Scaling Umbraco in Practice
Many organisations began with the Umbraco CMS as a straightforward website. Over time, it often grew into something central: a multilingual Umbraco hjemmeside, a transactional Umbraco webshop, or a platform integrated with ERP, CRM, and other systems.
As scope expanded, so did expectations. Marketing wanted new features delivered faster. IT needed stable Umbraco integrations. Leadership expected consistent performance. Internal teams carried these demands while also managing daily operations.
Recruitment often looks like the natural answer. In reality, hiring takes time. Skilled Umbraco developers are difficult to find, and expanding payroll reduces flexibility. Across projects in Denmark, Germany, Greenland, and the Middle East, we have seen other ways succeed. Five approaches stand out as reliable ways to scale Umbraco development without enlarging internal teams.
1. Extend Capacity with External Umbraco Teams
External Umbraco specialists are often most valuable when internal teams already run at full stretch. The core team sets priorities and standards. Extra developers focus on the work that would otherwise stall.
At Workways, we saw this division work well. Their people knew exactly where they wanted the platform to go. By adding Phases developers into the mix, features were delivered faster, but direction stayed firmly in-house. As one of their leaders said, “Phases were very solution-oriented, fast and precise. We are very happy with the cooperation.”
Hospitality associations in Northern Europe faced a different kind of pressure. Regulations changed often, and their Umbraco websites had to reflect those changes quickly. In that case, the external team acted as a buffer, absorbing unpredictable peaks while the in-house group continued operations without interruption.
Universities brought yet another variation. At one institution, researchers prepared requirements, IT kept compliance on track, and our team delivered sprints every two weeks. The insight here is simple: external capacity works best when it gives internal staff space, not when it takes over their role.
2. Outsource Complexity, Protect the Core
Some areas of Umbraco development are best handled by specialists who live in the detail every day. Passing these tasks to an Umbraco partner allows internal developers to focus on shaping the organisation’s digital future.
In Greenland, Kommune Kujalleq already carried responsibility for a wide range of citizen services. Their IT leadership kept governance under tight control. Our role was more surgical: handling selected Umbraco development and integrations under that framework. The clarity of boundaries is what made the collaboration efficient. As they reflected afterwards, “We experience Phases as a competent and very present partner, who delivers quickly and with high quality.”
The same principle applies to Umbraco hosting, migrations, ERP and CRM Umbraco integrations, or ongoing Umbraco SEO. These are not trivial jobs, but they are repetitive, and they draw energy away from strategy when kept in-house.
The projects that succeed in this model are the ones where roles are unambiguous: leadership with the client, technical execution with the partner.
3. Run a Hybrid Agile Model
When external developers join, leaders often ask how they will maintain visibility. A hybrid agile setup provides that answer.
With Normann Copenhagen, the interesting challenge was translating design precision into digital commerce. Their team led the creative direction. Our developers worked in short sprints. What stood out was how visibility changed the rhythm: decisions came faster because progress was evident every two weeks. One of their directors later summed it up as “structured and flexible,” which matched how the cooperation felt on both sides.
Elsewhere, we have seen the same benefits when two-week cadences, transparent boards, and regular reviews became routine. The success did not depend on location. It depended on structure: backlog discipline, clear reporting, and shared definitions of completion.
Hybrid agile is less about combining teams and more about synchronising pace.
4. Turn Time Zones into an Advantage
Aviation projects rarely wait for daylight. At Etihad Airways Engineering, the rhythm that emerged was simple but powerful. European staff set priorities during their day. Overnight, our developers in India advanced the work. By morning, progress was waiting for review.
This near-continuous cycle shortened delivery times and eased deadlines. The real lesson was in the handovers: tickets updated, notes written clearly, environments prepared. Without that, geography would have created delays. With it, distance became a way to extend the working day.
As one of their managers later put it, “Phases delivered on time and exceeded expectations with their ability to adapt and align with our internal processes.” That feedback captured exactly why the model worked.
5. Keep Stability with Dedicated Umbraco Support
Scaling only works when the base remains stable. Without structured support, small issues pile up. Plug-ins age, SEO slips, and the user experience declines quietly until it becomes obvious.
During a civic campaign, NYC Votes faced that reality. Their site carried high traffic and public visibility. The pressure was not to launch something new, but to keep the existing Umbraco platform performing under heavy load. Phases provided steady support routines. These included monitoring, bug resolution, and performance optimisation. This gave the campaign team confidence. In their words, “Phases demonstrated deep technical expertise and a commitment to the success of our mission.”
Commercial projects show the same principle. A German manufacturer’s Umbraco webshop slowed over time. Nothing failed outright, but the build-up of small gaps undermined performance. Scheduled upgrades, hosting reviews, and SEO adjustments returned stability. The broader lesson is that strong platforms are not built once. They are maintained through routines that keep decline at bay.
Why Denmark & India Together Work
Many organisations want both proximity and scale. They want a partner who understands context and culture, and they want a delivery base that can expand when projects grow.
Phases brings both together. In Denmark, clients work with a local digitalt bureau that shares their standards. In India, they gain access to a larger team that adapts to shifting workloads.
Clients often tell us that the balance is what makes it work: a familiar partner close to home, and a broader team that keeps projects moving without delay.
Closing Reflection
Scaling an Umbraco CMS is less about hiring and more about structure. Internal teams continue to lead strategy. External specialists bring strength where capacity or expertise is required.
From our experience, five practices stand out:
-
Extending capacity with external teams
-
Assigning technical complexity to partners
-
Running hybrid agile models
-
Using time zones as continuity
-
Building stability with structured support
Together, these approaches allow Umbraco websites and Umbraco webshops to evolve in step with business needs. Internal developers stay focused on leadership and innovation.