How to Pass Magento 2 Certification? [Useful Tips]

Over the years, Magento proved to be a trustworthy eCommerce platform for successful store development. Thousands of people decided to give it a shot and now continue to grow and scale their businesses. 

The area of Magento 2 development has also been expanding. No wonder so many developers work with different Magento branches trying to find their place in this extensive architecture and create a career.

Becoming a certified Magento 2 developer opens more opportunities for you as a professional. The question is, where do you start?

We've prepared all the answers here. You'll learn what Magento certifications are available for you, and what they require and cover. Besides, we'll share some useful tips to help you pass the certification successfully.

Ready to start?

What is Magento 2 Certification?

Magento certification, or Adobe certification, is the verification and validation of your professional knowledge of Magento 2 development and/or management. Once passed, you receive a badge confirming your Magento developer certification.

With the transfer of Magento to Adobe, the principles and types of certification changed. Still, the exam includes a defined number of tasks that have to be solved during a defined time. When it comes to the form of the exam, it is mostly conducted online and is supervised, meaning you have to work with your camera on.

There are various types of Adobe certifications. Let's have a look at each of them so that you know what to expect and choose.

Types of Adobe Certifications

Adobe Certification for development positions has 3 levels — Professional, Expert, and Master. The Qualified level offers certifications for marketers, business users, and content writers. So, if your goal is to be a certified Magento 2 developer, the Professional level will be your starting point.

Nevertheless, each level has different requirements regarding the experience you should have and the Magento areas you need to be proficient at.

Then, there are different certifications depending on a particular area, such as analytics, advertising, experience, audience manager, etc.

Yet in our case, Adobe Commerce Certification matches our needs best. Thus, we should check the levels this certification requires and what their requirements are.

Magento certification types

Adobe Commerce Professional

To get the Professional certificate, you need to have at least 6-12 months of experience. Adobe Commerce professional has the fundamental knowledge of Magento and knows how to work with the basic concepts of the platform. At this level, you can be a certified business practitioner, backend, or frontend developer

Business Practitioner

The Business Practitioner exam is aimed at validating basic Magento knowledge. Thus, you need to be aware of the core features of Magento Open Source as well as the key components of Adobe Commerce.

Moreover, you should also know the main principles of eCommerce and digital marketing, and understand the way they work. Security and compliance shouldn't be left out either.

Backend Developer

Professional Backend Developer certification covers a wide range of aspects. That said, you need to know how to work with the admin, identify various components, and describe URL rewrites, preferences, crons, Magento hierarchy, and other architecture components.

Besides, the exam questions require your database, EAV, UI, and layout understanding. You should be able to operate default checkout, sales, and catalogue entities, as well as configure them to receive a specific result.

There are a few parts dedicated to the Adobe Cloud architecture and settings. So, make sure you work with them well enough too.

Frontend Developer

The Frontend Professional Developer exam is also multidirectional. Of course, you're expected to work with Magento 2 themes, templates, and layout XML. When it comes to styles, you have to know their hierarchy and understand the purpose and specifics of different styles, Magento LESS in particular.

On top of that, you need to understand JS components, Require JS, Knockout JS, etc. Pay attention to the page builder and various admin settings. The knowledge of CLI and composer commands is a necessity too.

Professional Exam Details

ID Job role Duration (min) Passing mark Language Format Cost (global) Cost (India)
AD0-E712 Business practitioner 100 30/50 English Online (proctored) $125 $95
AD0-E717 Backend developer 154 50/77 English Online (proctored) $125 $95
AD0-E721 Frontend developer 100 33/50 English Online (proctored) $125 $95

Adobe Commerce Expert

One of the prerequisites for becoming an Adobe Commerce Expert is having at least 1-3 years of experience. The corresponding exams are more advanced and require an in-depth knowledge of Magento processes and mechanisms. At this level, you can get business practitioner, backend, or frontend developer certifications.

Business Practitioner

To take the exam, you need to have a deeper understanding of digital marketing specifics. There are questions dedicated to SEO, built-in cross-sells and up-sells, Magento 2 Google Tag Manager, as well as sales and marketing strategies.

The security aspects will not be left out either. So make sure to have a sufficient level of comprehension. Besides, you're also expected to work with the native Magento order processing tools and other customer service settings. Be ready to configure them for specific scenarios.

Backend Developer

Except for being able to operate with EAV and databases, you have to understand how to work with customizations and provide customized solutions for catalogue, sales operations, and other cases. Besides, you need to know how to operate the presented APIs and create new ones.

To become a certified Magento developer at the Expert level, you are to know the Adobe Commerce Cloud architecture, that is to be able to work with the structure, permissions, PHP, YAML, ECE tools and patches, etc.

Moreover, the exam covers the understanding of the CLI tool and Commerce on Cloud configuration, such as using UI to perform various tasks.

Frontend Developer

To pass the frontend expert developer exam, you need to have enough skills to work with themes and their hierarchy in Magento, as well as translations and CLI. Together with that, you should know the structure of Magento 2 pages and WYSIWYG/page builder specifics to apply LESS, CSS, HTML, Underscore, etc.

The email template customization, Adobe Commerce Cloud infrastructure and its tools are also covered in the test. 

Expert Exam Details

ID Job role Duration (min) Passing mark Language Format Cost (global) Cost (India)
AD0-E708 Business practitioner 100 31/50 English Online (proctored) $225 $150
AD0-E716 Backend developer 138 41/69 English Online (proctored) $225 $150
AD0-E720 Frontend developer 100 29/50 English Online (proctored) $225 $150

Adobe Commerce Master

The Adobe Commerce Master certificate requires 3-5 years of experience as a development projects lead. It is aimed at measuring your ability to decipher the business needs clearly and implement them in a working strategy.

Here you can become a certified architect

Architect

You need to be able to analyze the eCommerce needs at hand and provide a relevant solution using the Adobe Commerce tools. Thus, you need to create development tasks defining a workflow for a specific functionality without diving into the code directly.

Furthermore, you should understand how to debug the issues, manage databases, and adhere to security measures. Don't leave out coding standards, AMQP protocol, SOLID principle, PSR, and other aspects necessary for creating the project structure.

Master Exam Details

ID Job role Duration (min) Passing mark Language Format Cost (global) Cost (India)
AD0-E722 Architect 100 30/50 English Online (proctored) $225 $150

How to Apply for Adobe Certification?

At this point, you should have a clearer understanding of Magento certification types. Once you've studied all the details and chosen what exam you want to take, it's time to learn how to get Magento certification. The first step is to apply for it.

For starters, create an Adobe Credential Management System account if you haven't done it yet. Make sure you have your account set up according all the requirements. Yet even if you don't, the hints on the screen will prompt you to add the missing info.

After that, go to the Scheduling tab in your account to get a full list of the available certification exams. Choose a corresponding option, schedule the exam, and pay for it.

Adobe credential management system

The Magento certification exam itself will be conducted in the Examity. That's where you're redirected to re/schedule, pay, cancel, and take the exam.

Note: that the exams are proctored, thus make sure your camera is working properly before the appointment. 

Magento certification exams

You can monitor the results of the exam in the Adobe Credential Management System account in the History section. Usually, it takes up to 72 hours for the scores to appear there.

Note: if you don't get the passing score during the first exam attempt, you need to wait 24 hours to retake it. For further retakes, you'll be required to wait for 14 days. An additional fee will be charged for each exam attempt.

Adobe Certification Renewal

It is important to mention that upon passing the exam successfully, you do not have the lifetime certification. In fact, it is valid for two years only. Yet, Adobe offers the possibility to renew the certificate.

In the Renew Your Certification section of your account, you'll find the relevant info on the renewal. It is mostly covered for free, just like for Adobe Commerce Certification, for instance. Yet there are a couple of exams that do not offer the no-charge renewal yet.

To renew the Magento developer certification you'll have to complete tasks, courses, and assessments, or take a non-proctored exam. The specifics vary depending on the certification type.

Is Magento Certification Important?

Having considered all the information descrived, you perhaps think that it's rather complicated. So, is becoming a certified Magento developer worth the trouble?

Most Magento community representatives say that it does. Let's see why.

First of all, Magento 2 certification is a great opportunity for you to validate your knowledge. This way you establish yourself as a professional in a specific area and build trust in your products or services.

Secondly, it is not a secret that merchants usually look for experienced developers who can be a perfect fit for their business. Certification gives you an advantage and makes you stand out among your competitors.

That said, you have more possibilities for career development and high-paying positions.

Moreover, when joining the certified Adobe community you get more exclusive educational sources for continuous growth. You'll always be updated on the latest developments and releases meaning you can keep up with the advances.

Magento 2 Certification Useful Tips

If you decide to become a certified Magento developer, you'll need to dedicate a great amount of your time and effort to the preparation. The tasks on the exam are not a breeze and may be quite complicated.

Thus, you need to be ready and confident in your knowledge to pass.

We've prepared a few useful tips that may come in handy in your Magento developer certification journey. 

1. Do you speak English?

As you have probably noticed, the certification exams are conducted in English. Moreover, most of the preparation material on the Internet is also in English. Thus, if you have some doubts about your language fluency, take some courses to improve it.

Specifically, pay attention to the Magento terminology to understand the concepts accurately. Thus, the high level of English won't only facilitate the preparation process but also boost your chances of passing the exam successfully.

2. Study Magento 2 official documentation

One of the most efficient things to do is to refer to the official documentation. Adobe provides dozens of guides on both frontend and backend development. Besides, it also shares documentation on the out-of-the-box Magento functionality.

You learn how various processes are supposed to work and fill in the missing knowledge gaps.

3. Take preparation courses

Except for certifications, Adobe provides preparation classes tailored to different certification exams. Such courses have narrow specializations and can cover different areas in closer detail. Besides, they have the study information structured and gathered in one place.

You can go for the official Adobe learning services and choose materials for the exam you've chosen. Alternatively, you might want to check the SwiftOtter training that covers general topics and has separate courses focused on Magento certification. 

Yet, don't limit yourself to these options only. You're free to choose whatever Magento certification training you find more sufficient.

4. Keep it practical

We'll probably all agree that the best way to get Magento certification is to know Magento in the first place. Theoretical knowledge is important, but not enough. You need a more hands-on approach.

Thus, try to work with Magento as much as you can. Explore the default functionality, play around with the customizations, and investigate the real-life environment.

The exam tasks require critical thinking and the ability to analyze various situations. Nothing can prepare you better than a first-hand experience.

5. Test your knowledge

What can be especially helpful, is checking your knowledge before taking the actual exam. Adobe provides readiness questionnaires for each certification exam. They help to determine if you're ready for the exam or if there still are some aspects to cover.

You can find these questionnaires on every exam overview page at Experience League.

Becoming a certified Magento developer is a long path. You have to study a lot and go through many preparation stages to reach the desired goal. Yet, if you know what you're working for and, most importantly, why you're doing it, you'll be much more motivated to finish this journey successfully.

One more thing: don't be afraid of failure. Take it as a valuable lesson and another reason to do better.

Roy T. Bennet once said: "The one who falls and gets up is stronger than the one who never tried. Do not fear failure but rather fear not trying." May this inspirational thought be your motto on the way to becoming a certified Magento developer.