Your website needs more than a content management system. It needs somewhere to run, a reliable way to release changes, security updates and a plan for keeping everything supported.
Umbraco Cloud brings much of that into one service.
It combines the open-source Umbraco CMS with managed hosting on Microsoft Azure and tools for developing, deploying and maintaining your website. You retain Umbraco’s flexibility, while Umbraco manages more of the underlying platform.
For organisations already using Umbraco - or considering it for their next website - the question is whether that managed service fits the way their business operates.
What’s the difference between Umbraco CMS and Umbraco Cloud?
Umbraco CMS is the software used to manage your website. Umbraco Cloud is a paid service for hosting and operating it.
With a self-hosted Umbraco website, your organisation or development partner arranges the hosting infrastructure, deployment process and ongoing platform maintenance.
With Umbraco Cloud, several of those responsibilities sit within a service provided by Umbraco.
Your editors still work in the Umbraco backoffice. Your developers can still create custom functionality and integrate other systems. Cloud adds a managed environment around the CMS, with tools designed specifically for Umbraco projects.
What does Umbraco Cloud include?
The exact resources, support and features depend on your plan, but the service brings together several important parts of running a website:
- Managed hosting: infrastructure hosted on Microsoft Azure.
- Delivery and security features: including Cloudflare CDN, TLS certificates and configurable protection.
- Development and deployment tools: to help teams release code and move changes between environments.
- Content transfer tools: to support moving content between environments.
- Umbraco Forms and Deploy: tools for creating forms and managing deployments.
- Platform maintenance and recovery features: including product updates and database backups.
A central portal provides access to projects, environments, team permissions and usage information.
The practical benefit is having these capabilities available within a platform designed around the CMS, with fewer separate systems to assemble and maintain.
How does Umbraco Cloud help marketing teams?
Most marketing teams won’t spend their day in the Cloud portal. The benefits become visible through how their website is maintained and improved.
A suitable environment setup gives your team somewhere to review new functionality before it reaches the live website. A clearer deployment process helps developers release approved changes consistently. Integrated tooling can reduce the time spent resolving differences between development, testing and production environments.
That can make website improvements easier to plan and deliver.
However, the quality of the editing experience still depends on how the website is built. Clear content structures, useful page components, sensible permissions and well-designed previews need to be part of the implementation.
Cloud provides the platform. Your website’s design and development determine how effectively your team can use it.
Does Umbraco Cloud update your website automatically?
Umbraco Cloud automates some product updates, but major upgrades still need planning.
New Cloud projects have automatic minor upgrades enabled by default. Patch upgrades, including security fixes, are also automatic by default, with settings available to control upgrade behaviour.
Major version upgrades are a separate piece of work. They can introduce changes that affect custom code, packages and integrations, so they need development and testing before deployment. Umbraco’s guidance is to perform major upgrades locally and then deploy the updated solution to Cloud.
If you’re moving from an older Umbraco version, choosing Cloud doesn’t remove the need to assess compatibility and plan the upgrade.
Do you still need a development partner?
Usually, yes - particularly if your website supports important business processes.
Managed hosting reduces the infrastructure work your team needs to handle. Your application still needs someone to look after it.
That includes maintaining custom functionality, testing integrations, reviewing accessibility, improving performance and making sure forms and customer journeys continue to work as intended.
It also includes responding when something changes elsewhere. Your CRM might introduce a new API. Your consent requirements might change. Your marketing team might need a new campaign format.
A useful support agreement should make responsibility clear: what Umbraco manages, what your development partner manages and what remains with your internal team.
Can you move an existing website to Umbraco Cloud?
Yes, an existing Umbraco website can be migrated to Cloud, provided it meets the platform’s requirements, including running a supported Umbraco version.
The amount of work depends on the current implementation.
We would assess:
- The CMS version and packages: to identify any upgrades or replacements needed.
- Custom code and integrations: to understand dependencies and configuration requirements.
- Content, media and data: to plan what needs transferring and how to validate it.
- Hosting requirements: to identify background tasks, storage needs or other dependencies.
- The launch process: to plan testing, redirects, DNS changes and recovery arrangements.
The output should be a migration plan with a defined scope, clear responsibilities and an estimate grounded in your actual website.
Is Umbraco Cloud better than self-hosting?
It depends on your requirements and the capabilities of your team.
Cloud can be a strong fit when you want Umbraco-specific hosting and deployment tools without building and maintaining the entire setup yourself.
Self-hosting may suit organisations with established infrastructure teams, specialist hosting requirements or operational standards that favour their existing environment.
The comparison should include the full cost of running the website: hosting, maintenance, deployment tooling, support and the time needed to keep everything working.
It should also consider resource requirements. Cloud plans have different quotas and capabilities, so selecting the right setup means understanding your website’s traffic, workload and expected growth.
How much does Umbraco Cloud cost?
Umbraco Cloud is a subscription service with several plans. Pricing varies according to the plan, resources and additional services you need.
When budgeting, consider three separate costs:
- The Cloud subscription and any additional resources.
- The initial website build or migration.
- Ongoing application support and improvement.
Check Umbraco’s current pricing for subscription details. The right plan should follow your requirements, including environments, capacity, support and service commitments.
How can Absurd help you decide?
We start with your website, your team and what the business needs it to do.
We can assess your current Umbraco implementation, compare Cloud with your existing hosting arrangements and identify the work required to move.
You’ll get a clear recommendation, a proposed environment setup, a migration or implementation scope and a breakdown of ongoing responsibilities.
That gives you the information to decide whether Cloud will make your website easier to operate - and what it will take to get there.