Upgrade paths recommendations
Overview
When considering Sitefinity upgrades, these are the key aspects to evaluate:
- Version upgrade
- Technology migration / modernization
- Cloud migration
Evaluating your upgrade readiness and preparing an action plan for the upgrade is essential. You can contact your Sitefinity account manager or implementation partner for assistance.
IMPORTANT: Support for Web Forms capabilities in Sitefinity CMS frontend was discontinued in version 14.1. Progress strongly advises against using Web Forms for production deployments in any version beyond 13.3 LTS, which is the last officially supported version for Web Forms.
Web Forms capabilities are no longer eligible for support, feature development, or bug fixes - including security updates. Any newly introduced or discovered issues, including critical bugs without workarounds, will not be addressed.
The recommended alternative options are ASP.NET Core and Next.js.
This article summarizes the upgrade paths recommendations by Progress, which will help you plan your optimal upgrade strategy.
Upgrade path for projects on retired Sitefinity versions
1. Perform a health check
Perform a health check with Progress Professional Services for a comprehensive assessment including upgrade readiness, performance analysis, and security checks.
For more information, see Sitefinity Check-up service.
2. Perform version upgrade
If your project is on a retired Sitefinity version, upgrade to the latest supported version - 14.4 LTS or 15.x. We recommend always choosing the latest available version.
For more information, see the corresponding procedure included in Upgrade Sitefinity CMS.
3. Migrate the frontend technology
Use Sitefinity Migration Analyzer to assess your project and scope the potential work to migrate your frontend to ASP.NET Core or Next.js. See Sitefinity Migration Analyzer.
Web Forms
If your project still runs Web Forms pages, templates, and widgets, you must modernize the frontend by transitioning to one of the recommended technologies:
MVC
You can still run the MVC pages, templates, and widgets, however we recommend modernizing them by transitioning to one of the recommended technologies:
Hybrid (Web Forms and MVC)
If your project runs both Web Forms and MVC pages, templates, and widgets, you must transition Web Forms to ASP.NET Core or Next.js. You can still run the MVC pages, templates, and widgets, however we recommend modernizing them as well.
For more information, see Migrate using a step-by-step approach.
4. Migrate to Sitefinity Cloud
Consider the option to migrate to Sitefinity Cloud to streamline future upgrades, reduce infrastructure overhead, and enhance overall system reliability.
For more information, see Cloud migration.
Upgrade path for projects on version 13.3 LTS
1. Perform a Health Check
Perform a health check with Progress Professional Services for a comprehensive assessment including upgrade readiness, performance analysis, and security checks.
For more information, see Sitefinity Check-up service.
2. Perform version upgrade
NOTE: The sunset phase of Sitefinity 13.3 LTS version has been extended until April 2026.
Upgrade to the latest supported version - 14.4 LTS or 15x. We recommend always choosing the latest available version.
For more information, see Upgrade from Sitefinity 13.3.
3. Migrate the frontend technology
Use Sitefinity Migration Analyzer to assess your project and scope the potential work to migrate your frontend to ASP.NET Core or Next.js. See Sitefinity Migration Analyzer.
Web Forms
If your project still runs Web Forms pages, templates, and widgets, you must modernize the frontend by transitioning to one of the recommended technologies:
MVC
You can still run the MVC pages, templates, and widgets, however we recommend modernizing them by transitioning to one of the recommended technologies:
Hybrid (Web Forms and MVC)
If your project runs both Web Forms and MVC pages, templates, and widgets, you must transition Web Forms to ASP.NET Core or Next.js. You can still run the MVC pages, templates, and widgets, however we recommend modernizing them as well.
For more information, see Migrate using a step-by-step approach.
4. Migrate to Sitefinity Cloud
Consider the option to migrate to Sitefinity Cloud to streamline future upgrades, reduce infrastructure overhead, and enhance overall system reliability.
For more information, see Cloud migration.
Upgrade path for projects on supported versions 14.4 and 15.x
1. Perform version upgrade
If your project is on a supported version 14.4 or 15.x, and you already use one of the recommended technology options, plan an upgrade to Sitefinity 15.4 LTS once this version is available.
2. Migrate the frontend technology
Use Sitefinity Migration Analyzer to assess your project and scope the potential work to migrate your frontend to ASP.NET Core or Next.js. See Sitefinity Migration Analyzer.
Web Forms
If your project still runs Web Forms pages, templates, and widgets, you must modernize the frontend by transitioning to one of the recommended technologies:
MVC
You can still run the MVC pages, templates, and widgets, however we recommend modernizing them by transitioning to one of the recommended technologies:
Hybrid (Web Forms and MVC)
If your project runs both Web Forms and MVC pages, templates, and widgets, you must transition Web Forms to ASP.NET Core or Next.js. You can still run the MVC pages, templates, and widgets, however we recommend modernizing them as well.
For more information, see Migrate using a step-by-step approach.
3. Migrate to Sitefinity Cloud
Consider the option to migrate to Sitefinity Cloud to streamline future upgrades, reduce infrastructure overhead, and enhance overall system reliability.
For more information, see Cloud migration.
Additional resources