Codegarden is an annual conference for people in the Umbraco community to share knowledge, connect, and inspire one another as they learn about and help shape the future of the platform. This year marked the 20th anniversary of Codegarden. In the early years, it was hosted in Copenhagen but moved to the city of Odense in 2017. Odense is a little under two hours west of Copenhagen, and it’s the city where Umbraco is based.
I had heard good things about the conference and was looking forward to the trip. Still, getting information about what to expect, beyond the logistics and schedule of events, proved challenging. Past attendees I’ve spoken with rave about the event, but seem to struggle to explain what, specifically, makes Codegarden so great. And if you put a couple of past attendees together? Forget about it. In such encounters, you’ll witness the exchange of knowing glances, nods, and obscure references to past shenanigans, including but not limited to upended vehicles, software funerals, or “tons of sand.”
And so, off to Odense I was headed, equipped with all the logistical details but preparing myself to expect the unexpected.
The Umbraco events I’ve been to in the US tend to be pretty casual, but since I was also attending the business summit as a part of Codegarden, I wanted to take a lead from the ZZ Top playbook and arrive as a sharp-dressed man. The only problem was that, hours before I planned to leave for the airport, when I went to pick up all the clothes I planned to wear throughout the week from the dry cleaners, NOTHING was ready. None of the clothes I planned to pack and bring were there. At home, in my closet, the sum total of remaining business attire (that still fits) was zero. But, as fate would have it, what I did have was a whole lot of country western clothing—some fresh off the rack from the Alcala’s Father’s Day sidewalk sale.
And so, that’s how my first trip to Denmark and my first trip to Codegarden involved me dressed as an urban cowboy.
We arrived in Odense early Sunday afternoon. Sunday and early Monday, we had a chance to explore Odense and visit some charming cafes before attending a Happy Hour meetup for other U.S. partners. There, we got to catch up with friends and industry colleagues from other agencies. There’s a good amount of collaboration between partners, and with Umbraco starting to gain traction in the U.S. market, it’s a good opportunity to share information and discuss business and industry trends.
The business summit kicked off on Tuesday with a keynote by Chuck Gahun, principal analyst at Forrester, who spoke optimistically about the future of CMS. He indicated that investment in CMS technology is increasing as AI agents augment the capabilities of content teams to produce and manage personalized content at scale. Overall, the summit was an engaging mix of panels, case studies, and sneak peeks at the roadmap, all masterfully MC’d by Mats Persson, Umbraco’s CEO. The intimate nature of the summit reflects Umbraco’s openness to partner feedback. On the agency side, we have a good perspective of what customers want. In bidding for projects, we get to see what technology sells and what doesn’t. Working across projects, we have a direct line to the features and functionality Umbraco end-users want and need.
The willingness to listen and the ability to adapt the product roadmap based on customer feedback are not as common as you would expect and, in my opinion, create a competitive advantage for Umbraco.
The business summit coincided with workshops and an event for MVPs. Afterward, the first day concluded with a kick-off party at Umbraco HQ—a pirate-themed party, as it turns out. Just my luck. Should I don the eye patch or not? Cowboy boots, western suit, and a parrot on my shoulder—what cosplay blasphemy have I gotten myself into!?
The party was lively, and setting the tone for the rest of the conference, everyone was friendly and inviting of conversation. It’s a big shift from the cliquey nature of other tech conferences I’ve attended where, aside from small talk and pleasantries, people mostly keep to themselves or the group they came with. Codegarden veterans seem to go out of their way to make first-timers or people off by themselves feel welcome and included.
And inevitably, the next thing you know, maybe you’re out too late, singing karaoke duets with newfound friends.
The conference was packed with practical insights. Some sessions were highly technical and geared toward developers, while others dealt more with outcomes and the human side of design and technology. The keynotes covered some exciting product announcements, including Umbraco Compose and Umbraco MCP Server, which I cover in my product announcement recap.
In the session titled “It’s the Journey that Sells,” Corné Hoskam, Technical Lead at Umbraco, did a deep dive into Umbraco Engage’s personalization features and how it can help deliver smarter product recommendations for commerce sites, all while navigating the realities of privacy and first-party data collection.
Several talks dove into the future of the web and AI’s expanding role—including a thought-provoking session by Rutger Stoel, Product Owner at Perplex Digital, that questioned whether, as AI agents become our go-to helpers online, we might soon be designing digital experiences less for humans and more for the AI themselves. In the session, “Is ChatGPT killing the penguins? And other AI considerations,” James Hobbs, Head of Technology at AER Studios, provoked discussion about the environmental impact of large language models, the ethics of using AI responsibly, and some passionate debate about which penguin species reigns supreme (spoiler alert: it’s definitely the Rockhopper).
In the most deeply moving talk of the event, “Intentionally building community through ritual,” Jason Wodicka talked about group dynamics and how rituals can reinforce norms, delving into our ability to shape healthy communities that foster inclusion and produce a positive impact on the world around us. They also cautioned how the same sense of community belonging can result in an “in” vs. “out” group mentality, and that this divide has the potential to lead down paths of exclusion, toxicity, and even hate. Being the exceptional storyteller they are, Jason left the audience with serious things to think about, but also a sense of great optimism.
Overall, the sessions provided a great mix of looking to the future, practical takeaways, and human-centered discussions, leaving me both inspired and thinking hard about where the industry, and our world, is headed.
Inclusive Absurdity
Simply describing content highlights and some thought-provoking sessions doesn’t do justice to the event. The veiled warnings to expect the unexpected were justified, and having attended, I agree that it’s an event you need to experience to appreciate.
I believe the hard-to-describe part of the experience stems from the intersection of three powerful forces.
The first is the cultish enthusiasm of the Umbraco open-source community and their passion for co-creating the product and the packages that support it.
The second is a chemical reaction from these enthusiasts coming together resulting in what I can only describe as “inclusive absurdity.” Get weird, have fun, be yourself, be nice to each other.
The third is a seemingly obsessive attention to detail by the Codegarden organizers that embraces the absurdity and creates a place and space for it to thrive.
I understand now why it’s hard to explain what to expect at Codegarden. The brilliance is that even Umbraco team members are not entirely sure what to expect. The masterminds of the event distribute parts of the planning, in secrecy, to different internal groups. So, as the event unfolds, there’s an element of surprise for everyone.
Though the schedule was built around the sessions and content, there were plenty of opportunities between and around sessions to recharge or connect with others. Group runs and bike rides through Odense, saunas, and afternoon yoga sessions were open to attendees. Many spent downtime between sessions outside playing Hammerschlagen, a competitive game that involves hammering nails into tree stumps with other attendees. As the venue was right on the river, a small boat offered 15-minute boat rides with pirate maidens blasting jams from a killer Spotify playlist.
Other highlights on the fun and weird side are things that seem to have become canon: the variety-show-style formal dinner which included skits, Gregorian monks chanting (an homage to Monty Python), singing, dancing, and of course bingo with the aforementioned preposterous prizes—I was two squares away from winning a camper trailer! Did we break the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest game of musical chairs? I'm pretty sure I saw a unicorn walking around one morning. And, not shockingly, most nights ended up with dancing.
I thought Codegarden was worth going to and had a fantastic time. But like most things, what you get out of it depends on what you put into it. As a community-focused event, the more you participate, the better time you’ll have. If you haven’t attended Codegarden before and are considering whether to make the pilgrimage to Copenhagen in 2026, I think it comes down to whether you want to be a “part” of it all. If you’re exclusively focused on the educational side of things, you might opt to stream the sessions and benefit from the content that way. But if you are interested in forming connections within the community, you’d probably have a great time.
For those who are Codegarden-curious, consider checking out the Umbraco US Festival in Chicago this year. It will be a great opportunity to meet Umbraco leadership, developers, enthusiasts, and people who are excited about the future of the platform.
Personally, I hope to see you all in Copenhagen next year!