Umbraco 12 – Unleashing headless CMS capabilities with the Content Delivery API

Umbraco, the popular content management system (CMS), has recently unveiled its highly anticipated Umbraco 12 release. This major update introduces a range of exciting new features and enhancements that promise to elevate the content management experience for users. From headless capabilities to enhanced performance and flexibility, Umbraco 12 sets the stage for a more efficient and dynamic content management journey.

Nicholas Durrant, CEO at Bluegrass says “Umbraco is raising the bar yet again as it focuses on investing further in its core capabilities as a content management system. It is now a serious open-source enterprise CMS player with many supported add-on features such as Umbraco Workflow, Umbraco Cloud and its recent release of Umbraco Commerce product that can further boost its capabilities as a platform.”

Headless capabilities with the Content Delivery API

One of the highlights in the release of Umbraco 12 is the introduction of the Content Delivery API, a game-changer that brings headless capabilities right out of the box. Previously, users had to develop custom APIs or rely on extensions for headless functionality.

With the Content Delivery API, users can seamlessly leverage headless architecture for a wide range of applications and platforms including websites, mobile apps and IoT devices. This opens up a world of possibilities for omnichannel content delivery, ensuring consistent and synchronised content experiences across various channels.

Simon Buerger, Head of Engineering at Bluegrass says “Before Umbraco 12 came along, we previously had to build custom solutions to enable headless capability, but with this new Umbraco CMS release, content is now readily available on multiple digital touchpoints, eliminating the need for additional development.”

Streamlined omnichannel content delivery

Umbraco 12 empowers organisations to deliver content consistently across multiple channels through its omnichannel content delivery capabilities. Whether it’s a website, mobile app, smartwatch, or voice assistant, the Content Delivery API ensures that content remains consistent and synchronised. This is particularly advantageous for organisations implementing omnichannel strategies, as they can provide a unified content experience and engage with their audience seamlessly across all touchpoints.

Support for Entity Framework Core

Umbraco 12 introduces extended support for Entity Framework Core, a popular and powerful object-relational mapping (ORM) framework. This addition simplifies database access and management, eliminating the need for developers to write repetitive and boilerplate code. By leveraging Entity Framework Core, developers can work with objects and entities, enhancing productivity and efficiency while maintaining a high level of data integrity.

Enhanced image processing with ImageSharp

Umbraco 12 incorporates an upgraded version of ImageSharp, the cross-platform image processing library. ImageSharp 3, powered by the latest .NET 6 LTS framework, delivers improved performance, simplified features, and enhanced security. Users can expect faster image decoding and encoding, advanced image loading options with DecoderOptions, and significant performance gains in alpha compositing and color adjustments.

Updated dependencies and support for .NET 7

To stay at the forefront of innovation, Umbraco 12 includes updated dependencies and frameworks. By regularly integrating the latest advancements, Umbraco ensures secure and high-performing installations. These updates not only enhance the overall functionality of the CMS but also provide users with access to cutting-edge features and improvements in performance, security, and usability.

In addition, Umbraco 12 now provides full support for .NET 7, ensuring it continues to align with Microsoft’s release cadence and remain on top of latest technology.

In conclusion

The Umbraco 12 release introduces an array of innovative features that empower users to create, manage, and deliver exceptional content experiences. From the seamless headless capabilities of the Content Delivery API to enhanced support for Entity Framework Core, Umbraco 12 sets a new standard for content management systems. By embracing this major update, users can unlock the full potential of Umbraco and take their content management strategies to new heights.

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