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Here are 12 essential Umbraco audits every CTO and Product Owner should have on their radar.
Along with practical recommendations and the most common pitfalls teams miss.
SEO and Organic Visibility Audit: Free Traffic, Anyone?#
Good SEO doesn’t happen by accident.
It requires structure, strategy, and technical know-how.
Many teams underestimate the impact of their Umbraco setup on their search rankings.
What to check:
- Do you have canonical URLs and hreflang tags configured? These are must-haves for multilingual sites.
- Is your URL structure SEO-friendly? Avoid deep nesting like /products/categories/specific-item.
- Are your metadata and headers optimized for targeted keywords?
Why it matters:
A solid SEO setup drives free organic traffic, reducing your reliance on costly PPC campaigns.
Neglect this, and you’re throwing away a chance to rank without paying for ads.
Performance Audit: Speed Saves Money
A slow Umbraco website isn’t just frustrating - it’s expensive.
It costs users and conversions and often leads to unnecessary infrastructure spending.
What to check:
- Are your Core Web Vitals up to par? Many teams miss Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS), which impacts both SEO and user experience.
- Is your caching strategy efficient? Many setups only scratch the surface, which is possible with Umbraco’s output caching.
- Are your media files optimized? If you’re not using WebP or lazy loading, you’re leaving money on the table.
Why it matters:
Every second shaved offload time means higher engagement and potentially lower hosting costs.
Skip this, and you’re paying for servers that work harder than they should.
💡 Explore More: Learn how to fine-tune your Umbraco performance in our article How to Speed Up Umbraco CMS Performance.
Security Audit: Better Safe Than Sorry#
Cyberattacks are no longer a distant threat - they’re a constant reality.
A security breach doesn’t just damage your reputation.
It can also rack up massive legal and recovery costs.
What to check:
- Are you running the latest version of Umbraco? It’s shocking how many teams don’t prioritize this.
- Are unused plugins or admin accounts still active? These are open doors for attackers.
- Are API keys and sensitive data stored securely, like Azure Key Vault?
Why it matters:
Fixing a breach is exponentially more expensive than preventing one.
Proactive audits could save you hundreds of thousands in fines and downtime.
💡 Explore More: Learn how to remove inactive accounts in our article How to Delete Umbraco User Permanently
Code Quality Audit: Clean Code, Happy Devs#
Messy code might seem harmless initially, but it snowballs into technical debt over time.
Bugs take longer to fix, new features are more challenging to implement, and your team dreads every deployment.
What to check:
- Are there “magic strings” hardcoded into the system? This is a common problem that makes scaling harder.
- Is the solution modular enough for future updates?
- Are proper logging tools (like Azure Application Insights) in place?
Why it matters:
Clean code reduces headaches and saves money by reducing development time and the risk of expensive mistakes.
💡 Explore More: Strengthen your approach with Top Defensive Programming Principles with Examples.
Multilingual Audit: Don’t Let Language Barriers Cost You#
Expanding to global markets?
Multilingual setups are a goldmine, but only if they’re done right.
What to check:
- Are fallback languages configured? Missing translations break user trust.
- Is your hreflang implementation correct? This ensures search engines serve the right content in the right region.
- Are dynamic elements like form fields properly localized?
Why it matters:
Getting this wrong can mean alienating entire markets.
Done well, it boosts user satisfaction and increases your reach without extra marketing costs.
Infrastructure and Scalability Audit: Prepare for Growth#
Your infrastructure should handle today’s traffic effortlessly and be ready for tomorrow’s growth.
What to check:
- Are you using autoscaling properly in Azure or another cloud environment? Many teams overpay for underutilized resources.
- Are backups and disaster recovery plans in place?
- Is blob storage configured correctly for media files?
Why it matters:
Without a scalable setup, a traffic surge could crash your site, costing you revenue and damaging your brand.
💡 Explore More: Optimize your infrastructure with Optimizing Azure Web App: Enabling Dynamic GZIP Compression.
Compliance and Governance Audit: Avoid the Fines#
Whether it’s GDPR, WCAG, or CCPA, non-compliance can cost you big - not just in fines but also in trust.
Non-compliance fines can range from €20,000 to millions, depending on the scale.
What to check:
- Is your cookie consent banner compliant with the latest regulations?
- Are your privacy policies and data retention practices up to date?
- Have you tested accessibility across devices?
Why it matters:
A single lawsuit or fine could cost more than years of audits.
Proactive compliance is an investment, not an expense.
💡 Explore More: Stay ahead of GDPR and privacy compliance by reading Ways to Ensure Umbraco GDPR Compliance.
CI/CD and GitFlow Audit: Deployment Without Drama#
Your deployment pipeline is the backbone of your development process.
If it’s not efficient, every release becomes a risk.
What to check:
- Are rollback mechanisms in place? No deployment should be one-way.
- Are automated tests part of your CI pipeline?
- Is your branching model (like GitFlow) working for your team, and is it not against it?
Why it matters:
Efficient pipelines save developer hours, reduce downtime, and get features live faster - all of which impact your bottom line.
Technical Debt Audit: Pay It Down Before It’s Too Late#
Technical debt is like a ticking time bomb.
The longer you ignore it, the more expensive it gets to fix.
What to check:
- Are you using outdated packages or frameworks?
- Are there areas of the codebase that every developer avoids because they’re a nightmare to work on?
- Are you documenting known issues and prioritizing fixes?
Why it matters:
Ignoring technical debt leads to slower development, frustrated teams, and skyrocketing costs for future upgrades.
Media Audit: Clean Up the Clutter#
Managing media in Umbraco often starts simple but becomes chaotic over time.
It's a common issue in every CMS.
What to check:
- Are media assets grouped into logical folders? Disorganized libraries make it harder for editors to find what they need.
- Are orphaned files (unused media items) unnecessarily taking up storage space?
- Is your media section aligned with your content management workflow?
Why it matters:
Unorganized media folders and orphaned files waste editors' time, increase storage costs, and can cause performance issues.
This results in frustration for your team when updating content.
💡Solution:
Install Dedicated Media Folder plugin on your Umbraco website and try it for free.
💡Explore More: Watch the product video on YouTube to see how the Dedicated Media Folder simplifies media management and transforms your Umbraco workflows.
📽️ Video URL: https://www.youtube.com/embed/X5JSkJaag4E
Content Audit: Quality Over Quantity#
Your content is the face of your brand.
It needs to be relevant, engaging, and aligned with your business goals.
What to check:
- Are you updating metadata and headers for new SEO trends?
- Do you have outdated or duplicate content cluttering your site?
- Is your media optimized for speed and relevance?
Why it matters:
A well-optimized content strategy drives traffic, engages users, and reduces maintenance overhead.
Umbraco Best Practices Audit: Set the Standard#
Even the most advanced Umbraco setups can suffer from inefficiencies when best practices aren’t followed.
Your project can become difficult to maintain and scale without consistent naming conventions, a clear folder hierarchy, or well-implemented compositions.
What to check:
- Are document types named clearly and consistently? For example, instead of generic names like "Page," use descriptive ones like "Article Page" or "Landing Page."
- Are data types properly structured and labeled? Overuse of generic types like "Multinode Tree Picker" without context can confuse developers.
- Is the folder hierarchy for document types and compositions logical? SEO metadata, for instance, should be a reusable composition, not recreated for every new page type.
Why it matters:
Disorganized setups lead to longer development times, higher maintenance costs, and frustration for editors and developers.
Following best practices ensures your site is easier to manage, more scalable, and less prone to errors.
Conclusion: Why Umbraco Audits Are Worth the Effort#
Audits aren’t just about fixing problems - they’re about unlocking opportunities.
Each audit type covered here can reduce costs, boost revenue, and make your Umbraco site future-proof.
Ignoring issues, on the other hand, can lead to escalating costs, lost traffic, and frustrated teams.
💡Ready to take action?#
Many projects fail due to a lack of expertise - even from Umbraco Partners.
When you choose Umbracare Services, you’ll receive an ultra-detailed report packed with actionable steps to implement improvements.
We fix what others leave behind, ensuring your system is future-proof and dependable.
Our team typically identifies over 100 issues in every Umbraco project.
👉Don’t wait, and schedule your audit today.