uSkinned Visual Editor, reimagined in Site Builder 7.3

When we first introduced the Visual Editor in uSkinned Site Builder 6.2 back in February 2025, we wanted to make building websites with Umbraco simpler by allowing you to see changes as you made them.

With Site Builder 7.3, we've taken that experience to a whole new level.

You can now interact directly with your page, click to edit content, add and rearrange blocks, undo changes and even manage site-wide content, all from within the Visual Page Editor.

But we haven't stopped there. We've also introduced new SEO previews, more flexible listings, improvements to custom blocks, and plenty of other enhancements.

Let's take a look! 🚀

A whole new way to work with the uSkinned Visual Editor

The biggest change in Site Builder 7.3 is undoubtedly the Visual Page Editor.

We've redesigned the editing experience to make building and managing your pages feel more natural. Instead of switching between content fields and a preview, you can now interact directly with the page you're building.

Meet the reimagined Visual Page Editor

Click, edit, done!

See something you want to change? Click it!

As you move around the page, helpful guides highlight individual blocks. Click a block to open its editing panel and make your changes.

You can even select individual items within a block, such as list items, without navigating through multiple editing screens.

The block you're editing stays highlighted, so it's always clear what you're working on.

Add content exactly where you want it

Adding content is now much more intuitive.

Hover between existing blocks, and you'll see a handy + indicator. Click it to insert a new block at that exact position.

Whether you're working with vertically stacked content or side-by-side layouts, you can build your page directly from the preview.

No more guessing where your new content will appear!

Take control with the new blocks drawer

We've introduced a new blocks drawer that gives you a clear overview of all the blocks on your page.

From here, you can add, reorder, copy, paste and hide blocks without leaving the editor.

Even better, the drawer and page preview work together. Hover over a block in either view and the corresponding block is highlighted in the other.

Need more room to work? Simply collapse the drawer and enjoy a larger preview. You can still reorder blocks while it's collapsed.

See every change, instantly

We've made significant improvements to how the Visual Page Editor handles previews.

Previously, the preview focused on the individual block being edited. Now, all your unsaved changes are reflected across the entire page, giving you an accurate picture of how everything looks together.

We've also improved performance to make updates quicker and smoother, with helpful loading indicators when opening the editor.

And because unsaved changes are no longer automatically saved behind the scenes, you remain in control of when your work is saved.

You can even open the Visual Page Editor on pages that have been saved but aren't yet published.

Changed your mind? Just undo it!

We've all been there. You make a change, decide you preferred it before, and wish you could go back.

Well, now you can!

With new Undo and Redo controls in the editor header, it's easier than ever to experiment with content and layouts.

Edit more than just pages

The Visual Page Editor isn't limited to individual pages anymore.

You can now use it to edit your Global Content and Footer content too.

Choose a page to use as your preview and make changes to your site-wide content in context.

This means you can see how these shared elements fit into your website without jumping between different areas of the CMS.

An editor that works your way

We've also included several smaller improvements to make everyday editing more enjoyable.

The Visual Page Editor now remembers your preferred screen size, guide visibility and animation settings, even after refreshing your browser.

We've redesigned the header bar to work better on smaller screens and introduced options to customise the colours and appearance of the editing guides through the Theme Designer's backoffice settings.

It's all about making the editor feel more comfortable and familiar every time you use it.

Preview how your pages appear when shared

Ever wondered how your website will look when someone shares a page on social media or discovers it in a search?

Our new SEO sharing previews let you see how your content will appear across:

Google Search, Facebook, X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and WhatsApp.

The previews use your page's SEO information, favicon and social sharing image to give you a visual representation before publishing.

It's a simple addition that makes managing your website's appearance across search engines and social platforms much easier.

Custom blocks, now with more uSkinned features

If you've created your own custom blocks, we've made integrating them with uSkinned even easier.

Add a custom block to a uSkinned block list and it will automatically benefit from the familiar uSkinned editing experience, including the block view, Hide from website functionality and Visual Page Editor support.

Best of all, no additional code is required.

More flexible listings and filters

We've also introduced some useful improvements to our Interactive Listings and Shop functionality.

Customisable sorting

You now have more control over which sorting options are available to visitors. Choose the fields that make sense for your content rather than relying on predefined options.

Smarter filtering

We've introduced a new Match all selected options setting for checkbox filter groups, along with additional rules to control how different filter groups work together.

These changes give you more flexibility when creating searchable and filterable content, especially for more complex listings.

Easier Starter Kit and Theme installation

We've continued improving the add-on installation experience introduced in Site Builder 7.2.

You now have more control over how and where Starter Kits and Themes are installed.

When installing a Theme, you can choose its destination at any level of a website's structure. For Starter Kits, you can select from your website's existing languages, and your site is installed against the language of your choice.

We've also improved the Create Website process. New websites are now automatically published with a Wireframe design, giving you a ready-to-use starting point.

And there's more!

As always, Site Builder 7.3 includes plenty of other enhancements and fixes.

A few more highlights include:

A refreshed dashboard

A new Home tab brings together quick-create tools, recent activity and license information in one convenient place.

New login screen

A refreshed look for the Umbraco backoffice login.

Updated dependencies

Site Builder 7.3 is built with Umbraco 17.8 and Smidge 5.0.1.

More fixes and improvements

Including better banner video sizing, improvements to protected content listings and faster loading for websites upgraded from Umbraco 13.

For the complete list of changes, take a look at our changelog.

How to access 7.3

Self-Hosted customers

Site Builder 7.3 is available now for Self-Hosted customers. You can download and install the latest version using our installation and upgrade guides.

Hosted customers

Good news! You don't need to do anything.

We'll begin rolling out Site Builder 7.3 to our Hosted platform during November. As always, we'll handle the upgrade for you.

Building websites just got a whole lot easier

With Site Builder 7.3, we've taken another big step towards making Umbraco website building as visual, intuitive and enjoyable as possible.

From directly editing content on the page to managing entire layouts and site-wide elements, the reimagined Visual Page Editor brings more of the website-building experience into one place.

And with plenty of other improvements throughout Site Builder, there's even more to explore.

We can't wait to see what you create with uSkinned! 🚀

#h5yr