How to select an Umbraco CMS Developer: why you should pick an Umbraco Gold Partner to do your implementation
Have you decided you’d like to implement for Umbraco CMS for your business? Excellent choice! Umbraco is a unique content management system that’s build to fit ANY need your business might have (well, when it comes to the internet, anyway).
Unless you have your own IT-department, you’ll have to outsource the actual implementation of the system. That can be tricky, because: how can you be sure you pick the right people for the job?
And what happens if you have a problem after the implementation? Who do you turn to when you need something added or changed in your setup? What if you need help – fast – to fix something?
Hold up – doesn’t Umbraco provide its own support?
First off, you might be wondering why you need to hire anyone at all. Well, because unless you have your own IT developers, you probably won’t be able to implement Umbraco yourself. It’s easy to use, but not necessarily easy to install.
Umbraco is based on Microsoft’s versatile asp.net framework, which not every developer is equally skilled in. The good news is that a good developer can make Umbraco do pretty much anything you like.
Here’s the problem: even though Umbraco is a free open source software that millions of people use, but (beyond community support) there’s no real in-house support for it.
Umbraco does offer a Confidence Package that comes with a certain amount of support, but that only comes with 24 hour email response. But, even then, there are limitations. For example:
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You can only have one open ticket at a time – no multiple tickets allowed.
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Umbraco support only offers 2 hours of architectural consulting. If you have a big project and are not well versed in Umbraco – that’s not NEAR enough time. That’s more like bug finding, not real help.
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They are not geared toward user support.
Fortunately, Umbraco is supported far beyond their own support system. They have companies out there that specialize in implementing and providing support: these are called Gold Partners.
Why Gold Partners are special – and why you should hire them for your Umbraco CMS needs
In order to become a Gold Partner you have to be trained and certified from Umbraco directly (which is not cheap). After you’ve managed to get the proper qualifications, you have to be certified for an extended period of time – so that you can prove your worth.
While you can ask to become a Gold Partner, Umbraco is extremely selective towards whom they allow in. There are only a few Gold Partners in the US. Among that list are marketing agencies and web design companies, but none of those offer complicated integration with web applications.
When you need help and support
Gold Partners can also guarantee you the best ongoing support. Because of their status they can pick up the phone and personally call Umbraco if they need input. Gold Partners get a direct line to the Umbraco HQ and core team for advice, bug-fixes and developer support.
At Burada Inc. We’re located in sunny Dallas, TX. We do business all over the United States and are the ONLY US-based Umbraco Gold Partner business to offer complicated web-based integration of all your systems.
We can offer you a 2-hour response time for whatever problem you might encounter. In addition, thanks to our status as a Gold Partner, we can throw in nearly unlimited consulting time. No other Umbraco Partner in the US offers that!
Umbraco can radically change your business’ organization and efficiency. Feel free to give us a call if you’re interested.
