July 22, 2025
Umbraco Partnerships Explained
What Gold and Platinum Partnership Levels Represent
Umbraco’s partnership tiers — Gold and Platinum — are designed to recognize agencies that consistently deliver quality work, invest in developer training, and participate in the community. These designations serve as public validation of a partner’s skill, commitment, and trustworthiness within the Umbraco ecosystem.
Both Gold and Platinum partners must meet the same core standards:
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Certified Umbraco developers on staff
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A strong track record of successful Umbraco projects
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Active involvement in the Umbraco community
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Case studies and client testimonials
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Ongoing investment in training and education
In short, both levels represent serious Umbraco expertise.
Why Both Require Certification, Case Studies, and Community Involvement
You don’t become a Gold or Platinum partner by accident. It takes years of consistent delivery, community contribution, and client success. The requirements at both levels are designed to ensure clients are working with agencies that understand the platform deeply — technically and strategically.
What Platinum Actually Adds to Gold
The Cloud Spend Requirement Explained
So what makes a Platinum partner different from a Gold one?
It’s not deeper CMS access. It’s not special features. It’s not a better version of Umbraco.
The biggest difference is a minimum annual spend with Umbraco HQ — typically through Umbraco Cloud licenses. Platinum partners commit to a higher financial threshold with Umbraco, most often by managing multiple cloud-hosted client environments.
That’s it.
Does More Spend Equal More Capability? Not Really.
This spend commitment doesn’t change how the CMS functions or give Platinum partners access to some secret toolbox. It just means they’ve agreed to route more of their client work through Umbraco’s cloud platform, usually by default.
And while Umbraco Cloud is a great product for many teams, that doesn’t automatically make a Platinum agency more capable or more enterprise-ready than a Gold one.
What You Don’t Get More Of: Features, Tools, or CMS Access
Clients working with Platinum partners are using the exact same CMS as those working with Gold partners. There is no "Platinum version" of Umbraco. The codebase is the same. The features are the same. And the success of your project depends far more on the team behind it than the tier of their partner badge.
Why Gold Partners Still Deliver Enterprise-Level Results
Same CMS, Same Support Access, Same Developer Training
At the Gold level, partners have full access to Umbraco’s documentation, support channels, and training resources. Our developers go through the same certification programs. Our support relationship with Umbraco HQ is strong. And we bring the same CMS expertise and strategic thinking to the table that you’d expect from any high-end agency.
It’s About Expertise, Not a Badge
If you're evaluating agencies, don't be swayed by a Platinum badge alone. Look at the experience of the team, the quality of their work, and how well they understand your business needs. Partner tier alone won’t make your website faster, more secure, or easier to maintain — but your agency’s expertise will.
How We Operate Like a Platinum Partner — Without Unnecessary Overhead
At Umbricians, we’ve chosen to stay Gold for a reason. It allows us to operate independently, focus on what’s right for each client, and avoid unnecessary platform upsells. We use Umbraco Cloud when it makes sense. We build on Azure or other custom environments when that’s the better path. The point is, we tailor the platform to you, not the other way around.
Don’t Buy the Hype: Platinum ≠ Better Projects
How Some Agencies Use Platinum for Sales Positioning
We’ve seen it firsthand. Some agencies lead with the Platinum badge to create the impression that they’re offering more than other firms. But the truth is, many of these agencies push clients toward Umbraco Cloud whether it’s the right fit or not, because that’s how they maintain their partner tier.
When It’s Just a Cloud Billing Commitment
In practice, Platinum is often a reflection of cloud billing volume, not deeper strategic or technical value. That doesn’t mean those agencies are bad — but it does mean that clients should understand the reality behind the label.
What Clients Really Need to Look for in a Partner
Forget about the badge. Focus on the work. Ask:
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Has this agency solved problems similar to mine?
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Are their developers truly certified and active in the community?
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Do they push the right platform, or just the one that benefits them?
Our Focus: Client Fit, Not Cloud Spend
Full Capability, Honest Delivery
We didn’t settle for Gold. We chose it. Because it allows us to provide the full scope of Umbraco services — cloud or custom — while staying honest and flexible in our recommendations. We don’t need to hit a spend quota to keep our badge. We just need to keep delivering great results.
Cloud or Not, We Build What Fits
Some of our clients use Umbraco Cloud. Others host in enterprise Azure environments. We support both with equal expertise, because the real differentiator isn’t where you host — it’s how well the CMS is built and managed.
Partnering With Clients, Not Pushing a Platform
You won’t hear us pushing Cloud just to hit a number. We partner with clients to identify the best-fit solutions based on their goals, technical environment, and budget. That’s what real partnership looks like.
Not all badges tell the full story. Expertise does.
Work with a Partner who’s more focused on your goals than hitting a cloud spend quota.
