Is it time to upgrade or migrate your website?

Firstly, ask your web developer what version of Kentico you are on. If it’s 2020 and you haven’t upgraded to Kentico 12 then this is going to be an awkward conversation.

Why? Keep reading. With the availability of this new version of the Kentico CMS comes quite a few changes. If you are not at least aware of the modifications that have occurred, you risk falling behind in the competitive business market.

Your business is your livelihood. Your customers depend on you to provide them with your goods and services, as well as a satisfying user experience. Your content management system (CMS) enables these amenities to be delivered efficiently, securely and seamlessly. That is, provided you are up to date with the latest version.

In November 2018, Kentico brought out another new major release of its CMS and digital platform – Kentico 12. Kentico has been keeping its users updated with the latest features, bug fixes and performance upgrades for their web content management and online marketing needs.

If you are still running Kentico 7, Kentico 8 or Kentico 9, you will no longer be able to receive technical support for your Kentico website, even if you still have a valid maintenance contract. Furthermore, should you uncover a bug in a previous version, you can’t depend on Kentico to fix it for you, as they only seek to resolve those in the latest major and minor versions of their software – refer to their Bug Fixing Policy for further information.
 

Upgrade from Kentico 7, 8 or 9 and protect your site data.

Not running Kentico 12 therefore prevents your system from being able to run as well as it could, causing issues, from usability concerns to substantial vulnerabilities, to remain unresolved, and exposing your users to, at best, disgruntled experiences and, at worst, insecurity and data theft. Making matters worse, should undesirables discover that you are running an older version of the system, they will likely target you because the details of the flaws will be made known when Kentico has announced the fixes. As a result, your business will potentially suffer losses or reduced investment, in addition to greater costs to repair the problems.

The latest version will contain fixes Kentico have made between it and your current version, and upgrading sooner rather than later, will require less time, money and challenges in transitioning from the antiquated system to the new.

Upgrading Kentico can help your e-commerce shop too.

Kentico 12 has seen a significant upgrade to its e-commerce functionality, simplifying the shopping cart and checkout process. Such changes include a new business framework and functionality that enables the system to perform actions based on whether coupon codes are still valid or not. Much of the code that handles Kentico’s e-commerce platform has been updated to be faster, easier to understand and more customisable, which means less time needed for development and support, and more money in your pocket. It was designed with the idea in mind that you and your developers should be able to concentrate more on producing pleasant shopping experiences than on the code.

Using an older version of the CMS means you are making the decision to settle

for an outdated, slower and more resource-intensive way of delivering e-commerce to your customers, which could be all the difference if a major selling point of your business is to supply an efficient and smooth purchasing experience.

Risks of not upgrading your Kentico website

Upgrades to the CMS are not the only technologies that have been upgraded. Kentico 12 also includes upgrades for its third-party modules and services. Google’s URL Shortener service has now been discontinued, which means all goo.gl links will no longer work in 2020 and has been removed from the CMS altogether. Kentico has updated Google ReCaptcha from version 1 to version 2, whereby users will now only need to check the box to be recognised as not a robot. Facebook’s API has undergone changes and new security requirements, and so Kentico 12 has also seen an update to its integration. The geolocation service feature in Kentico has also been upgraded, with more reliability on pinpointing locations and providing more accurate data.
It’s clear to see that with all these changes, by not upgrading your system, you are not only behind on the changes to the CMS itself, but also behind on the external systems the CMS uses. Double bad.

A quick note from our developers for Kentico MVC users

If you are an existing user of Kentico and understand the Portal Engine technology, you may want to consider reading about the new MVC target framework for future Kentico versions.

The largest change with Kentico 12 is of course Kentico’s continued transition from the previous Portal Engine development framework to the Model-View-Controller (MVC) development framework. As time goes on, there are new technologies that modify the approach to development: MVC is such a technology. Fundamentally, MVC splits an application into three related but different parts to internally represent information separately. It is a completely different approach to building Kentico websites. Portal Engine utilises an older .NET technology, but in our opinion, after having built numerous websites on Portal Engine, is that it’s a far more robust, scalable and dynamic engine to develop and present websites with, especially for our clients to ensure they have the best possible solution they could ask for. Okay technical spill over.

The best way to approach upgrading your Kentico instance

If you still have concerns over whether you are getting the best system for your business, don’t be afraid to get in touch with the Integranet Digital team and we will be more than happy to discuss with you our development philosophy and what the right course of action is for you moving forward.
There are many benefits to making the wise decision to upgrade to the latest Kentico version – access to 24/7 phone and email technical support for a minimum of 4 years, weekly security patches and bug fixes, a refined and refurbished e-commerce platform for a more efficient and smoother shopping experience, updates for revamped and discontinued third-party modules, and less time and money spent by utilising a faster, more stable CMS that is designed to deliver.

So, what are you waiting for?! It’s 2020. Contact our team - we're Perth’s leading Kentico developers. We'll create a plan today, don’t let your business get left behind.