By: Tanya Nisguretsky, CEO and Co-Founder of VDB

When a jeweler decides it is time to redesign or rebuild a jewelry website, one of the first questions is often:

Who should build it?

A marketing agency? A custom Shopify development agency? A jewelry technology company?

At first glance, the distinction may not seem significant. After all, there are many talented firms that can design an attractive website, whether on Shopify, WooCommerce or another platform.

But the better question may be:

Are you simply building a website or are you building the foundation of your digital business?

The answer should influence the type of website development partner you choose.

When a Marketing Agency May Be the Right Choice

Marketing agencies can bring tremendous value to a website project, particularly when the primary objectives are brand positioning, creative direction, advertising, messaging, photography, video, content, and campaign execution.

A strong marketing agency will lead with questions such as:

• Who is the customer?
• What should the brand communicate?
• What content will capture attention?
• What campaigns will drive traffic?
• What should the customer see and feel when they arrive?
• How should the website support paid media, social media, email, and other marketing channels?

If the goal is primarily to create a beautiful, modern digital representation of the brand and the required functionality is relatively straightforward, a marketing-led website project can make sense.

But for many jewelers, the requirements do not end there.

When the Website Is Only the Front End

Jewelry is a uniquely complex digital category.

Behind what appears to the consumer as a simple jewelry website can be an ecosystem of:

• diamonds and gemstones
• settings and finished jewelry
• multiple suppliers and brands
• live and virtual inventory
• product variants and attributes
• pricing rules
• certificates and media
• 3D assets
• product relationships
• supplier feeds
• APIs
• search technology
• jewelry configurators
• inventory availability

That is where the distinction between building a jewelry website and building jewelry technology infrastructure becomes much more important.

A technology-led company approaches the project not only by asking what the website should look like, but also:

• Where is the data coming from?
• How will inventory flow into the site and remain current?
• How do stones, settings, products, suppliers and brands relate to one another?
• What systems need to communicate?
• What happens when the jewelry retailer wants to introduce new functionality next year?
• Can the architecture support those changes, or will the business have to start over?

Those questions may not dramatically change how the website looks on launch day, but they can dramatically change what the website is capable of becoming.

Jewelry Website Development Requires More Than Shopify Design

Shopify has made it easier than ever for jewelry businesses to launch sophisticated digital storefronts.

But there is a meaningful difference between knowing how to build pages within Shopify and knowing how to build the systems and applications that operate around Shopify.

Consider a jewelry retailer that initially wants only a redesigned website. Six months later, the retailer may want customers to explore live diamond inventory. Then it wants a ring creator. Next comes designer inventory from multiple suppliers or the need the ability to save favorites, compare options or share selections. Perhaps the retailer wants shoppers to begin building a ring online but complete the purchase in-store. Eventually, it may want AI-assisted product discovery, 3D visualization, personalized recommendations or completely custom customer experiences. Each new capability can become another third-party integration and another technology project, or it can be part of a digital platform that was designed to evolve from the beginning.

The Infrastructure You Don’t See Matters

Two Shopify websites can look equally beautiful to a consumer and be fundamentally different underneath.

One may primarily consist of pages, themes, content and standard applications. 

The other may sit on top of an architecture connecting product data, inventory sources, suppliers, custom applications and proprietary technology.

That difference becomes visible later when the business wants to change.

Elliot Atlas, CTO of VDB, explains it this way:

“Two Shopify sites can look very similar to the customer and be completely different technically. The difference becomes apparent when you need to connect another system, introduce new functionality or scale what the website can do.”

That is why technology architecture should be considered before, not after, the website launches.

This Matters Even If You Don’t Sell Online

There is another misconception worth addressing: A sophisticated Shopify website does not have to mean jewelry ecommerce development as the end goal.

For many independent jewelers, the objective of the website is still to bring the customer into the physical store. That doesn’t mean the website should function as an elaborate digital business card.

A store-focused jewelry website can allow a consumer to:

• build or explore an engagement ring
• browse diamonds or gemstones
• interact with designer collections
• save favorite pieces
• share products with a partner
• compare options
• request to see a particular item
• create a shortlist before visiting
• explore 3D product experiences
• continue a digital journey with a salesperson in-store

There may never be an “Add to Cart” button.

The call to action may simply be “Come into the store.”

The technology can make the customer much more informed, engaged and motivated before that visit ever happens.

Marketing and Technology Solve Different Parts of the Jewelry Customer Journey

This is why the decision does not always need to be between a  marketing agency or technology company. Sometimes the strongest answer is both.

A marketing agency may lead:

• brand strategy
• advertising
• campaign development
• photography and video
• copy and messaging
• social media
• paid acquisition
• creative direction

A technology partner may lead:

• Shopify architecture
• Shopify development
• product and inventory integrations
• APIs
• custom applications
• site performance
• complex product data
• configurators
• interactive product experiences
• 3D technology
• future platform development

And the two can collaborate on the area where they meet: the customer experience.

The advertisement creates the interest. The website continues the story. The technology creates the interaction.

And, for a brick-and-mortar jeweler, the store completes the experience.

The Question Isn’t “Who Can Build a Custom Shopify Website?”

There are many companies capable of building Shopify websites. That should not be the only deciding factor.

Instead, ask prospective partners:

• What happens when we want to connect additional inventory?
• Can you work with supplier feeds and APIs?
• Can you build custom Shopify applications?
• Can you support unusual jewelry product relationships?
• Can customers configure products rather than simply browse them?
• Can the website connect online discovery with an in-store experience?
• What happens when the functionality we need doesn’t exist as an off-the-shelf Shopify app?
• Will our architecture support what we may want to build three years from now?

The answers reveal a great deal about what type of partner you are hiring.

Start With Today. Build for Tomorrow.

None of this means every jeweler needs advanced technology on day one. The best digital strategy may begin relatively simply.

Phase One: Build the right foundation, tell the brand story beautifully, improve performance and create clear customer journeys.

Phase Two: Introduce interactive experiences around the categories that matter most That may be bridal, diamonds, designer jewelry or custom design.

Phase Three: Add deeper inventory connectivity, jewelry and ring configurators, personalization, AI, 3D or additional digital-to-store experiences as the business evolves.

The goal is not to overbuild but to avoid building yourself into a corner.

A Jeweler’s Perspective on Technology

Tanya Nisguretsky, CEO and co-founder of VDB, has spent more than three decades in the jewelry industry, from retail and diamond wholesale to building technology for jewelers.

She sees the issue as larger than website development:

“One of the biggest mistakes I see is evaluating a website only by what it looks like on launch day. In jewelry, the more important question is what that website may eventually need to connect to (inventory, suppliers, product data, configurators, search, customer experiences and other systems.) A beautiful website matters, but so does the infrastructure behind it. The strongest digital strategy considers both from the beginning.”

That distinction is becoming increasingly important as the line between a jeweler’s website, inventory, marketing, sales tools and physical store continues to disappear.

So, Who Should Build Your Jewelry Website?

There is no single answer.

If the primary need is branding, advertising, creative and a relatively straightforward website, a strong marketing agency may be the right choice for you.

If the site will eventually need to connect inventory, suppliers, product data, configurators, applications or other systems, a technology partner should be involved from the beginning.

And for businesses that need both exceptional marketing and sophisticated technology, the best solution may be to let specialists in each discipline work together.

Before choosing a partner, don’t ask only: “Who can build our Shopify website?”

Ask: “What do we want our digital business to be capable of becoming?”

The answer may lead you to a very different decision.