diff --git a/build/azure-pipelines.yml b/build/azure-pipelines.yml
index 0068b4d0eb..386b08a41d 100644
--- a/build/azure-pipelines.yml
+++ b/build/azure-pipelines.yml
@@ -335,6 +335,7 @@ stages:
       # E2E Tests
       - job:
         displayName: E2E Tests
+        timeoutInMinutes: 120
         variables:
           Umbraco__CMS__Unattended__UnattendedUserName: Playwright Test
           Umbraco__CMS__Unattended__UnattendedUserPassword: UmbracoAcceptance123!
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Infrastructure/Runtime/CoreRuntime.cs b/src/Umbraco.Infrastructure/Runtime/CoreRuntime.cs
index 19c947481d..81929290cd 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Infrastructure/Runtime/CoreRuntime.cs
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Infrastructure/Runtime/CoreRuntime.cs
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ using Microsoft.Extensions.Hosting;
 using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging;
 using Umbraco.Cms.Core;
 using Umbraco.Cms.Core.Configuration;
-using Umbraco.Cms.Core.DependencyInjection;
 using Umbraco.Cms.Core.Events;
 using Umbraco.Cms.Core.Exceptions;
 using Umbraco.Cms.Core.Hosting;
@@ -16,6 +15,7 @@ using Umbraco.Cms.Infrastructure.Persistence;
 using Umbraco.Extensions;
 using ComponentCollection = Umbraco.Cms.Core.Composing.ComponentCollection;
 using IHostingEnvironment = Umbraco.Cms.Core.Hosting.IHostingEnvironment;
+using LogLevel = Umbraco.Cms.Core.Logging.LogLevel;
 
 namespace Umbraco.Cms.Infrastructure.Runtime;
 
@@ -152,12 +152,6 @@ public class CoreRuntime : IRuntime
         // Store token, so we can re-use this during restart
         _cancellationToken = cancellationToken;
 
-        // Just in-case HostBuilder.ConfigureUmbracoDefaults() isn't used (e.g. upgrade from 9 and ignored advice).
-        if (StaticServiceProvider.Instance == null!)
-        {
-            StaticServiceProvider.Instance = _serviceProvider!;
-        }
-
         if (isRestarting == false)
         {
             AppDomain.CurrentDomain.UnhandledException += (_, args)
@@ -170,8 +164,8 @@ public class CoreRuntime : IRuntime
         AcquireMainDom();
 
         // Notify for unattended install
-            await _eventAggregator.PublishAsync(new RuntimeUnattendedInstallNotification(), cancellationToken);
-            DetermineRuntimeLevel();
+        await _eventAggregator.PublishAsync(new RuntimeUnattendedInstallNotification(), cancellationToken);
+        DetermineRuntimeLevel();
 
         if (!State.UmbracoCanBoot())
         {
@@ -182,8 +176,7 @@ public class CoreRuntime : IRuntime
         IApplicationShutdownRegistry hostingEnvironmentLifetime = _applicationShutdownRegistry;
         if (hostingEnvironmentLifetime == null)
         {
-            throw new InvalidOperationException(
-                $"An instance of {typeof(IApplicationShutdownRegistry)} could not be resolved from the container, ensure that one if registered in your runtime before calling {nameof(IRuntime)}.{nameof(StartAsync)}");
+            throw new InvalidOperationException($"An instance of {typeof(IApplicationShutdownRegistry)} could not be resolved from the container, ensure that one if registered in your runtime before calling {nameof(IRuntime)}.{nameof(StartAsync)}");
         }
 
         // If level is Run and reason is UpgradeMigrations, that means we need to perform an unattended upgrade
@@ -194,8 +187,7 @@ public class CoreRuntime : IRuntime
             case RuntimeUnattendedUpgradeNotification.UpgradeResult.HasErrors:
                 if (State.BootFailedException == null)
                 {
-                    throw new InvalidOperationException(
-                        $"Unattended upgrade result was {RuntimeUnattendedUpgradeNotification.UpgradeResult.HasErrors} but no {nameof(BootFailedException)} was registered");
+                    throw new InvalidOperationException($"Unattended upgrade result was {RuntimeUnattendedUpgradeNotification.UpgradeResult.HasErrors} but no {nameof(BootFailedException)} was registered");
                 }
 
                 // We cannot continue here, the exception will be rethrown by BootFailedMiddelware
@@ -210,33 +202,29 @@ public class CoreRuntime : IRuntime
         }
 
         // Initialize the components
-            _components.Initialize();
+        _components.Initialize();
 
-        await _eventAggregator.PublishAsync(
-            new UmbracoApplicationStartingNotification(State.Level, isRestarting),
-            cancellationToken);
+        await _eventAggregator.PublishAsync(new UmbracoApplicationStartingNotification(State.Level, isRestarting), cancellationToken);
 
         if (isRestarting == false)
         {
             // Add application started and stopped notifications last (to ensure they're always published after starting)
-            _hostApplicationLifetime?.ApplicationStarted.Register(() =>
-                _eventAggregator.Publish(new UmbracoApplicationStartedNotification(false)));
-            _hostApplicationLifetime?.ApplicationStopped.Register(() =>
-                _eventAggregator.Publish(new UmbracoApplicationStoppedNotification(false)));
+            _hostApplicationLifetime?.ApplicationStarted.Register(() => _eventAggregator.Publish(new UmbracoApplicationStartedNotification(false)));
+            _hostApplicationLifetime?.ApplicationStopped.Register(() => _eventAggregator.Publish(new UmbracoApplicationStoppedNotification(false)));
         }
     }
 
     private async Task StopAsync(CancellationToken cancellationToken, bool isRestarting)
     {
         _components.Terminate();
-        await _eventAggregator.PublishAsync(
-            new UmbracoApplicationStoppingNotification(isRestarting),
-            cancellationToken);
+        await _eventAggregator.PublishAsync(new UmbracoApplicationStoppingNotification(isRestarting), cancellationToken);
     }
 
     private void AcquireMainDom()
     {
-        using DisposableTimer? timer = !_profilingLogger.IsEnabled(Core.Logging.LogLevel.Debug) ? null : _profilingLogger.DebugDuration<CoreRuntime>("Acquiring MainDom.", "Acquired.");
+        using DisposableTimer? timer = !_profilingLogger.IsEnabled(LogLevel.Debug)
+            ? null
+            : _profilingLogger.DebugDuration<CoreRuntime>("Acquiring MainDom.", "Acquired.");
 
         try
         {
@@ -257,8 +245,9 @@ public class CoreRuntime : IRuntime
             return;
         }
 
-        using DisposableTimer? timer = !_profilingLogger.IsEnabled(Core.Logging.LogLevel.Debug) ? null :
-            _profilingLogger.DebugDuration<CoreRuntime>("Determining runtime level.", "Determined.");
+        using DisposableTimer? timer = !_profilingLogger.IsEnabled(LogLevel.Debug)
+            ? null
+            : _profilingLogger.DebugDuration<CoreRuntime>("Determining runtime level.", "Determined.");
 
         try
         {
@@ -274,6 +263,7 @@ public class CoreRuntime : IRuntime
                 {
                     _logger.LogDebug("Configure database factory for upgrades.");
                 }
+
                 _databaseFactory.ConfigureForUpgrade();
             }
         }
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web.Common/DependencyInjection/UmbracoBuilderExtensions.cs b/src/Umbraco.Web.Common/DependencyInjection/UmbracoBuilderExtensions.cs
index 0fa1d7fc4b..74977c9969 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Web.Common/DependencyInjection/UmbracoBuilderExtensions.cs
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Web.Common/DependencyInjection/UmbracoBuilderExtensions.cs
@@ -142,8 +142,6 @@ public static partial class UmbracoBuilderExtensions
                 sp,
                 sp.GetRequiredService<IApplicationDiscriminator>()));
 
-        builder.Services.AddHostedService(factory => factory.GetRequiredService<IRuntime>());
-
         builder.Services.AddSingleton<DatabaseSchemaCreatorFactory>();
         builder.Services.TryAddEnumerable(ServiceDescriptor
             .Singleton<IDatabaseProviderMetadata, CustomConnectionStringDatabaseProviderMetadata>());
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web.Common/Extensions/ApplicationBuilderExtensions.cs b/src/Umbraco.Web.Common/Extensions/ApplicationBuilderExtensions.cs
index 08a22cfda3..244fe39a50 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Web.Common/Extensions/ApplicationBuilderExtensions.cs
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Web.Common/Extensions/ApplicationBuilderExtensions.cs
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ using Serilog.Context;
 using StackExchange.Profiling;
 using Umbraco.Cms.Core;
 using Umbraco.Cms.Core.Configuration.Models;
+using Umbraco.Cms.Core.DependencyInjection;
+using Umbraco.Cms.Core.Exceptions;
 using Umbraco.Cms.Core.Extensions;
 using Umbraco.Cms.Core.IO;
 using Umbraco.Cms.Core.Logging.Serilog.Enrichers;
@@ -30,7 +32,21 @@ public static class ApplicationBuilderExtensions
     ///     Configures and use services required for using Umbraco
     /// </summary>
     public static IUmbracoApplicationBuilder UseUmbraco(this IApplicationBuilder app)
-        => new UmbracoApplicationBuilder(app);
+    {
+        // Ensure Umbraco is booted and StaticServiceProvider.Instance is set before continuing
+        IRuntimeState runtimeState = app.ApplicationServices.GetRequiredService<IRuntimeState>();
+        if (runtimeState.Level == RuntimeLevel.Unknown)
+        {
+            throw new BootFailedException("The runtime level is unknown, please make sure Umbraco is booted by adding `await app.BootUmbracoAsync();` just after `WebApplication app = builder.Build();` in your Program.cs file.");
+        }
+
+        if (StaticServiceProvider.Instance is null)
+        {
+            throw new BootFailedException("StaticServiceProvider.Instance is not set, please make sure ConfigureUmbracoDefaults() is added in your Program.cs file.");
+        }
+
+        return new UmbracoApplicationBuilder(app);
+    }
 
     /// <summary>
     ///     Returns true if Umbraco <see cref="IRuntimeState" /> is greater than <see cref="RuntimeLevel.BootFailed" />
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web.Common/Extensions/WebApplicationBuilderExtensions.cs b/src/Umbraco.Web.Common/Extensions/WebApplicationBuilderExtensions.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d0040bfe47
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Web.Common/Extensions/WebApplicationBuilderExtensions.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Builder;
+using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting;
+using Microsoft.Extensions.Hosting;
+using Umbraco.Cms.Core.Configuration.Models;
+using Umbraco.Cms.Core.DependencyInjection;
+
+namespace Umbraco.Extensions;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Extension methods for <see cref="WebApplicationBuilder" />.
+/// </summary>
+public static class WebApplicationBuilderExtensions
+{
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Creates an <see cref="IUmbracoBuilder" /> and registers basic Umbraco services.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <param name="builder">The builder.</param>
+    /// <returns>
+    /// The Umbraco builder.
+    /// </returns>
+    public static IUmbracoBuilder CreateUmbracoBuilder(this WebApplicationBuilder builder)
+    {
+        // Configure Umbraco defaults, but ignore decorated host builder and
+        // don't add runtime as hosted service (this is replaced by the explicit BootUmbracoAsync)
+        builder.Host.ConfigureUmbracoDefaults(false);
+
+        // Do not enable static web assets on production environments,
+        // because the files are already copied to the publish output folder.
+        if (builder.Configuration.GetRuntimeMode() != RuntimeMode.Production)
+        {
+            builder.WebHost.UseStaticWebAssets();
+        }
+
+        return builder.Services.AddUmbraco(builder.Environment, builder.Configuration);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web.Common/Extensions/WebApplicationExtensions.cs b/src/Umbraco.Web.Common/Extensions/WebApplicationExtensions.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..69b3e7882d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Web.Common/Extensions/WebApplicationExtensions.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Builder;
+using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;
+using Umbraco.Cms.Core.DependencyInjection;
+using Umbraco.Cms.Core.Services;
+
+namespace Umbraco.Extensions;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Extension methods for <see cref="WebApplication" />.
+/// </summary>
+public static class WebApplicationExtensions
+{
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Starts the <see cref="IRuntime" /> to ensure Umbraco is ready for middleware to be added.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <param name="app">The application.</param>
+    /// <returns>
+    /// A <see cref="Task" /> representing the asynchronous operation.
+    /// </returns>
+    public static async Task BootUmbracoAsync(this WebApplication app)
+    {
+        // Set static IServiceProvider before booting
+        StaticServiceProvider.Instance = app.Services;
+
+        // Ensure the Umbraco runtime is started before middleware is added and stopped when performing a graceful shutdown
+        IRuntime umbracoRuntime = app.Services.GetRequiredService<IRuntime>();
+        CancellationTokenRegistration cancellationTokenRegistration = app.Lifetime.ApplicationStopping.Register((_, token) => umbracoRuntime.StopAsync(token), null);
+
+        await umbracoRuntime.StartAsync(cancellationTokenRegistration.Token);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web.Common/Hosting/HostBuilderExtensions.cs b/src/Umbraco.Web.Common/Hosting/HostBuilderExtensions.cs
index 7d80f53980..6b2dafa240 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Web.Common/Hosting/HostBuilderExtensions.cs
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Web.Common/Hosting/HostBuilderExtensions.cs
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 using Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration;
+using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;
 using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging;
 using Umbraco.Cms.Core.DependencyInjection;
+using Umbraco.Cms.Core.Services;
 using Umbraco.Cms.Web.Common.Hosting;
 
 // ReSharper disable once CheckNamespace
@@ -15,6 +17,9 @@ public static class HostBuilderExtensions
     ///     Configures an existing <see cref="IHostBuilder" /> with defaults for an Umbraco application.
     /// </summary>
     public static IHostBuilder ConfigureUmbracoDefaults(this IHostBuilder builder)
+        => builder.ConfigureUmbracoDefaults(true);
+
+    internal static IHostBuilder ConfigureUmbracoDefaults(this IHostBuilder builder, bool addRuntimeHostedService)
     {
 #if DEBUG
         builder.ConfigureAppConfiguration(config
@@ -26,10 +31,16 @@ public static class HostBuilderExtensions
 #endif
         builder.ConfigureLogging(x => x.ClearProviders());
 
+        if (addRuntimeHostedService)
+        {
+            // Add the Umbraco IRuntime as hosted service
+            builder.ConfigureServices(services => services.AddHostedService(factory => factory.GetRequiredService<IRuntime>()));
+        }
+
         return new UmbracoHostBuilderDecorator(builder, OnHostBuilt);
     }
 
-    // Runs before any IHostedService starts (including generic web host).
+    // Runs before any IHostedService starts (including generic web host)
     private static void OnHostBuilt(IHost host) =>
         StaticServiceProvider.Instance = host.Services;
 }
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web.UI/Program.cs b/src/Umbraco.Web.UI/Program.cs
index cebb7b0370..780ac4d53e 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Web.UI/Program.cs
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Web.UI/Program.cs
@@ -1,19 +1,36 @@
-namespace Umbraco.Cms.Web.UI
-{
-    public class Program
-    {
-        public static void Main(string[] args)
-            => CreateHostBuilder(args)
-                .Build()
-                .Run();
+WebApplicationBuilder builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);
 
-        public static IHostBuilder CreateHostBuilder(string[] args) =>
-            Host.CreateDefaultBuilder(args)
-                .ConfigureUmbracoDefaults()
-                .ConfigureWebHostDefaults(webBuilder =>
-                {
-                    webBuilder.UseStaticWebAssets();
-                    webBuilder.UseStartup<Startup>();
-                });
-    }
+builder.CreateUmbracoBuilder()
+    .AddBackOffice()
+    .AddWebsite()
+    .AddDeliveryApi()
+    .AddComposers()
+    .Build();
+
+WebApplication app = builder.Build();
+
+await app.BootUmbracoAsync();
+
+if (app.Environment.IsDevelopment())
+{
+    app.UseDeveloperExceptionPage();
 }
+
+#if (UseHttpsRedirect)
+app.UseHttpsRedirection();
+#endif
+
+app.UseUmbraco()
+    .WithMiddleware(u =>
+    {
+        u.UseBackOffice();
+        u.UseWebsite();
+    })
+    .WithEndpoints(u =>
+    {
+        u.UseInstallerEndpoints();
+        u.UseBackOfficeEndpoints();
+        u.UseWebsiteEndpoints();
+    });
+
+await app.RunAsync();
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web.UI/Startup.cs b/src/Umbraco.Web.UI/Startup.cs
deleted file mode 100644
index 1d7f49b1e5..0000000000
--- a/src/Umbraco.Web.UI/Startup.cs
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,70 +0,0 @@
-namespace Umbraco.Cms.Web.UI
-{
-    public class Startup
-    {
-        private readonly IWebHostEnvironment _env;
-        private readonly IConfiguration _config;
-
-        /// <summary>
-        /// Initializes a new instance of the <see cref="Startup" /> class.
-        /// </summary>
-        /// <param name="webHostEnvironment">The web hosting environment.</param>
-        /// <param name="config">The configuration.</param>
-        /// <remarks>
-        /// Only a few services are possible to be injected here https://github.com/dotnet/aspnetcore/issues/9337.
-        /// </remarks>
-        public Startup(IWebHostEnvironment webHostEnvironment, IConfiguration config)
-        {
-            _env = webHostEnvironment ?? throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(webHostEnvironment));
-            _config = config ?? throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(config));
-        }
-
-        /// <summary>
-        /// Configures the services.
-        /// </summary>
-        /// <param name="services">The services.</param>
-        /// <remarks>
-        /// This method gets called by the runtime. Use this method to add services to the container.
-        /// For more information on how to configure your application, visit https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=398940.
-        /// </remarks>
-        public void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services)
-        {
-            services.AddUmbraco(_env, _config)
-                .AddBackOffice()
-                .AddWebsite()
-                .AddDeliveryApi()
-                .AddComposers()
-                .Build();
-        }
-
-        /// <summary>
-        /// Configures the application.
-        /// </summary>
-        /// <param name="app">The application builder.</param>
-        /// <param name="env">The web hosting environment.</param>
-        public void Configure(IApplicationBuilder app, IWebHostEnvironment env)
-        {
-            if (env.IsDevelopment())
-            {
-                app.UseDeveloperExceptionPage();
-            }
-#if (UseHttpsRedirect)
-
-            app.UseHttpsRedirection();
-#endif
-
-            app.UseUmbraco()
-                .WithMiddleware(u =>
-                {
-                    u.UseBackOffice();
-                    u.UseWebsite();
-                })
-                .WithEndpoints(u =>
-                {
-                    u.UseInstallerEndpoints();
-                    u.UseBackOfficeEndpoints();
-                    u.UseWebsiteEndpoints();
-                });
-        }
-    }
-}
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web.UI/Views/_ViewImports.cshtml b/src/Umbraco.Web.UI/Views/_ViewImports.cshtml
index 2d6f535107..91d671eaa1 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Web.UI/Views/_ViewImports.cshtml
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Web.UI/Views/_ViewImports.cshtml
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 @using Umbraco.Extensions
-@using Umbraco.Cms.Web.UI
 @using Umbraco.Cms.Web.Common.PublishedModels
 @using Umbraco.Cms.Web.Common.Views
 @using Umbraco.Cms.Core.Models.PublishedContent
diff --git a/templates/Umbraco.Templates.csproj b/templates/Umbraco.Templates.csproj
index 38848d398a..5413f1ee0f 100644
--- a/templates/Umbraco.Templates.csproj
+++ b/templates/Umbraco.Templates.csproj
@@ -19,10 +19,6 @@
       <Link>UmbracoProject\Program.cs</Link>
       <PackagePath>UmbracoProject</PackagePath>
     </Content>
-    <Content Include="..\src\Umbraco.Web.UI\Startup.cs">
-      <Link>UmbracoProject\Startup.cs</Link>
-      <PackagePath>UmbracoProject</PackagePath>
-    </Content>
     <Content Include="..\src\Umbraco.Web.UI\Views\Partials\blocklist\**">
       <Link>UmbracoProject\Views\Partials\blocklist\%(RecursiveDir)%(Filename)%(Extension)</Link>
       <PackagePath>UmbracoProject\Views\Partials\blocklist</PackagePath>
diff --git a/tests/Umbraco.Tests.AcceptanceTest/misc/umbraco-linux.docker b/tests/Umbraco.Tests.AcceptanceTest/misc/umbraco-linux.docker
index 9fcdb4f4ba..2844f7bdc7 100644
--- a/tests/Umbraco.Tests.AcceptanceTest/misc/umbraco-linux.docker
+++ b/tests/Umbraco.Tests.AcceptanceTest/misc/umbraco-linux.docker
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 ## Build
 ############################################
 
-FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/nightly/sdk:8.0.100-preview.6-jammy AS build
+FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/nightly/sdk:8.0.100-preview.7-jammy AS build
 
 COPY nuget.config .