Kentico 13 End of Support: Complete Migration Guide to Xperience by Kentico

If your website runs on Kentico 13, there's a deadline you can't afford to miss: support officially ends on December 31, 2026. After that date, your Kentico CMS will no longer receive security patches, bug fixes, or vendor support, leaving your website exposed to security vulnerabilities, compliance gaps, and rising technical debt.

The good news is that Kentico has built a clear, low-risk path forward: Xperience by Kentico (XbyK), the vendor's modern, AI-powered digital experience platform. This guide breaks down exactly what the end-of-support deadline means, whether you need an "upgrade" or a "migration," and how to move from Kentico 13 to Xperience by Kentico without disrupting your business.

Quick Answer: What Should You Do About Kentico 13 End of Support?

If you're on Kentico 13 or an older version, you should begin planning your upgrade to Xperience by Kentico now, well before the December 31, 2026 deadline. Most upgrade projects take several months from planning to go-live, so starting early gives your team room for proper testing, staff training, and a smooth, downtime-free launch, rather than a rushed migration under deadline pressure.

Why Kentico 13 End of Support Matters

Running a CMS past its support window isn't just an inconvenience, it's a genuine business risk. Once Kentico 13 support ends:

• No more security patches — any newly discovered vulnerability stays unpatched indefinitely.
• Compliance risk increases — regulations like GDPR and CCPA expect you to run supported, actively maintained software.
• No vendor troubleshooting — if something breaks, you're on your own.
• Innovation stalls — you lose access to new features, integrations, and performance improvements.

On the flip side, Xperience by Kentico gives your marketing and development teams a single, unified Kentico CMS platform that combines content management, digital marketing tools, and native AI, including the AIRA Agentic Marketing Suite and AI-assisted authoring through KentiCopilot, helping teams move faster with less manual work.

Upgrade vs. Migration: Which Path Is Right for You?

Before you start, it's worth clarifying the difference between an upgrade and a migration — they're not the same project, and the right one depends on your starting point.

If you're already on Kentico 13, you're almost always looking at an upgrade path rather than a full migration, which is faster, lower-risk, and preserves the content investment you've already made.

Preparing to Upgrade: 3 Steps to Set the Foundation

A successful upgrade starts well before any code changes. Kentico recommends three foundational steps:

1. Assess your current setup. Identify where Kentico 13 is slowing your team down — content workflows, integrations, personalization, or AI readiness — and define what success looks like after the upgrade.
2. Define your upgrade goals. Think beyond the technical lift. Where can you reduce reliance on custom code and IT maintenance? How can your team ship digital experiences and campaigns faster?
3. Secure stakeholder buy-in. The upgrades that go smoothest are the ones aligned across marketing, IT, and leadership from day one, with clear ownership and a shared understanding of scope and timeline.

The 5-Phase Kentico Upgrade Roadmap

A phased approach minimizes disruption and keeps your website operational throughout the transition. Here's the roadmap:

Phase 1: Planning & Strategy

• Review Kentico's official upgrade documentation and product support resources.
• Decide whether to upgrade everything at once or in phases.
• Explore automating structured content and data migration with Kentico's Migration Toolkit.
• Set a realistic timeline with clear milestones.
• Identify customizations that Xperience by Kentico now handles natively.
• Evaluate whether Xperience by Kentico SaaS fits your infrastructure goals.

Phase 2: Technical Preparation

• Create a copy of your production environment for upgrade testing.
• Set up a dedicated staging environment.
• Audit third-party integrations and update outdated APIs.

Phase 3: Upgrade Execution

• Use Kentico's automated upgrade tools to streamline the technical lift.
• Have developers test and iterate throughout the process.
• Confirm all workflows, forms, and templates function correctly.

Phase 4: Testing & Optimization

• Run full QA for broken links, UI issues, and page speed.
• Optimize for SEO and verify all redirects are working.
• Train your team on the new UI and workflows.
• Keep your new Xperience by Kentico instance updated throughout testing.

Phase 5: Go-Live & Post-Launch Support

• Perform a content freeze during the final migration window.
• Launch the upgraded platform.
• Monitor performance closely and gather team feedback.
• Apply continuous improvements based on real analytics.
• Stay current with Xperience by Kentico's monthly feature refreshes.

Common Upgrade Challenges (and How to Solve Them)

Every CMS upgrade comes with friction points. Here's how to handle the three most common ones:

Challenge 1: Data Migration Complexity

Use the fully supported Kentico Migration Tool, which includes AI-guided content migration via KentiCopilot. Clean up outdated or duplicate content before you start, and consider moving large sites in phases rather than all at once.

Challenge 2: Potential Downtime Risk

Build a staging or sandbox environment to test the upgrade before it goes live, and consider a soft launch, running your new Xperience by Kentico site alongside your existing one, then switching traffic over once everything checks out. Kentico's SEO & GEO Specialist agent within the AIRA Agentic Marketing Suite can also help preserve your search visibility during the transition. Scheduling the cutover during off-peak hours further reduces business impact.

Challenge 3: Team Adoption and Training

Get your content and marketing teams hands-on with the new system before launch, establish internal documentation and post-launch Q&A sessions, and lean on Kentico's own training materials and expert support. AIRA can also provide in-product guidance as your team gets up to speed.

The ROI of Upgrading to Xperience by Kentico

An upgrade isn't just a technical checkbox, it's a measurable business investment. Organizations that move from Kentico 13 to Xperience by Kentico typically see:

• Faster time to market — drag-and-drop content editing and AI-assisted authoring reduce dependency on IT for routine publishing.
• Smarter, faster content strategy — the AIRA Agentic Marketing Suite helps teams plan content, improve SEO, and surface new opportunities directly from within the platform.
• Lower costs and maintenance — a modern, cloud-based infrastructure (available via Xperience by Kentico SaaS) reduces hosting and licensing overhead.
• Stronger security and compliance — ISO 27001 and SOC 2 alignment, plus ongoing updates, help you stay ahead of regulations like GDPR and CCPA.
• Better customer engagement — automation and built-in intelligence let teams respond to customer needs faster.
• Reduced IT burden — a hybrid headless model gives developers flexibility while marketers get intuitive, no-code tools, with KentiCopilot supporting technical teams along the way.

Real-world results back this up. Organizations across travel, healthcare, finance, education, sports, and manufacturing have reported outcomes ranging from a 30% lift in conversions to an 84% increase in engagement after upgrading, proof that the ROI extends well beyond the IT department.

Kentico 13 Upgrade Checklist

Before you kick off your upgrade project, make sure you've covered:

• Define upgrade goals — identify why you're upgrading and set clear KPIs.
• Assess website content — inventory what needs to be migrated, optimized, or removed.
• Secure buy-in — align leadership, marketing, and IT.
• Set up a test environment — ensure safe testing before going live.
• Use the Kentico Migration Tool — leverage automation for a smoother transition.
• Optimize SEO & redirects — preserve your rankings and avoid broken links.
• Train your team — make sure everyone is comfortable with the new platform.
• Monitor post-launch performance — track analytics and optimize based on real data.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does Kentico 13 support end?

Kentico 13 support ends on December 31, 2026. After this date, the platform will no longer receive security updates or official vendor support.

Is upgrading from Kentico 13 the same as migrating to a new CMS?

No. Upgrading from Kentico 13 to Xperience by Kentico preserves your existing content, media, and customer data. A migration, moving from a different CMS entirely, requires a full data migration and application rebuild.

How long does a Kentico 13 upgrade take?

Timelines vary by site size and complexity, but Kentico recommends a phased approach covering planning, technical preparation, execution, testing, and go-live, typically spanning several months for a mid-to-large enterprise site.

Will upgrading to Xperience by Kentico affect my SEO rankings?

Not if it's planned properly. The testing and optimization phase of the upgrade roadmap specifically includes SEO checks and redirect verification, and dedicated tools exist to help preserve search visibility during the transition.

Do I need a development partner to upgrade from Kentico 13?

It's possible to use Kentico's own migration tools independently, but most organizations work with a certified Kentico partner to manage technical preparation, custom code adjustments, third-party integrations, and QA, reducing risk and shortening the overall timeline.

Don't Wait Until the Deadline

December 31, 2026 will arrive faster than most IT roadmaps assume. Starting your Kentico 13 upgrade planning now, rather than in Q4 2026, gives your team the runway to do it right: proper testing, real staff training, and a launch with zero surprises.

As a Kentico Silver Partner, DotStark helps organizations plan and execute Kentico 13 to Xperience by Kentico upgrades from assessment through go-live, so your Kentico CMS stays secure, modern, and fully supported well beyond the deadline.

Ready to start your upgrade assessment? Get in touch with our Kentico migration team.