Understanding Umbraco

Umbraco is a great, open source content management system that enables businesses, big and small, to manage and update the content of their websites on a day to day basis. 

It offers its users all the good things about the open source software model coupled with the security and ready integration that comes from using a Microsoft technology stack.

 

What is a Content Management System (CMS)? 

CMS is an abbreviation for 'Content Management System'; a system that is useful in a collaborative environment for managing workflow by providing procedures such as aiding in easy storage and retrieval of information; reduces repetition of input; improves communication between users; controls over groups who can view, edit or publish data.

There are many content management systems created for web content management. Web content management systems are applications that are used to create, manage, store and publish content on web pages. Content on a CMS can include text, graphics, photos, video, audio and interactive applications. A CMS may also index content, personalise content to specific users or translate content into different languages.

Governor Technology has tried different content management systems over the past ten years and has found the Umbraco Content Management System to be their first and trusted choice for developing high quality websites and applications.

 

Umbraco for web content management 

Umbraco is a content management system (CMS) that has no-cost, open-source licensing. It is simple yet powerful, with potential to use and develop with the latest technologies.

Umbraco is based on Microsoft's ASP.NET that allows it to support any modern browser and provides a full-featured web content management system that is simple to understand and customise. Fortune 500 companies and some of the largest media sites in the world, such as Vogue, Heinz, SanDisk and many others find Umbraco to be their active choice.

Content creators, webmasters, web developers and designers find Umbraco easy to learn and use. Customisation for specific use can begin within minutes; it is easy to manage a website exactly how you want using the free, open-source format. It is free for all to use and at your discretion you are able to purchase extra professional tools and support without obligation. 

An active community of users and developers from around the world working with a rock-solid commercial organisation also producing professional support and tools give Umbraco strong support and is known as the 'friendliest CMS community on the planet'. Professional support is provided to everyone through active forums, wiki, collaborative projects and suggestion areas regardless of any of the options chosen.

The CMS has simple and customisable editing tools that fit in with the way people want to work. Content writers can edit using Microsoft Word and immediately understand the Umbraco interface that has an easy to understand view of pages and fully intuitive editor; developers can integrate any .NET technology and designers can create without compromise. An Umbraco site can be started with an included starter kit, with a skin applied to give a unique visual, add content with ease which add up to the possibility of running a website within the same day.

 

Umbraco in use 

Approximately 90,000 sites around the world are currently using Umbraco as their CMS; from small businesses to global companies in many different languages. Just some of the companies that are currently using Umbraco include:

SanDisk - www.sandisk.com

Vogue - www.vogue.co.uk

Cookie Law - www.cookielaw.org

Wired - www.wired.co.uk

Microsoft ASP.NET - www.asp.net

Candi - www.candi.com

 

Umbraco's abilities 

Umbraco has vast abilities that deliver for websites with the latest technologies, mobile-platform apps, rich media and kiosks sites such as web or intranet services usually located for use in public and business areas.

Umbraco can produce fast, beautiful websites, but can also be used for non-traditional websites, such as kiosk sites. The tools allow publishing content from a central publishing server to multiple distributed kiosks that easily maintains them with the latest content. There are no special requirements for running it on a standalone PC in a kiosk or any other remote location because Umbraco runs on a standard Microsoft Internet Information Server.

Rich media content can be managed and delivered with ease using Umbraco. In-built tools to manage media and for high-performance delivery of rich sites based on HTML5, Silverlight and Flash make e-learning and multi-player gaming sites possible.

Umbraco can also be used for mobile-platform specific sites. Sites can be delivered to iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Windows phones while you maintain only one set of content.

 

Adapting Umbraco and integrating it with other systems

Umbraco has flexible architecture that allows adaptation and integration. Customisation of existing features and to add your own new features is simple. The system is qualified to integrate with almost any existing system, including with web-based systems such as Salesforce, Microsoft Sharepoint and Microsoft CRM.

Existing legal compliance, audit, or content review workflows are simple to integrate with the use of Umbraco's Event Model, that also handles the integration with myriad systems, workflow customisation and sending a tweet with each new blog post.

Taking Umbraco to its limits is possible without delay since the CMS has adopted industry standard languages (html, css, jQuery, C#, etc) and template and rendering engines without copyright and trademark. If ASP.NET controls are required, they can easily be integrated without modification and without extra coding.

 

Umbraco extras 

The Umbraco community site is full of add-ons, extensions, skins and handy Umbraco development packages for all kinds of functions with a range of free and commercial packages to enhance productivity and efficiency.

Umbraco has also invested in developing a network of certified developers, trainers and partners throughout the world. All Umbraco Certified Developers attend an Umbraco master course and must pass the exam in order to prove their Umbraco expertise.

Also, there are companies classified as Umbraco Certified Partners, of which we are one. These firms have have staff that are certified developers with a proven track record of Umbraco implementations, whom are recommended by both their previous clients and the Umbraco organisation.

Umbraco maintains the ethic "support is paramount"; with an award winning active community at our.umbraco.org and a dedicated core support team, hundreds of certified partners and developers, every issue that may occur is covered.

Governor Technology invested resources in becoming an Umbraco certified partner so that clients get the best out of the CMS technology and can be sure of excellent skills in implementing Umbraco-based projects. Whilst Umbraco is easy for website owners to use, the initial configuration should always be handled by someone who is technically qualified - particularly when Umbraco customisation is required.  
 

We're now one of the UK's most skilled Umbraco Agencies, so for more information on how we can help you get the most from this CMS, please browse our Umbraco development services.