Sitecore is one of the most popular content management systems on the market today. The platform received some new features with the release of Sitecore 10.3 XM and XP in December 2022. Enterprises will be able to provide their customers with more individualized digital experiences, thanks to a number of new features and enhancements in Sitecore 10.3.
Additionally, the 10.3 update makes it easier for businesses to extend and integrate the Sitecore Experience Platform with other applications in their marketing tech stack. This is regardless of whether they are self-hosted, used in the Sitecore Managed Cloud, or in the Sitecore Experience Manager Cloud (XM Cloud).
Let’s talk about all these new upgrades in this post and why your company should migrate to Sitecore.
GraphQL Authoring and Management API
Users of Sitecore version 10.3 can now issue GraphQL API requests to carry out authoring and management tasks. This was previously accessible only through a user interface. You can now completely automate actions involving various items, templates and searches, in addition to managing sites. However, the administration interface is not available for now.
Although there is a comprehensive tutorial in the Sitecore documentation, enabling this API is not straightforward. Hence, it is advised that you take help from a professional Sitecore service provider for a smooth upgrade.
Embeddable Forms Framework
This new functionality makes use of Sitecore’s Headless Services and Layout Service (comparable to FXM). You can now embed Sitecore forms on any page. Surprisingly, this applies to non-Sitecore pages as well. You would just require Tailwind CSS framework and Lit to accomplish this.
Lit is a library that facilitates the creation of web components using declarative templating, scoped styling and state management. A large number of useful CSS classes are included in the CSS framework known as Tailwind CSS.
It can examine the source code and remove extra CSS classes and custom CSS. The final product is a concise and clear CSS stylesheet that the production team may use.
xCONNECT Data Export Tool
This tool exports contact and interaction data from xDB to files. It makes storage and backup simple. Additionally, it permits usage and exchange with external reporting systems. It supports Azure Blob Storage and File Storage providers for your deployment procedures. It can also write into a network folder which is useful in local instances.
Sitecore CLI
Sitecore CLI version 5.1.25 has become an integral part of Sitecore’s 10.3 version now. It features publishing to Edge and operates in a Linux environment. Additionally, developers can further enhance the CLI by using integrated telemetry. However, telemetry might raise some security issues, especially in governed environments.
Webhooks
A webhook is an HTTP request triggered by an event in the source system. It delivers crucial information to the desired location. Consider webhooks to be custom HTTP callbacks. There are three different kinds of webhooks:
- Event handler
- Validation action
- Submit action
Webhooks are now a part of the XM/XP platforms. It enables Sitecore to communicate with external systems and send data about various items and workflow events. It can be configured to trigger when the workflow state changes as well as use a third-party system to validate the data.
Headless SXA
Sitecore has got Headless SXA with 10.3 and new Next.js Headless SXA components like Container, Image, LinkList, Navigation, PageContent, Promo, RichText, Title, etc.
What are the new features included in the Sitecore 10.3 release?
- The Headless Services v21 feature is available starting from Sitecore 10.3. Next.js 12.3 as well as React 18 are new starter kits for your new tasks.
- Sitecore Host was updated with .NET 6.0, along with its dependent components, including Publishing Service and Identity Server 7.
- Sitecore 10.3 will support the Solr 8.11.2 version.
- OAuth authentication with third-party providers for customized SMTP is now available to EXM users.
- Unfortunately, Horizon won’t receive any updates beyond version 10.2. Sitecore discourages utilizing it with 10.3 or later platforms, even though it is still working with such platforms tentatively.
- A single item can now be published to Experience Edge using Management Services 5.0, among other improvements.
- The search engine has been improved to allow searching by ID and path, as well as returning exact and potential results for terms without quotation marks.
- There were more than 160 additional customer-reported problems resolved in Sitecore 10.3.
Upgrade to Sitecore 10.3 now!
This post covers the extensive new features and enhancements included in Sitecore 10.3. These are the main adjustments that will enhance this digital experience platform. These features will not only ease the process of developing and managing digital material, but also provide a more robust and adaptable way to manage the digital experience. A Sitecore 10.3 upgrade is crucial for any company seeking to stay up to date with trends in the digital space.
Are you using Sitecore CMS and planning to upgrade to its latest version? Are you looking forward to implementing Sitecore? Take help from an expert Sitecore development services provider to execute a successful upgrade to Sitecore 10.3. For more information, talk to our Sitecore experts!
