Westfund Umbraco 13 Platform Upgrade Case Study

Westfund - Platform Upgrade

Upgrading Westfund for Long-Term Digital Stability

Deepend upgraded Westfund’s website and joining tool to Umbraco 13 LTS, delivering zero downtime, no launch defects and a project outcome 10% under budget.

Client: Westfund

Industry: Healthcare, Private Health Insurance, Financial Services,

Services: Intelligent Platforms & AI Systems; Digital Transformation & Strategy; Human & Machine Experience Design

Target Audiences: Private health insurers and regulated organisations running business-critical digital platforms on ageing CMS technology

Year: 2023 - 2024

Overview

Technology platforms such as Umbraco CMS follow structured release cycles, including short-term and long-term support (LTS) versions. Long-term releases are the most stable, secure, and cost-effective for organisations, while short-term releases introduce new features that may not be suitable for production environments.

For Westfund, the looming end-of-life for their existing Umbraco version presented a growing business risk. Without an upgrade, they faced potential issues with security, performance, and ongoing support. Deepend partnered with the health insurer to strategically upgrade their website and joining tool to Umbraco 13 LTS, ensuring future-proof stability and enhanced user experience.

To address this challenge, Deepend developed a business value case and upgrade roadmap to move them to the latest long-term release of Umbraco. This upgrade not only secured the platform but also unlocked new CMS features to deliver a richer, more personalised digital experience.

The complexity lay in the fundamental shift in Umbraco’s codebase and page construction model. This required a detailed migration strategy, analysing each website module and mapping dependencies.

Using our proven technology-led project methodology, we created a roadmap that broke down every stage into clear deliverables. Deepend collaborated closely with the client’s internal team, conducting deep dives into each CMS module to determine what needed rebuilding, adapting, or retiring. This structured approach ensured clarity, efficiency, and alignment between all stakeholders.

The Challenge

Westfund’s existing Umbraco version was approaching end of life, creating growing risk around security updates, performance and ongoing support.
The upgrade also involved a fundamental change in Umbraco’s codebase and page construction model, making a simple version update impractical.

The Opportunity

Moving to Umbraco 13 LTS could reduce platform risk while creating a more stable and scalable foundation for future digital growth.
The upgrade also created an opportunity to introduce newer CMS capabilities, performance enhancements and additional customisation options.

Team members working on roadmapping for clients project

ROAD MAPPING & RESEARCH

The team analysed each module across the corporate website and joining tool, mapping dependencies and deciding what should be rebuilt, adapted or retired.

Clients sitting in workshop discussing Business Cases for a project

Stock image of person working on laptop testing and risk solutions

What We Delivered

Business value case
Umbraco 13 LTS upgrade strategy
Technical roadmap
Module and dependency analysis
Website and joining tool migration
Engineering and platform customisation
Test planning
Risk management
Launch support
Performance enhancements

Impact

Delivered on time and 10% under budget
Zero downtime at launch
No defects at launch
18 months of continuous bug and security updates under the stated LTS support window
Improved platform stability, maintainability and scalability
Additional performance enhancements and customisation options

Value and Impact

Future-Ready Stability

Upgrading to Umbraco 13 LTS ensured long-term security, stability, and scalability for ongoing digital growth.

Cost-Efficient Delivery

The project was completed on time and 10% under budget, maximising value while reducing business risk.

Seamless User Experience

Zero downtime and performance enhancements delivered a faster, more reliable digital experience for users.

Problem & Insight

Remaining on an unsupported CMS version would expose Westfund to security, maintenance and continuity risks.

Because the joining tool was mission-critical, the upgrade needed to protect customer access while managing the technical complexity of Umbraco’s changed architecture.

Strategy & Experience Design

Deepend framed the upgrade around business value rather than treating it as a purely technical migration.

A detailed roadmap gave stakeholders visibility of timelines, effort, dependencies and expected outcomes, helping align technical work with business priorities.

Technology & Delivery

Deepend migrated the platform to Umbraco 13 LTS and reviewed every module across the corporate website and joining tool.

Rigorous test plans covered inputs, outputs and success criteria, reducing launch risk and protecting continuity for the customer-facing joining experience.

Results

The upgrade was delivered on time and 10% under budget, with zero downtime and no defects at launch.

Westfund moved onto a more stable and maintainable CMS foundation, with ongoing support, performance enhancements and greater scope for future customisation.