Platform Review for Umbraco and CMS websites
Understand what your platform is doing today and what it needs next
Many organisations inherit CMS platforms that have become difficult to change or expensive to maintain. In some cases, the structure behind the site is no longer clear. This is common in Umbraco, Sitecore and other enterprise CMS platforms where implementations have evolved over time.
A platform review shows how your website is built and how it behaves in practice. If you need a clear way forward, a platform review gives you a reliable basis for that decision.
When this is useful
A platform review is most useful when there is uncertainty about how well the current setup is working.
You may be:
- planning an upgrade but unsure how complex it will be
- deciding between different approaches to the platform
- dealing with recurring issues or technical debt
- finding the CMS difficult to use
- trying to understand whether the setup is still appropriate.
The aim is to establish a clear starting point before committing to further work.
ClerksWell has decades of experience working with complex CMS platforms including Umbraco, Sitecore and Optimizely.
As an Umbraco Platinum Partner, we are often brought in for a CMS audit to assess inherited or underperforming platforms and provide a clear path forward.
What we assess
A website audit will focus on how the platform performs in practice and what that means for ongoing work.
Code audit and technical review
We assess the quality and structure of your codebase, including custom components and dependencies. This highlights specific risks and points where the current setup may block change later. A full audit examines the entire codebase to surface issues such as vulnerabilities or performance bottlenecks.
CMS configuration and content model
We review how the CMS has been configured and how content is structured. This shows whether the setup supports editors and reflects how your organisation works.
Integrations and data flow
We look at how the platform connects to other systems and how data moves between them. This helps identify where unnecessary complexity has developed over time.
Performance and infrastructure
We assess performance and hosting to identify bottlenecks and areas where the platform is placing unnecessary load on the system.
Editorial experience
We review how the platform is managed day-to-day. This highlights where workflows or structure are slowing teams down.
Security and platform risk
We identify risks linked to outdated components or unsupported versions, along with any weaknesses in configuration.
Get a clear view of your platform
Most platforms don’t fail overnight. They drift out of alignment over time. This review identifies where that has happened and what to do next.
What you get
- Assessment of your current platform and how it is being used
- Identification of risk, inefficiency and missed opportunity
- Recommendations grounded in your business priorities
- A roadmap you can act on immediately
In some cases, a review confirms that the current platform can be improved. In others, it highlights structural issues that make further change difficult or costly.
This often leads to decisions around upgrade, rebuild or migration, particularly where organisations are moving from platforms such as Sitecore or legacy CMS setups to more flexible approaches.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this the same as a code audit?
A code audit is a core part of the review but it is only one element. We look at the codebase, the wider platform and how everything fits together so you can understand the full picture.
Do we need to be planning a rebuild?
No. We are often brought in to assess inherited or underperforming CMS platform. A review is often used earlier to understand whether a rebuild is necessary.
Is this review only for Umbraco websites?
It is most commonly used for Umbraco and similar CMS platforms where implementations have evolved over time. The same approach can be applied to any CMS where the structure, performance or maintainability has become unclear.
What happens after the review?
The next step depends on what we find. In some cases this leads to targeted improvement work, in others it informs a wider change or a move to a different platform.
What if everything is working well?
That is a valid outcome. In some cases the review confirms that the platform is ready to support ongoing change and does not introduce unnecessary risk. From there, work often shifts to areas such as improving performance, refining the editorial experience or planning future enhancements.
