Umbraco UI Builder speeds web development and eases data management

Open-source content management system (CMS) provider, Umbraco, has announced the general availability of its back-office data integration tool, Umbraco UI Builder. The add-on auto-generates familiar user interfaces for external data sources, making it easier for content editors to view and manage data.

Developers can integrate any third-party, or custom data source and use Umbraco UI Builder’s API to auto-generate management interfaces, including sections, dashboards, and content apps, then populate them with data collections.

Making use of low code, Umbraco UI Builder allows a single developer to create a full editing experience in a matter of minutes: a task that would normally take several developers a few days to complete.

Umbraco web content editors gain a user-friendly management interface that is enriched with additional data sources, such as product ratings.

The time-saving developer tool has been made available just six months after Umbraco’s acquisition of Outfield Digital, the company that developed the award-winning Konstrukt back-office UI software and popular Vendr e-commerce platform.

“If you’ve ever had to grapple with custom database tables or spent days integrating external data sources into a client’s website, this tool is for you,” comments Umbraco CTO, Filip Bech-Larsen, CTO. “Umbraco UI Builder smoothly integrates third-party data sources and, within minutes, presents that content to editors with a familiar look and feel to the rest of their Umbraco site. It’s a seamless extension, the only thing editors notice is enhanced functionality.”

More than a million retail, government, and professional websites have been built on the Umbraco platform over the past twenty years. It was cited as the primary CMS used by medium to large organisations in the UK Membership and Association Sector in last year’s MemberWise Digital Excellence survey.

Umbraco UI Builder gives website owners full control over where and how data is stored within their back-office environment. This helps organisations to comply with data regulations such as EU GDPR, and the UK Data Protection Act 2018, which requires that data is kept up to date, for no longer than necessary, allows for portability, and is handled in a way that ensures appropriate security.

“Umbraco UI Builder converts a few days’ coding into a simple configuration exercise to provide content editors with an intuitive experience that gives them full control over their data,” adds Bech-Larsen. “Standard and Professional Umbraco Cloud plans now include UI Builder, so that projects involving data integrations can go live faster.”