With experience working with Umbraco since version 4, I bring a long-term engineering perspective to Umbraco projects. As an independent Umbraco specialist and consultant, I work across architecture, development, upgrades, optimisation and ongoing technical support, I provide flexible expertise tailored to your business.
Umbraco is an open-source content management platform built on Microsoft .NET. It gives developers the flexibility to build tailored websites and digital platforms, while providing content editors with a straightforward way to manage and publish content. Its combination of an established technology stack, extensibility and API capabilities makes it suitable for a wide range of projects.
Umbraco provides a flexible foundation for building digital platforms around the needs of an organisation. Its extensible architecture allows developers to create tailored experiences, from straightforward corporate websites to complex platforms with bespoke functionality and integrations.
Built on Microsoft's .NET platform, Umbraco benefits from a mature and widely used technology stack. It can integrate naturally with existing Microsoft technologies and business systems, making it a practical choice for organisations already working within the Microsoft ecosystem.
Umbraco's open-source core gives organisations greater freedom over how their platform is developed and hosted, without tying the website to a proprietary technology stack. Umbraco also offers commercial products and professional support for organisations that need them.
Umbraco can support everything from smaller websites to complex digital platforms, with the flexibility to evolve as content, audiences and business requirements grow. Its extensible architecture makes it possible to add functionality and integrations without having to start again.
Umbraco is designed to make day-to-day content management straightforward. Editors can work with structured content, preview changes, schedule publishing and manage content without needing to rely on developers for every update.
Umbraco can manage multiple websites and languages from a shared platform, making it a practical choice for organisations operating across different brands, markets or regions. Content can be structured and managed centrally while allowing individual sites and language versions to have their own content, navigation and presentation. This provides consistency where it matters while retaining the flexibility to meet the needs of different audiences.
Umbraco development often involves more than building templates and configuring a CMS. As a freelance Umbraco developer and consultant, I bring hands-on development experience alongside the technical perspective to understand the wider picture, whether you need someone to build, fix or upgrade your platform, or provide advice on the right technical approach.
Whether you’re building a new Umbraco website, upgrading an existing platform or need ongoing technical support, I provide hands-on development and consultancy tailored to your project. From new functionality and integrations to troubleshooting, performance improvements and major version upgrades, I work alongside your team or take responsibility for the technical delivery.
Custom Umbraco development, new functionality, integrations, APIs, templates and components, including white-label development for agencies and technical teams.
Planning and delivering Umbraco upgrades, including major version migrations, package compatibility, deprecated functionality, content migrations and the testing needed to move an existing platform forward safely.
Ongoing technical support for existing Umbraco platforms, from fixing bugs and investigating issues to performance improvements, maintenance and helping your team make informed technical decisions.
Alongside Umbraco development, upgrades and support, I also provide technical expertise across the wider challenges that often sit around an Umbraco platform, including:
Identifying and resolving performance issues across Umbraco websites and the wider application stack, from inefficient code and database queries to caching, front-end performance and hosting configuration.
Platforms that need to support high levels of traffic, demanding workloads or high-availability requirements need performance and reliability considered as part of the wider architecture.
Connecting Umbraco with the other systems your business relies on, including APIs, third-party services, e-commerce platforms and bespoke applications.
This includes designing, building and troubleshooting integrations as part of a wider digital platform.
Providing practical technical advice when you need more than development alone, from architecture and technical planning to technology choices, troubleshooting and project decisions.
I assess existing platforms, identify technical risks and opportunities, and recommend practical approaches that balance business requirements with long-term maintainability, performance and scalability.
Technical direction can also continue throughout a project, from early discovery and solution architecture through to development, deployment and ongoing platform evolution.
Umbraco can sit at the centre of a much wider digital platform, connecting content with the other systems and services a business relies on. I work with traditional websites as well as headless and hybrid approaches, APIs, third-party integrations and cloud-based platforms, helping you choose an architecture that fits your requirements rather than forcing everything into a single model.
This includes platforms that need to scale, support significant traffic or provide reliable, high-availability services.
I work with established development practices including GitHub, GitHub Actions, GitLab and Azure DevOps, alongside feature branches, pull requests, CI/CD pipelines and automated deployments. This supports a structured approach to development, testing and release management, whether I’m working alongside an existing team or taking responsibility for delivery.
I have experience working with Umbraco Cloud, Microsoft Azure and cloud-hosted environments, including App Services, SQL Server, CDN integration and cloud-based deployment.
This includes supporting hosting and deployment environments that provide reliable performance, scalability and a practical foundation for ongoing development.
Umbraco can be used as part of a wider digital platform rather than simply as a traditional website CMS. Headless and hybrid approaches can connect Umbraco with separate front ends, applications or other services where a project needs greater flexibility in how content is delivered.
Umbraco provides the flexibility to manage multiple websites and languages from a shared platform, making it suitable for organisations operating across different brands, markets or regions.
This includes structuring and developing multi-site and multilingual Umbraco solutions, from content architecture and localisation through to implementation and ongoing management.
Real-world Umbraco experience
I’ve been working with Umbraco since version 4, right through to version 17, delivering websites and digital platforms for organisations ranging from colleges and public-sector organisations to global brands and high-profile sporting organisations. As a UK-based freelance Umbraco specialist and consultant, I bring nearly 30 years of web development experience to projects ranging from bespoke websites and digital platforms through to complex, high-traffic and highly integrated solutions.
My experience covers greenfield development, complex integrations, multilingual and multi-site platforms, headless implementations, upgrades, performance optimisation and long-term platform evolution. I work with businesses, agencies and in-house teams across the UK, providing specialist Umbraco expertise whether you need additional development capacity, technical consultancy or someone to take responsibility for a wider technical challenge.
Delivered a high-profile Umbraco platform in the lead-up to the London Olympics, working to immovable deadlines and demanding performance and reliability requirements.
Delivered a time-critical Umbraco platform supporting a Formula One sponsorship launch, where fixed race-day deadlines required careful planning and reliable delivery.
Designed and developed a multilingual Umbraco platform bringing together the public website, searchable course and vacancy catalogues, staff intranet and learner hub within a single digital platform.
Built a greenfield Umbraco platform using a phased approach, creating a flexible content structure that could evolve as the organisation expanded its range of destinations, sports and services.
Designed and developed a bespoke Mumsnet style digital platform using .NET and Umbraco, including custom property editors, editorial tools and scalable content structures for a growing online community.
Integrated Umbraco with nopCommerce using a headless architecture, giving the marketing team greater control over content while connecting it with the wider commerce platform.
TWO WEBSITES. ONE UMBRACO PLATFORM
Designed and developed a multi-site Umbraco solution supporting Container Sales (UK) Ltd and> Orange Box Self Storage from a single Umbraco installation. Each website has its own branding, content structure, navigation and user experience, while sharing the underlying technical foundation and common functionality.
The result allowed both businesses to operate independently while benefiting from a shared platform, without forcing them into the same design or content model.
BESPOKE API INTEGRATION
Developed an Umbraco CMS website for Bikram Yoga Leeds, providing a flexible platform for managing the studio’s content and class information. The site included a comprehensive class schedule, blog and detailed sections covering the different yoga moves and practices.
The platform also featured a custom integration with the HotYoga API, bringing available classes into the website and providing visitors with up-to-date schedule information, and booking platform directly within the Umbraco-powered site.
These projects have involved much more than building Umbraco websites. They have included solution architecture, content modelling, custom development, integrations, performance optimisation, deployment, technical consultancy and long-term platform evolution.
As a freelance Umbraco developer, I work with businesses, organisations, agencies and in-house teams that need experienced Umbraco development, technical support or consultancy. Whether you need a specialist Umbraco Consultant's help for a specific project or an experienced developer to work alongside your existing team, I can provide the level of involvement that suits your requirements.
Support, development and technical guidance for organisations with an existing Umbraco website or digital platform, whether you need to fix problems, add functionality or plan what comes next. Find out more about Umbraco CMS Support & Consultancy.
Technical planning and development for organisations considering a new Umbraco website or digital platform, from architecture and content modelling through to development and deployment.
Specialist Umbraco development and white-label support for agencies that need additional expertise, extra development capacity or someone to take on technically challenging work.
An experienced freelance Umbraco developer who can work alongside your existing developers, designers and digital teams, providing additional capacity or specialist knowledge when you need it.
Support for organisations planning or undertaking an Umbraco upgrade, including technical assessment, migration planning, development, testing and deployment.
Flexible technical support for teams that need continued access to an experienced Umbraco developer, whether that's occasional troubleshooting, ongoing maintenance or continued development.
Whether you're planning a new build, upgrading an existing platform or need experienced support, let's talk about what you need.
After having 3 full website rebuilds in the space of 4 years from different web design agencies which produced disappointing end results and bad service we knew we had to change the type of company we wanted to attempt our next build. We decided to look for a local consultant who we hoped could offer everything we ‘thought’ we needed but also suggest ideas beyond our brief and at the same time give advice how to design a better website, that is when we found Craig.
Needless to say the initial brief for Craig wasn’t an easy one as we were looking to re-launch 13 Football Club Online Stores at the same time, all running off one application. However it must have been fate that we were to find Craig for this project as the platform that he uses to build eCommerce sites had just added this functionality and Craig didn’t shy away from the scale of the task. Working closely with Craig and following his guidance we were able to create our own bespoke theme, which for the first time for us was fully responsive for easy tablet and mobile viewing and each theme could be adjusted for each individual store. Craig also solved many issues where the default system couldn’t accommodate our end goal. By the time we came to launch the sites we had a system in place that far surpassed anything we previously had.
That was 10 years ago, since then the sites have continually been upgraded and themes refreshed with new functions added along the way, always striving to make the sites as good as they can be and keeping up with the fast pace changes and expectation of websites in the current digital era.
Your Umbraco questions answered.
A freelance Umbraco developer can help with anything from building a new Umbraco website to developing new functionality, integrations and APIs, fixing problems, improving performance or upgrading an existing platform. I provide hands-on development as well as technical guidance where a project needs a broader view.
Yes. I regularly work with existing Umbraco platforms, including websites and digital platforms originally developed by other developers or agencies. I can help investigate problems, understand an existing codebase, add new functionality, improve performance, carry out upgrades or provide ongoing development and support.
Yes. I can help assess an existing Umbraco installation, plan the migration, address package and code compatibility, migrate content where required, test the upgraded platform and support the deployment. Major version upgrades need to be assessed individually because the work involved can vary considerably between projects.
Yes. I can work as an extension of an existing in-house team, providing additional Umbraco expertise or development capacity where you need it. I can also work with digital agencies on a white-label basis.
Yes. I work with Umbraco integrations and APIs, including connecting websites and digital platforms with third-party services, business systems and bespoke applications.
Yes. Umbraco can support websites operating across multiple languages, brands or regions. I have experience working with multi-site and multilingual platforms, including projects where several areas of a digital platform need to be managed from a shared Umbraco installation.
Yes. I have experience working with Umbraco Cloud, Microsoft Azure and cloud-hosted Umbraco environments, including application hosting, databases, CDN integration and deployment.
Yes. Umbraco can be used in traditional, headless and hybrid architectures. I can help determine the right approach where Umbraco needs to provide content to other applications, services or front-end technologies.
Yes. Umbraco can form part of a wider digital platform that uses AI services and automated workflows. Depending on the requirements, this could include connecting AI services through APIs, using AI to support content workflows or integrating AI functionality with other business systems. The right approach depends on what you are trying to achieve and the systems already in place.
Every project is different, but a typical Umbraco project can involve requirements and technical planning, content modelling, solution architecture, development, integrations, testing and deployment. I can be involved from the early planning stages through to development and launch, or join an existing project where specialist Umbraco development is needed.
Umbraco can be a good fit for organisations with more complex content, integration or governance requirements. Its flexibility allows platforms to be structured around different content types, users, websites, languages and business processes, while its Microsoft .NET foundation can integrate with wider enterprise technology environments. The suitability of Umbraco ultimately depends on the specific requirements, integrations and governance needs of the organisation.
The cost depends on the work involved, the complexity of the platform and whether you need a short piece of development, an upgrade or ongoing support. I can provide either a fixed-price proposal for clearly defined work or agree a day rate for ongoing or less predictable development and support.
Yes. I provide ongoing technical support and maintenance for Umbraco websites and digital platforms. This can range from occasional troubleshooting and bug fixing through to regular maintenance, performance improvements, new development and continued technical support as the platform evolves.
The best place to start is with a conversation about what you're trying to achieve. I can look at your existing Umbraco platform or discuss a new project, understand what you need and suggest the most appropriate way forward.
Ongoing technical support for existing Umbraco platforms, from fixing bugs and investigating issues to performance improvements, maintenance and helping your team make informed technical decisions.
Need support for an existing Umbraco platform? Find out more about Umbraco CMS Support & Consultancy.
