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Reasons Why Your Umbraco Project Fail and Lose Money

Umbraco project can be a shining success or a costly failure. Unfortunately, there are common pitfalls that no one talks about - issues that can derail even the most promising projects. Let’s explore these hidden challenges and why addressing them is crucial to saving time, money, and reputation.

Published on: , by:
Piotr Bach picture
Piotr Bach
Wojciech Tengler picture
Wojciech Tengler
Umbraco

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Increasing Complexity of Umbraco Projects

Modern Umbraco projects are no longer just simple websites.

This growing complexity introduces significant risks, especially when:

  • Integrations with third-party systems add layers of technical complexity.
  • Large-scale data migrations are required.

Example:

A healthcare company underestimated the complexity of migrating patient data from its legacy CMS into Umbraco, leading to months of delays and unexpected costs.

💡Take action:

Plan for complexity.

Involve an experienced Umbraco team during the scoping phase to account for integrations, migrations, and performance requirements.

Poor Investment in Experienced Teams

Umbraco’s flexibility is its strength, but it demands expert-level knowledge to configure and maintain properly.

Many projects fail due to the following:

  • Inexperienced developers are creating poorly optimized custom components.
  • Lack of understanding of ASP.NET Core, T-SQL, and advanced Umbraco features like Block List and Block Grid.

💡Take action:

Hire developers with proven Umbraco and .NET Core expertise, even if it means a higher upfront cost.

The long-term benefits outweigh the risks of rework.

👉Read Key Skills for Umbraco Developers for an in-depth look at the skills every Umbraco developer should have.

Ignoring Known Issues in Umbraco

Umbraco has over 600 open issues on Umbraco’s GitHub repository.

Ignoring these known challenges can lead to unexpected bugs or performance bottlenecks.

💡Take action:

Collaborate with developers who actively contribute to the Umbraco community and stay informed about ongoing issues.

Umbraco open issues on GitHub

Umbraco open issues on GitHub

Complex and Risky Upgrades

Upgrading Umbraco can be challenging, especially for projects with extensive customizations.

Common pitfalls include:

  • Breaking changes in APIs and third-party libraries.
  • Incompatible plugins that require rework or replacement.

💡Take action:

Schedule regular upgrades to avoid falling too far behind on versions.

To reduce risks, stay within the LTS (Long-Term Support) release cycle.

Reference:

Understand Umbraco Upgrade Pathways.

Comparing Umbraco versions before Upgrade

Comparing Umbraco versions before Upgrade https://our.umbraco.com/download/releases/compare?from=13.0.0&to=13.5.2

Inefficient Cloud Architecture and Costly Maintenance

Hosting Umbraco in the cloud offers scalability but requires careful design.

Cloud platforms such as Azure and AWS aren't cheap.

Poorly optimized solutions can lead to:

  • High storage and bandwidth costs.
  • Constant bug fixes and troubleshooting by the development team, driving up maintenance costs.

Underestimating Technological Changes

The fast pace of technological advancement is a double-edged sword.

Projects that rely on outdated .NET frameworks or Umbraco versions risk:

  • Compatibility issues with APIs and modern browsers.
  • Security vulnerabilities due to reliance on deprecated dependencies.

💡Take action:

SEO Expectations are Higher Than Ever

High SEO standards are non-negotiable in today’s competitive digital landscape.

However, many projects fail to meet these requirements due to:

  • Misconfigured structured data, meta tags, and Open Graph properties.
  • Poor URL management during site redesigns or migrations.

Example:

A travel website lost search rankings after developers failed to configure hreflang tags for multilingual content, resulting in duplicate content penalties.

Umbraco SEO report in Google Search Console

Umbraco SEO report in Google Search Console

Database Mismanagement

As Umbraco projects scale, database performance becomes critical.

Common issues include:

  • Inefficient indexing strategies.
  • Bloated tables from poorly managed content workflows.

💡Take action:

Audit and optimize your SQL queries regularly.

Consider using database tools for automated performance monitoring.

Weak Project Management

Technical expertise isn’t enough to guarantee success.

Poor project management leads to:

  • Misaligned goals between stakeholders and developers.
  • Lack of proper documentation, making future updates and debugging harder.

💡Take action:

Adopt agile workflows and conduct regular sprint reviews to keep everyone aligned.

Conclusion: Why Your Umbraco Project Needs Experts

Umbraco is a powerful CMS, but its flexibility and potential complexity demand:

  • expertise,
  • planning,
  • and proactive management. 

Failing to invest in the right people, tools, and processes can result in spiraling costs and wasted effort.

Ready to take action?

Many projects fail due to a lack of expertise - even from Umbraco Partners.

If you’re overwhelmed or unsure where to start, our team is here to help.

With years of experience, we specialize in identifying and resolving issues that could hold your website back. 

When you choose our Umbraco Developers, you’ll receive an ultra-detailed report packed with actionable steps to implement improvements.

In fact, we typically uncover over 100 areas for improvement in every project we analyze, ensuring your website performs at its absolute best.

👉Don’t wait, and contact us today.

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