Embracing Hybrid Digital Transformation with Sitecore 10.4

Sitecore 10.4 upgrade is a major step forward in empowering brands to transform their digital experiences through an innovative hybrid approach. Released in April 2024, this latest release seamlessly integrates the power of a full CMS with the flexibility of headless capabilities.  With over 200 enhancements across the board, Sitecore XP 10.4 gives marketers and developers alike new superpowers to build personalized, connected experiences at scale.

Whether your goal is to simplify the creation of dynamic web content, establish tighter security, or develop deeper customer insights, Sitecore 10.4 has the features and capabilities to help you get there.

Today, we'll take a closer look at the top highlights of the new upgrade and how its new capabilities can help accelerate your digital initiatives.

Benefits of Sitecore 10.4 upgrade

As customer expectations continue to rise in the digital world, businesses need to ensure their technologies can provide seamless, personalized experiences. While earlier versions of Sitecore offered a strong foundation, the evolving digital landscape presented opportunities for enhancement. The upgrade to Sitecore XP 10.4 address several key areas:

• Stronger security: Protecting sensitive customer data requires robust security measures as cyber threats evolve. Sitecore XP 10.4 incorporates the latest security enhancements to safeguard information and address vulnerabilities.
• Simplified cloud deployments: More organizations use cloud-based environments. The upgraded version improves integration with platforms like Microsoft Azure, streamlining Sitecore's deployment and management in the cloud.
• Gateway for composable solutions: While some pursue headless and composable Digital Experience Platforms, the transition demands resources - especially for large enterprises invested in Sitecore. The upgrade establishes a solid foundation for gradually adopting these architectures over time.
• Supports globalization: Direct support for custom languages eliminates unnecessary .NET integrations. This opens the door for organizations to better serve diverse, global audiences.

Discover why upgrading to version 10.4 can be a crucial investment for enhancing your Sitecore implementation.

Key features of Sitecore 10.4

The new upgrade of Sitecore experience platform brings a host of innovative features and enhancements to revolutionize digital experience management. Let's dive into the key improvements that make this version a game-changer for marketers and developers alike.

Improved accessibility and user experience

Aligning with W3C ARIA Authoring Practices Guide, Sitecore 10.4 introduces advanced keyboard-based navigation in the Content Editor. This enhancement not only improves accessibility but also boosts overall productivity for content managers. Users can now navigate menu ribbons, access tree items, and edit content fields efficiently using keyboard shortcuts.

Streamlined data migration

Sitecore's shift towards a module-based approach brings flexibility and efficiency to the upgrade process. Two notable modules introduced with this new release are:

• XM to XM Cloud content migration tool: Simplifies the migration of content, media, and users from Sitecore 10.1 or later to XM Cloud instances.
• xDB to CDP migration tool: Facilitates the transfer of xDB contacts to Sitecore CDP using Sitecore Connect, bridging the gap between on-premises and cloud-based customer data management.

Sitecore XP dataflow

Enhanced personalization capabilities

Sitecore 10.4 takes personalization to new heights with the introduction of Sitecore Connect for xConnect.

Source: drengashi

This powerful integration allows marketers to extend their reach beyond the Sitecore ecosystem, creating seamless automations between various marketing platforms.

The ability to trigger campaigns and goals using site-wide rules is another standout feature. Marketers can now set multi-level conditions based on page visits, location, and hierarchy, offering more sophisticated targeting options without the need for page-specific goal assignments.

Sitecore Experience Accelerator (SXA) 10.4 upgrades

SXA 10.4 introduces wide range of enhancements to improve development efficiency and content management:

• Support for Tailwind Grid in components
• Option to specify non-content sites as internal
• Improved control over rendering visibility in the Experience Editor toolbox

Headless services advancements

Sitecore Headless Services 22.x brings important updates for developers working with headless architectures:

• Adoption of Next.js 14 as the default framework
• Improved handling of component-level functions in development and production modes
• Enhanced retry strategies for Experience Edge requests involve configuring retries and a custom strategy, addressing GraphQL rate limits of 80 requests/second.

Other key enhancements and performance improvements

Sitecore 10.4 also delivers numerous enhancements aimed at improving security, performance, and flexibility:

• Add non-standard language-region pairings directly in Sitecore without OS-level registration.
• "Sitecore Client Content Reader" for read-only access to content and media.
• Multi-language support for SXA 500 error pages.

Explore how to configure the host name and a virtual folder for a Sitecore SXA site.

Key considerations for upgrading to Sitecore 10.4

Testing custom code and integrations

The first step is to thoroughly test all existing custom code and third-party integrations for compatibility with the new version. This ensures a smooth transition without operational disruptions after deploying the update.

Staging environment testing

Conduct extensive testing in a staging environment that mirrors production. This allows identifying and resolving any issues proactively before deploying the upgrade to the live site. Comprehensive testing is critical for a seamless go-live experience.

Training for new features

Provide training to familiarize teams with all the new features and enhancements in 10.4 to maximize efficiency gains. Ensuring users understand the changes will help adoption and optimization of the updated platform.

Backups before updating

Always take a full backup of the existing Sitecore instance before initiating any upgrade. This safeguards against data loss or issues during the update process. Backups provide an emergency rollback option for unforeseen complications.

Choose an experienced upgrade partner

When managing a complex upgrade project such as Sitecore 10.4, selecting a partner with deep expertise in Sitecore upgrades is crucial. Altudo’s specialized Sitecore upgrade team has successfully managed 500+ implementations, leveraging our comprehensive understanding of various Sitecore architectures to meticulously plan and execute migrations. By entrusting your Sitecore 10.4 upgrade to Altudo, you benefit from the assurance of working with a vendor renowned for its proven track record and expertise in platform upgrades.

What’s next?

Upgrading to Sitecore 10.4 presents an opportunity to elevate your digital experience. However, undertaking such a strategic initiative requires careful planning and execution to ensure business continuity.

As a certified Sitecore partner with a track record of successfully implementing Sitecore upgrades across industries, Altudo is well-equipped to assist you through the transition.

If you're ready to fortify your digital experiences with the innovations in Sitecore 10.4, contact Altudo to discuss how our Sitecore upgrade experts can help migrate your website efficiently and with minimal disruption.