The Future of Kentico 13 and the move to Xperience by Kentico

We are at a pivotal moment for the Kentico platform and it’s users

If you’re currently running Kentico Xperience 13 (KX13), you’ve probably heard the news: "official support ends on 31st December 2026".

Before the alarm bells ring too soon, your site isn’t going to suddenly stop working, but it does mean no more regular bug fixes, feature updates, or official support from Kentico.

So what’s the story, and how do you navigate this change with confidence?

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What's happening?

Kentico 13 won’t “switch off” after 2026.

The reality is:

✅ Your site will continue to run after December 2026
✅ You can still host it and even renew your licence
⚠️ You won’t receive regular fixes, patches, or technical support from Kentico
⚠️ Compliance risks may arise for industries requiring supported software (especially for e-commerce or regulated industries)

In practice, organisations can keep running K13 if needed, but most will find that moving to Xperience by Kentico (XbyK) avoids unnecessary risks and unlocks new opportunities with the new Digital Experience Platform (DXP) it provides.

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Why the change is happening?

This isn’t just a Kentico decision. It’s driven by a wider technology shift as Microsoft retires older technology that legacy content management systems are built on.

Kentico 13 is built on Microsoft .NET 6 tech, which reached end of support in November 2024. Microsoft’s faster release cycle means older frameworks also fall out of security coverage more quickly and Kentico can’t provide long-term support on an ongoing basis for software built on unsupported technology.

So, to stay future-proof, Kentico invested in a ground-up rebuild on the current versions of .NET.

Moving to Xperience by Kentico (XbyK) isn’t just an “upgrade”, it’s a new hybrid-headless platform aligned with modern development and hosting standards available also as SaaS product.

This ensures:‍

• Security aligned withMicrosoft’s lifecycle
• Evergreen monthly updates instead of disruptive major upgrades
• Cloud-native flexibility for scaling and resilience

In short, it’s good news for the long term.

Our approach for your migration

Change can feel daunting, especially when you have a website that’s working. With the right approach, this doesn’t need to be a stressful rebuild. It’s an opportunity.

With support ending in late 2026, you’ve got time to plan. Your migration doesn’t need to be rushed, but it shouldn’t be left until the last minute.

Planning ahead and allowing yourself good time is naturally well advised.  Consider compliance deadlines if you operate in a regulated industry, then you may need to migrate earlier and ensure the process has started in time for annual budgeting. Time your migration strategically and consider combining with a UX refresh or brand update as a fast-follow for greater ROI.

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Our philosophy: replicate first, evolve second

One of the biggest risks in any migration is trying to change too much at once. Scope creeps, timelines extend, stakeholders grow and budgets balloon. That’s why we champion a clear approach: get your site safely onto the new platform first, then focus on improvements and innovation.

This keeps teams aligned, reduces risk, and gets you onto a supported platform faster – and eliminating security exposure sooner. Once you’re live on the Xperience by Kentico (XbyK) platform, you can evolve your site through continuous improvement cycles.

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Addressing concerns head-on

“Is this a migration, an upgrade, or a rebuild?”

It’s easy to get lost in taxonomy but it is essentially a re-platform. Moving to XbyK isn’t a single ‘click a button to upgrade’ process, it does require thought and effort and we’re here to support that process.

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“What about our content?”‍

Kentico provides toolkits to assist with content migration, and we’ve developed a various processes and tools, including AI, to make this process as efficient as possible. Some manual review and re-modelling may be needed, but we handle the heavy lifting.

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“How much development work is involved?”

‍Templates, modules, and custom back-end code need to be re-created in XbyK. However, recognising any challenges early means we can turn them into opportunities and optimise for the new XbyK system.

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“Will our team need extensive training?”

‍If you’re using the KX13 admin interface, you’ll find Xperience by Kentico (XbyK) very familiar. We provide focused training to help your team take advantage of new capabilities, you won’t need to relearn the basics.

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“What about budget?”

‍There is an investment to move to XbyK, but this should be viewed in the light of being offset by reduced maintenance costs, fewer future upgrades, and the advantages of a modern DXP to focus on your brand’s marketing objectives. We can help you build a business case for your senior leadership.

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A partner in charge

Migration is as much about change management as it is about technology. Modern Citizens brings proven expertise providing both reassurance and hands-on guidance:

• We have 7 certified Kentico developers in the UK and certified Kentico marketers
• We have a long standing relationship working with Kentico and their technology and were the first UK agency to deploy Xperience by Kentico
• We have a proven track record and have supported clients through numerous Kentico version sunsets
• We can audit your current site and integrations, plan and execute content migration, train your team, and provide support during and after launch

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The benefits of moving to XbyK (and working with us)

Xperience by Kentico has been designed as a modern DXP, blending CMS and marketing features with a cloud-native foundation. It’s not just about staying supported, it provides capabilities to enable driving real business outcomes.

Key advantages include:

• ‍Evergreen platform: No more version upgrades. Continuous monthly updates for features and security mean you’re always current without disruptive major upgrades.‍
• Hybrid-headless architecture: Build web experiences visually whilst reusing content across apps, and other channels.‍
• Cloud-native SaaS option: Azure-hosted with auto-scaling, resilience, and managed updates. On-premise deployments are also available for flexibility, XbyK can even be hosted in the same Windows Server environment that K13 uses. No mandatory cloud migration.‍
• Integrated marketing tools: Personalisation, automation, email campaigns, and digital asset management built in, it is a DXP, not only a CMS.‍
• AI assistance: Features like AIRA (Kentico’s AI assistant) support content creation, automatically tag images, generate metadata, suggest image focal points, and refine rich text. All data remains securely within your Kentico instance to support GDPR requirements.‍
• Scalability and performance: Handle traffic spikes effortlessly, improve resilience, reduce infrastructure overheads.

Outcomes working with Modern Citizens:

• Improvement in Core Web Vitals
• Faster time-to-publish for editors
• Lower security and compliance risk on a supported stack
• Reduce technical debt through evergreen updates

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Future-proof your digital experience

XbyK helps brands future-proof their digital presence whilst delivering marketing agility.

The move from Kentico 13 to Xperience by Kentico isn’t about “keeping up with Kentico”, it’s a shift-change to the system that aligns with broader industry trends such as evergreen updates, hybrid-headless architectures, SaaS options and AI-driven marketing.

You have time but the sooner you plan, the smoother your migration will be. This isn’t solely a technical upgrade, it’s an opportunity to future-proof your business and digital presence.

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Our “Migrate then Iterate” approach

At Modern Citizens, we’ve refined a methodology that reduces risk and accelerates value:

‍Migrate then Iterate.

Here’s how it works:

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Phase 1: Plan

• Plan the migration with clear “migration decisions”
• Clean up existing content and carry out hygiene tasks
• Define what stays “as-is” to establish a safe baseline
• Identify what can wait for post-migration improvement

Phase 2: Migrate

• Execute your migration plan using Kentico’s content migration tools
• Replicate your current site in XbyK, same URLs, same design, same functionality
• Re-code widgets, components, and integrations to work in XbyK
• Test against a known baseline
• Launch with confidence

Phase 3: Iterate

• Now transition to evolving your digital territory
• Carry out changes and enhancements in controlled cycles
• Begin continuous improvement: test, learn, evolve
• Ensure experiences remain fresh and impactful
• Take advantage of new XbyK features as they mature

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Why this approach works

✓ Reduces risk by separating migration from innovation
✓ Keeps teams aligned on a clear baseline
✓ Gets you live faster on a supported platform
✓ Eliminates security exposure sooner
✓ Allows you to learn XbyK before making major changes
✓ Prevents scope creep and budget overruns
✓ Creates space for thoughtful, strategic evolution

By migrating your site as-is first, you achieve a known baseline to test from. Once fully migrated and tested, you go live. Then you move forward through iterative cycles to evolve your site towards your vision of what it could be.

As the saying goes:

‍“Good fortune is what happens when opportunity meets with planning.”

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Contact us to discuss any question or to plan your project with a clear roadmap that gets you safely onto Xperience by Kentico (XbyK) and sets you up for long-term success.