Work Experience

Hiring a Magento-certified developer: What can they do?

Posted by Pixafy Team

Magento co-founders Roy Rubin and Yoav Kutner envisioned an open-source e-commerce solution that would grow with assistance from impassioned proponents — developers committed to transforming barebones code snippets into engaging online shopping experiences. To say the pair succeeded is an understatement. An estimated 375,000 contributors submit platform innovations via the company’s Community Hub while numerous solution and technology partners facilitate implementation at scale. Magento also maintains an extensive certification service where developers can hone their skills and gain the insight and credentials they need to serve retailers leveraging the e-commerce solution. These specialized technical experts have an immense impact on projects, helping sellers navigate Magento and ultimately deploy installations that meet customer needs and generate revenue.

However, finding these powerful Magento community members can sometimes prove difficult. Why? The e-commerce platform provider offers seven different certifications, each of which addresses one particular subject area. Retail companies intent on getting external Magento deployment help would be wise to review these certifications and assess how developers with these credentials might function.

Magento 2 Certified Professional Front-end Developer

Front-end developers deal primarily with user interface variables, building online experiences that facilitate ease-of-use and keep customers engaged. This certification is designed to ensure that front-end developers working in Magento can effectively leverage platform theming components and ultimately deliver shopper-facing visual frameworks and features that hit the mark. The exam for this certification addresses essential visual web design components, such as CSS and JavaScript usage and template and layout creation. It also covers ancillary topics like best practices for the administration panel, where front-end developers working in Magento implement site-wide and page-specific design changes. Sellers working with a Certified Professional Front-End Developer should expect someone with at least 1.5 years of Magento deployment experience who can easily execute UI modifications that meet industry best practices.

Magento 2 Certified Associate Developer

This certification is for junior developers with front- and back-end expertise beginning their Magento development journeys. The associated exam covers platform basics like UI modification, database management, front-end customization, and catalog and checkout creation. There are no prerequisites apart from intimate familiarity with Magento 2. Retailers contracting a Certified Associate Developers should expect someone who displays a strong grasp of the platform and can capably create and maintain digital sales spaces using Magento.

Magento 2 Certified Professional Developer

This credential is designed for Magento developers with at least a year-and-a-half of platform customization and implementation experience. The certification exam doubles down on essential platform functions such as UI modification and database management while covering new territory like back-end integration and checkout process customization. Retail companies that collaborate with a Certified Professional Developer should expect someone who can spearhead Magento implementation efforts with ease and not only has a strong technical grasp on the platform but can also articulate the deeper concepts that underpin it.

Magento 2 Certified Professional Developer Plus

This certification is aimed at advanced Magento developers and system architects responsible for leading implementation projects, making significant technical decisions and collaborating with retailers to gather baseline system requirements. The exam associated with this certification therefore addresses high-level subject areas, including core architecture development and security. The test also covers more nebulous ground and challenges developers on their ability to make strong back-end architectural decisions, predict the impact of customization and grapple with salient implementation issues such as product pricing and quoting. Sellers that decide to partner with a Certified Professional Developer Plus should expect someone with an in-depth understanding of Magento implementation, from project planning to on-the-ground execution.

Magento 2 Certified Professional JavaScript Developer

This ubiquitous coding language is central to the Magento e-commerce platform, acting as the framework for numerous mission-critical system modules. This certification is meant for Magento developers specializing in JavaScript and centers on an exam that validates their knowledge of all platform components built using this language. The test also covers the architecture and application development lifecycle. Retailers that work with a Certified Professional JavaScript Developer should expect a professional who has an intimate knowledge Magento JavaScript components — particularly UI modules — and can deftly navigate related server-side variables, including layout configuration and customer data management.

Magento 2 Certified Professional Cloud Developer

Magento Commerce boasts an extensive cloud-based architecture. The certification focuses on this platform framework and features an exam that addresses related topics such as testing, deployment, troubleshooting and environment management. The test also covers operations and performance enhancement through the cloud, as well as cloud-based integration. Sellers that contract with a Certified Professional Cloud Developer can expect someone with between six and 12 months of Magento Commerce development experience and at least two completed implementations.

Magento 2 Certified Solution Specialist

In addition to the six developer-oriented certifications discussed above, Magento offers the Magento 2 Certified Solution Specialist credential. This certification is meant for expert users who can easily navigate Magento post deployment and align platform content to overarching business goals in the service of customer engagement and revenue growth.

Understanding the Magento certification process

Developers must weather significant testing experiences to gain these credentials. All of the above certification courses hinge on 60 multiple-choice questions administered online over 90 minutes. Exam takers are not permitted to reference hard copy or digital materials during the testing period and must pay their certification fees, which range from $195 to $295, up front. The Magento Certification Advisory Board, an oversight group made up of internal and external Magento authorities from across the globe, determines the exam content, which is drawn not only from technical platform guidelines but also real-world deployment best practices.

Finding Magento-certified developers

Where exactly can retailers find developers or architects with aforementioned Magento certifications? The software provider makes it easy. Everyone who earns Magento developer credentials goes into an enormous searchable database that is available, free of charge and without sign up, to all retailers. Entry includes location and credential details.

Sellers who search the Magento Certification Directory will come across tens of thousands of highly skilled developers, including 14 from Pixafy. As a Magento Gold Solutions Partner and internationally recognized leader in e-commerce platform development, we encourage our team members to optimize their Magento development and deployment skills whenever possible, and for more than a dozen, that meant obtaining certifications. Kurt Kemple, one of our UI experience designers, maintains the Certified Professional Front-End Developer credential, which he earned through hard work in the field and at the desk.

“It was relatively fast and painless, as I studied a lot. I prepped by reading the Magento Design Guide, setting up mock shops, and taking a few practice tests,” Kemple explained. “It is a great tangible accomplishment that will boost your overall coding confidence. It makes you more valuable to your team and to your clients.”

Retail companies that collaborate with certified Magento developers like Kemple set themselves up for sustainable success, as they can rest assured that their external partners can get the most out of the e-commerce platform.

So is your retail business ready to partner with an e-commerce development firm staffed with certified Magento experts? Consider connecting with us today to learn more about our services or to explore some of our past projects.