A look at the ASP.NET based CMS with Scandinavian origins.

Scandinavian design is often associated with Volvos, Nokia phones and bookcases called Billy. Since 2000, there has been a content management system which exudes these principles: Umbraco. It has been hailed as one of the leading .NET based open source content management systems, after making the switch from proprietary to open source in 2004. Umbraco was developed in Denmark by Niels Hartvig, and primarily written in C#. It is pitched as a CMS ideal for major businesses, or 'your uncle's website on model trains'.

Umbraco's history begins in 1997 with its creator, Niels Hartvig learned about content management systems in his first job straight from high school. Two years later, the first sketches, a simple framework and a prototype would emerge as the first version of Umbraco in 2003. It was made in a combination of VB.NET and .NET webservices written in C#. By 2004, the metaphorical le chien's petit dejeuner was tidied up with version 2.0 being entirely .NET based. On the 16 February 2005, the first open source version was ready to roll.

In 2007, its founder took a back seat from consulting, having hired a number of coders in their Copenhagen office. The same year saw the launch of Umbraco PRO, with training courses arriving the following year. Easier migration between versions of Umbraco was introduced in 2009's release of Courier, complementing Concierge and Courier. By then, Umbraco would take on its present form with its complement of add-ons and support packages.

Why Choose Umbraco

• Full control for developers: 100% control of source code including ASP.NET, HTML and CSS;
• Support: 24 hour support via our.umbraco.org, training courses, webinars, video tutorials and hosting partners;
• Excellent For Enterprise Level Websites: cast-iron security based on Microsoft .NET architecture;
• Expandable: packages available eCommerce sites, iPhone integration and photo galleries, free and paid-for;
• Ease of use: Umbraco also enables you to edit your site with Microsoft Word or Windows LiveWriter - without opening your browser;
• SEO Friendly: includes built-in Web Analytics, SEO friendly URLs and filtering packages, free and paid-for;
• Supports Responsive Web Design: includes built-in responsive skins for mobile devices.

As well as the Umbraco CMS itself, which is available to download freely, there is also two support packages. Confidence is their most top of the range package at €3,000 per year (£2,385.86 at 09 July 2014 rates). This covers a year's free updates, 24 hour support from its core team, and a Bug Fix Warranty. Their second package, Complete, is priced at €499 per year (£396.85 at 09 July 2014 rates). Both packages come with three add-ons: Contour, Courier 2 and Concierge. All three add-ons are available separately at €99 (£78.77 at 09 July 2014 rates). Contour enables you to build online forms and questionnaires, over a few mouse clicks. Courier 2 offers seamless transfer of stylesheets, content and development items making for a trouble free process. Finally, Concierge is like an online caretaker for your website. Features include custom reporting, content checking and a 'health check' utility for your website.

Umbraco

• Latest Stable Version: 7.1.8
• Popularity: 15th
• Number of Sites: 28,489 (09 July 2014)
• Used By: H.J. Heinz, Take That, Toyota, SanDisk.com, TESCO.com, Wired.co.uk.