a public domain, and licenses are sold per domain. Engage needs a license for personalization, analytics, A/B testing and campaigns on a public domain. Decide early which Kentico features your site depends on, then map each one to either an Umbraco feature, a custom build or a licensed add-on, and confirm the license terms against the current Umbraco documentation for your domain count and environments. Also confirm which Umbraco version you will land on. Current Umbraco CMS releases require .NET 10.0 or higher and support SQLite or SQL Server, so check that your hosting and database choices meet those requirements before you commit to a version.
Which Kentico capabilities map to Umbraco, and which need rework
This table compares common Kentico Xperience capabilities with their Umbraco counterparts and marks each as clean, needs rework or gap. Read it as a starting point for your inventory, since feature-level parity depends on your version and on the add-ons you run. The main takeaway is that content modeling and media map cleanly, while marketing features and forms depend on Umbraco Engage and Umbraco Forms licenses for public domains.
| Kentico capability | Umbraco equivalent and approach | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Page types | Umbraco document types, composed through compositions and element types where needed | Needs rework |
| Page builder widgets | Umbraco block list and block grid patterns, rebuilt as Razor views or components per widget | Needs rework |
| Content and media libraries | Umbraco media library and content tree, with media files migrated and referenced by ID | Clean |
| Forms | Umbraco Forms, rebuilt form by form; a valid license is required on any public domain | Needs rework |
| Contact groups and personalization | Umbraco Engage segments and personalization, which must be configured and tested again | Needs rework |
| A/B testing and campaigns | Umbraco Engage experiments and targeted campaigns; a valid license is required on any public domain. Confirm feature scope in current Engage documentation | Gap |
| Headless delivery | Umbraco Content Delivery API, which is opt-in, must be enabled in configuration and needs member authentication for protected content | Needs rework |
| Page URLs and redirects | Umbraco URL handling and redirect rules; map and test every legacy URL before cutover | Needs rework |
What data and integrations can be moved, and how
A Kentico to Umbraco move splits into separate workstreams, each with its own source, tooling and risk. Content and media follow the page model, while users, form data, redirects and integrations each need their own export and rebuild path. Confirm every export step against your own Kentico version before planning the cutover.
Content and page structure
Pages, content items and their localized variants are the core of the move. Map each Kentico page type to an Umbraco document type, then decide whether content is recreated through import code or entered again by editors for a small set of pages. Ask the team to confirm which content versions (draft, published, archived) must carry over, since Kentico and Umbraco handle workflow states differently. Confirm the export path for your Kentico version before estimating effort.
Media library and files
Images, documents and video stored in the Kentico media library need to be exported with their folder structure, alt text and file names intact. Umbraco stores media as media items with its own folders and properties, so the import must set those properties explicitly. Check file sizes, duplicate names and any files referenced only from rich text, because those are easy to miss in a content-only export.
Users, roles and permissions
Back-office users, editor roles and front-end members are different populations and should be migrated separately. Umbraco user groups and permissions are configured again rather than copied, so the team must map each Kentico role to a group and test what each editor can publish. Password hashes usually cannot be moved between platforms, so plan for password resets or a staged login cutover.
Form submissions and marketing data
Form submissions are records of personal data and must be exported, retained or deleted under your own policy. Umbraco Forms is a separate licensed product for public domains, so confirm the license and the form definitions before rebuilding them. Contact, tracking and personalization data held in Kentico marketing features will not move through a content export, and Umbraco Engage needs its own data plan.
Redirects and URL preservation
Search rankings and inbound links depend on URLs staying stable. Build a redirect table from the old Kentico URLs to the new Umbraco routes before launch, and test every high-traffic path after cutover. Umbraco route and URL patterns may differ from Kentico's, so the mapping is the main check on whether the migration preserves traffic.
Integrations and headless delivery
Connections to CRM, search, commerce and third-party APIs are rebuilt as Umbraco services or webhooks, not exported. If front ends or apps read content over the API, the Umbraco Content Delivery API is opt-in and must be enabled in configuration. It serves unpublished content for preview only with an API key, and it serves protected content only when member authentication is enabled. Test each consumer against these rules before cutover.
Migration sequence: inventory, pilot, parallel run, cutover and decommission
This sequence moves a Kentico site to Umbraco in controlled stages, so each content, template and URL decision is tested before production traffic moves. Each step ends with a named artifact that the next step depends on.
Inventory sites, page types and marketing rules
Export the Kentico page tree, page types, widgets, form definitions, integrations, personalization and marketing rules, and record each one in a content model document. Map every Kentico page type to a planned Umbraco document type or composition, and flag anything with no equivalent, such as contact-level scoring or campaign logic that will need a replacement. The step is done when the business owners have signed off the content model document and the list of features that will be rebuilt, retired or replaced.
Build a pilot section on Umbraco
Choose one representative section of the site, such as a product area with a few page types, one form and a typical media mix, and rebuild it on a development instance of Umbraco. Write the document types, templates and content import scripts, then test editor workflows with the content team. The output is a working pilot with a documented import process and a signed-off test script that covers editing, publishing, previews and media handling.
Run both sites in parallel
Keep the Kentico site serving production while the full Umbraco build is loaded from the same content, using a staging or preview setup where editors can compare pages side by side. Run the import again on each content refresh so differences are caught early, and log every mismatch in templates, form behavior and tracking. The step closes when the QA team has cleared the defect list against the test script and the editors confirm the Umbraco preview matches the approved design.
Map URLs and verify redirects before cutover
Build a URL map that pairs every indexed Kentico address with its Umbraco equivalent, including language variants, media paths and any legacy URLs still linked from outside. Test each redirect on a staging copy, check status codes and canonical tags, and confirm that search engine tooling and analytics properties still receive the traffic. Cutover is approved only when the URL map and redirect test results are signed off by the SEO and operations owners.
Cut over DNS and monitor the new site
Schedule the DNS or load balancer change with a rollback plan that returns traffic to Kentico if critical errors appear. Run the agreed smoke tests on production, watch error logs, form submissions and redirect hits, and confirm that content editors can publish on the live Umbraco instance. The step is complete when the smoke test script passes on production and the monitoring period agreed in the cutover plan ends without a rollback decision.
Decommission Kentico after the retention period
Keep the Kentico database, file store and license in read-only form for the retention period your legal and records teams set, so content can be recovered if a gap appears. Archive the final export, the URL map, the content model document and the test results together, then shut down the Kentico environment and revoke its service accounts. Decommissioning is complete when the archive has been verified and the access removal has been recorded in the change log.
How the migration differs by starting point and size
An on-premise Kentico 12 or 13 site usually means your team already controls the database, the IIS or hosting layer and the file system, so the migration starts with an inventory of what you own. The work tends to begin with the database schema and the page tree, then moves to templates and content. Because you run the infrastructure, you also decide where the Umbraco target lives and which database engine it uses, which affects how the cutover is rehearsed.
- Database and file inventory: Map the content database, media library files, custom modules and any scheduled tasks before choosing a target design.
- Target hosting decision: Choose between your own servers, a private cloud, or Umbraco Cloud, and confirm the database engine (SQLite or SQL Server) against the current requirements.
- Custom code review: Custom Kentico modules, widgets and integrations have no direct equivalent and must be rebuilt as Umbraco code.
- Parallel running: Keep the old site reachable while the new one is verified, so redirects and content checks can be rehearsed.
- Version gap: Plan the path from your current release through the Umbraco long-term support line you select.
Before you commit a timeline, confirm with your implementation partner which Kentico version and custom modules are in scope and who owns each database and server change.
A site on Xperience by Kentico SaaS or private cloud shifts more of the infrastructure work to the vendor, so the migration depends on what you can export and how the vendor's environment is configured. Your team usually does not have direct database access, which means content extraction typically runs through the platform's own tooling, APIs or a database export that the vendor provides under your agreement. Confirm these access terms before design work starts, because they set the first step.
- Export path confirmation: Ask the vendor which export methods, formats and environments your contract allows, and whether media files and history come with them.
- Subscription overlap: Plan for the period when the old subscription and the new Umbraco hosting run side by side, and agree the end date in writing.
- Environment rebuild: Recreate development, staging and live environments on the target, since you cannot copy the vendor's configuration directly.
- Identity and integrations: Re-establish sign-in, CRM and analytics connections in your own environment, with credentials you control.
- Data residency checks: Confirm where exported copies sit during transfer and storage, since regulated organizations often need this documented.
Before you start, ask the vendor for a written statement of what data you can take out, in which format and within what notice period.
A site that runs personalization, campaign journeys, scoring and A/B testing carries the largest share of rebuild work. Umbraco Engage covers personalized experiences, analytics, A/B testing and targeted campaigns, but the mapping from your existing rules and segments is not automatic, and the data behind them needs its own plan. This is where a project often takes the longest, because marketing logic and content logic are tangled together.
- Rule inventory: List every personalization rule, segment, trigger and campaign, then decide which ones to rebuild, simplify or retire.
- Data history: Decide what contact and behavioral history must move, and what can stay in an archive for reference.
- Licensing scope: Engage requires a valid license on a public domain, so count production and non-production domains early.
- Analytics continuity: Plan how reporting baselines will be preserved so marketing teams can compare performance before and after cutover.
- Staged launch: Move campaigns in waves rather than all at once, so each one can be verified.
Ask your marketing lead to sign off on a rule-by-rule list before any build starts, since that list defines the scope.
A brochure site with a handful of pages and a few forms is usually the simplest starting point. The content model tends to be small, the templates are fewer and marketing automation is light or absent. The main decisions are about the Umbraco version to land on, the form tooling and the URL structure. Even a small site can fail on redirects, so the effort lies more in discipline than in volume.
- Content model review: Confirm that the page types and fields collapse into a short list of Umbraco document types.
- Form decision: Decide whether the existing forms need Umbraco Forms, which requires a license on a public domain, or whether a simpler approach fits the requirement.
- URL preservation: Keep the existing paths or set up redirects so search rankings and inbound links continue to work.
- Media migration: Move images and documents with their filenames and references intact.
- Light verification: Test every form submission path, including notifications and any data stores.
Check with your team whether the forms are the only interactive element, because that single fact often determines whether licensing or custom build is the bigger cost.
Some organizations run several Kentico sites with different owners, or sites that handle regulated data such as health or financial information. In these cases the migration is less about the site itself and more about governance: who approves each cutover, how data handling is documented and which controls must be evidenced. Umbraco does not certify compliance on its own, so your own documentation and your auditor's assessment determine the result.
- Site portfolio ranking: Order the sites by business risk and dependency, and move the simplest first to build a repeatable pattern.
- Shared components: Identify templates, code and integrations used across sites and rebuild them once.
- Control evidence: Record access, backup, change and data-handling decisions as you go, since auditors will ask for them later.
- Ownership model: Agree who operates each site after cutover and who holds the licenses.
- Regulator and contract checks: Confirm any notification or contract terms that apply to changing platforms.
Before planning waves, ask your compliance lead which evidence the assessment will require, because that list often shapes the order of work.
Choosing the Umbraco LTS version to land on
For a Kentico migration starting now, the default target should be Umbraco 17, the long-term support release published on November 27, 2025. It reaches end of life on November 27, 2028, extended long-term support (XLTS) ends on November 27, 2030, and end of service on Umbraco Cloud is November 27, 2031. Umbraco 13 is the previous LTS release from December 14, 2023, but it reaches end of life on December 14, 2026, with XLTS ending December 14, 2028 and Umbraco Cloud service ending December 14, 2029. A project that lands on Umbraco 13 in 2027 would need a second upgrade within roughly two years, so that version only makes sense if a specific dependency blocks the newer one.
Plan the platform side before choosing the version. Current Umbraco CMS documentation requires .NET 10.0 or higher and supports installation on SQLite or SQL Server, so confirm your hosting images, Windows or Linux targets, and database licensing against those requirements. Check each Kentico custom module, widget library and third-party connector for compatibility with the target .NET version, because these are usually the items that force a rebuild rather than a port. Also check whether the Kentico site uses Xperience features your Umbraco package set does not cover, such as Umbraco Forms or Engage, since their licenses are tied to specific domains and affect the version plan.
Umbraco Cloud hosting continues for the duration of XLTS, and projects can then run on dedicated resources for 12 months after XLTS ends, so a hosting exit plan has a defined window. Ask your partner which Umbraco version they will target, how they will handle upgrades between LTS releases, and what the post-XLTS hosting option will be. Confirm all of these dates against current Umbraco documentation, starting with the Umbraco end-of-service policy, before you commit to a cutover date, because the policy text and dates can change.
What drives cost and duration in this migration
Most of the effort in a Kentico to Umbraco move comes from the same few variables: how much structure the current site carries, how many features must be rebuilt, and who does the work. The cards below show which drivers push cost up, what reduces them, and which cost components a written scope should separate.
Content model complexity
Every Kentico page type, custom module class and field becomes a document type in Umbraco, and every relationship between them must be mapped by hand. A model with deep nesting, shared fields and many inherited types takes longer to design and test than a flat one. Before scoping, count the page types in use, not the ones defined, and retire the ones no editor touches.
Templates and widgets in use
Kentico page builder widgets and page templates each need a Razor view, a data model and an editor configuration in Umbraco. Consolidating near-duplicate widgets into one configurable block usually lowers the number of views to build and test. Ask for a count of templates and widgets that are actually placed on live pages, since that is the rebuild workload.
Forms and marketing feature count
Each Kentico form, personalization rule, campaign and A/B test has no direct one-to-one copy in Umbraco. Umbraco Forms and Umbraco Engage each need a license for a public domain, so the number of features you keep sets the license line and the rebuild effort. Inventory which forms receive submissions and which marketing rules still run, and drop the rest before the quote.
Integration count
CRM connectors, payment gateways, search indexes and single sign-on links are often the costliest items because each depends on an external system owner. Map every inbound and outbound integration, including scheduled jobs and webhooks, and confirm which ones carry live data. Integrations that can be reduced to a documented export are cheaper to rebuild than live two-way sync.
URL preservation requirements
Keeping existing URLs, redirects and sitemap entries adds mapping work in a rebuild, and the scope grows with the number of indexed pages and inbound links that must keep working. Export the current URL list from analytics and search console, then decide which paths need a redirect rule and which can be retired. Agree the redirect file format in the written scope so it can be tested before cutover.
Data volume, media and languages
Large media libraries, many languages and several sites multiply migration runs, validation passes and content checks. Each language needs its own content review, and media that moves without metadata or alt text adds cleanup time for editors. Ask for media size, language count and site count separately, because each one drives a different part of the effort.
Hosting and recurring costs
Self-hosting in your own cloud or data center means paying for servers, database licenses where applicable, backups, monitoring and staff time for patching. Umbraco Cloud bundles managed hosting on Microsoft Azure with backups, a CDN and Development, Staging and Live environments. Umbraco CMS itself is MIT licensed, so the recurring line items are hosting, add-on licenses and maintenance, not the core product.
Questions buyers ask before moving from Kentico to Umbraco
How much effort does a move from Kentico to Umbraco take?
Effort depends mostly on how much of the Kentico site is custom, not on the size of the content alone. The main drivers are the number of page types and widgets that need a document type or block equivalent, the amount of custom .NET code tied to Kentico APIs, the volume of forms and marketing logic, and how many integrations depend on the current site. A site with simple page types and mostly standard content will move far faster than one with heavy personalization or bespoke e-commerce logic. Ask any partner for a written quote that breaks effort into content modeling, code rewrite, content and media migration, forms and marketing rebuild, testing and cutover, so you can see which component drives the total.
How long does a Kentico to Umbraco migration take?
The timeline is set by the same drivers as effort: the count of content types, the custom code to port, the marketing and form features to rebuild, and how much content needs cleaning before it moves. Content migration tooling is usually the shorter part, while rebuilding templates, personalization and forms and testing URL behavior take longer. Your own release calendar and the Kentico support deadline also shape the schedule. Ask for a plan with milestones, a named test phase and a cutover window in the written scope, and confirm how the plan changes if the discovery phase finds more custom code than expected.
What does our team need to provide during the migration?
Your team needs to supply the people who know the business rules behind the site. In practice that means a content owner who can approve the new document type structure, developers who know the current Kentico code, someone who owns DNS, hosting and certificates, and a marketing owner who can confirm which campaigns, forms and audience rules must survive. Access to the current database, media library, source code and analytics is also required early. Confirm in writing which of these items the scope assumes you will provide and which items the partner will handle, because gaps there are a common source of delay.
Can our internal developers migrate from Kentico to Umbraco without a partner?
Yes, a capable .NET team can do this in-house, provided it has time to learn Umbraco's content model, its document types, and its templating and deployment approach. The work is not only a code port. It includes redesigning content structure, deciding how to handle forms and marketing features, setting up hosting, backups and environments, and running security and accessibility testing before launch. Internal teams often underestimate the test and cutover effort. If you go this route, plan for the skills gap, decide who will maintain the site after launch, and consider a short advisory review of your architecture before committing.
Is Umbraco free, and which features need paid licenses?
The Umbraco CMS source is published under the MIT license, so the core CMS has no license fee. Some features are separate products with their own terms. Umbraco Forms runs unrestricted locally but requires a valid license on a public domain, and licenses are sold per domain, cover subdomains and include two development or testing domains, with one license per installation. Umbraco Engage, the marketing add-on for personalization, analytics and A/B testing, also requires a valid license on a public domain. Hosting, backups and staff are separate costs. Ask any quote to list each add-on, its domain count and its renewal terms.
Which Umbraco LTS version should we move to?
Umbraco 17 is the current long-term support release, published on November 27, 2025, with end of life on November 27, 2028, end of Extended Long-Term Support on November 27, 2030 and end of service on Umbraco Cloud on November 27, 2031. Umbraco 13 is the previous LTS release, reaching end of life on December 14, 2026. Current Umbraco CMS documentation requires .NET 10.0 or higher, so your hosting and .NET runtime must match. Confirm the version choice against your own support calendar, your Kentico exit date and the add-ons you need, and check the Umbraco end-of-service policy before you commit.
How do we keep existing URLs working after the move?
Keeping URLs is mainly a mapping exercise. Export the current URL list from your Kentico site and from analytics or server logs, then map each URL to its new Umbraco route, including page names, language prefixes, and any URLs generated by custom Kentico code. Redirects should be defined for every changed path and tested before cutover, and you should keep the old site available in read-only form until traffic and search engine indexing confirm the redirects work. Ask the partner to show the URL map, the redirect rules and the test results in the written scope.
What happens to Kentico marketing features and forms during the move?
Kentico marketing features such as personalization, campaigns and scoring do not move automatically to Umbraco, so they need to be rebuilt or replaced. The replacement path depends on what your business uses. Forms can move to Umbraco Forms under its license terms, while personalization and analytics map to Umbraco Engage or to separate analytics tooling. Inventory every active campaign, form and audience rule before design begins, and confirm in writing which features are replaced one for one and which are retired.
How DeployOpen scopes and runs a Kentico to Umbraco migration
DeployOpen is a Chainscore Labs company that plans, implements, integrates, hardens, backs up, upgrades, documents and supports self-hosted open-source platforms inside your own infrastructure, whether that is your cloud account, a data center or an air-gapped network. For a Kentico to Umbraco move, that means the Umbraco instance, its database, the media store, the search and forms integrations and the deployment pipeline all run where your security team already has control. DeployOpen does not hold your content or run the site on its own systems as a condition of the work. DeployOpen is not a vendor partner, reseller or certified provider of Umbraco or Kentico, and it does not issue audit reports or certifications. Compliance evidence it prepares is reviewed by your independent auditor.
Most engagements are fixed-scope: the written scope sets which Kentico sites, page types, widgets, forms and marketing features move, which deliverables you receive (for example, a rebuilt document type set, a verified URL redirect map and a cutover runbook), and the timeline. Before work starts, confirm in writing how Kentico content, media and any Xperience marketing data are handled, which Umbraco LTS version is the target, and whether Umbraco Forms or Umbraco Engage licenses are in scope, since those are purchased separately. Ask for the scope to list the environments you will use for staging and cutover testing.
Ongoing support, LTS upgrades and continuous security testing are available as retainers, which suit teams that will keep running Umbraco after go-live. DeployOpen does not publish a price list. A quote follows from the written scope, so the inputs that move it are the number of site instances, the volume of content and media, the custom integrations to rebuild, and the hosting and testing environments you require. Ask each proposal to separate one-time migration work from recurring retainer work and from any licenses you buy directly from Umbraco HQ.
