What Are Magento Certifications and Why Should You Care?

So you got your Adobe Commerce (aka Magento) shop that needs to be fixed, optimized, upgraded, or built from scratch. How do you know which developer to partner with?

A certified one! Top-rated Magento development agencies always have Magento-certified developers on staff and are ready to showcase their Adobe Magento certifications as proof of quality.

For the past 13 years, we at Elogic Commerce have been a single place where retailers can come and source talented Adobe-certified professionals of different seniority levels and web development directions. And trust us: they have always received the neat, clean code and tech expertise they’ve been looking for.

But how do you know which Magento certification your developer needs?

Read on to find the complete Magento certification list and a detailed explanation of what to expect from your chosen Magento-certified front-end developer.

What Is Magento 2 Certification?

If you go through our how to choose a Magento development agency guide, you’ll see that we always recommend checking their Magento certifications first. What are they?

Essentially, the Magento 2 certification is a practical test of Adobe to qualify Magento 2 specialists at different levels and allow them to showcase their expertise using digital badges. 

With the Magento 1 system not in play anymore, developers with Magento 2 skills became IT-royalty – and core players for companies that run their stores on Magento 2. Magento 2 is a far cry from Magento 1, so one has to really learn the ropes of the platform to pass the Magento 2 Certification exam.

With Magento becoming part of Adobe in 2018, some certification rules changed as well. As of August 17, 2020, Magento Cloud certifications are now called Adobe certifications and need to be renewed every 2 years.

This may sound like a drag, but this update is actually incredibly useful and motivates developers to grow professionally, gain more hands-on experience, and even increase Magento developer hourly rate. On top of this, the exam contains 60 practical questions and can be quite tricky with its pitfalls, which can only be caught after years of hard work.

A Magento 2 Certification doesn’t come for free. Depending on the certification badge a developer is trying to receive, the exam will cost between $195-395. To renew the certification, a fee of $150 (worldwide) and $80 (India) will be charged. 

A Complete Guide to Magento Certifications [+Their Adobe Certifications Equivalents]

Overall, there are eight Magento certifications types all of which are aligned to Adobe Certified credential levels of Expert, Professional, and Master. Here’s a full Magento 2 certification list:

Let’s get into more detail about each type, their corresponding badges, the required skill sets, and prices.

And if you can’t find the right answers to your questions, just send your request our way! Our certified Adobe Experts at Elogic will be happy to address all your concerns even beyond the matter of certifications.

Magento 2 Solution Specialist (AD0-E700 Adobe Certified Expert – Adobe Commerce Business Practitioner)

A Magento 2 Solution Specialist specialist (now Adobe Commerce Business Practitioner) is an expert user of the Magento 2 ecommerce platform who can independently and effectively align a company’s business objectives with Magento 2 functionality. They know Magento ecommerce architecture inside out and will optimize native features, such as B2B modules or selling features, in line with your business needs. 

Read more: Ecommerce Architecture for Website — Full Guide 

For business owners, a Magento Solution Specialist is an important multifunctional role. They gather eCommerce website requirements from stakeholders, manage a project development team, and find ways to boost your ROI and/or website performance.

The exam aims at project managers, salespeople, and technical architects. Generally, one has to have a basic understanding of networking, cloud, and server infrastructure. Magento 2 certified developers will have the product knowledge of Magento 2 Open Source and Adobe Commerce, including system functionality, system architecture, integration, and the third-party modules used in the standard Magento 2 installation.

Price: $295 

Magento 2 Certified Associate Developer (AD0-E702 Adobe Certified Professional – Adobe Commerce Developer)

A developer with this Magento certificate is on the verge of their career. This exam helps validate skills such as UI modifications, database changes, customizations, admin modifications, or functionality changes. 

This is the most common basic badge at any Magento-certified agency that has junior engineers on staff and is certified to complete a wide range of support and maintenance tasks. 

The Adobe Commerce Developer certification is the first badge of honor for a developer with work experience of <2 years. Such certified Magento developers will bring knowledge of PHP, MySQL, Apache, Nginx, and Linux to the table as well as on-the-job experience. 

Price: $195 

Magento 2 Certified Professional Developer (AD0-E703 Adobe Certified Expert – Adobe Commerce Developer)

Similar to the Adobe Commerce Developer Certification test, this one was designed to validate the skills necessary for UI modifications, database changes, and admin modifications. The difference lies only in years of experience acquired by a Magento 2 certified professional developer. 

Expect to see skills in checkout process customizations, order management integrations, and customizations; catalog structure and functionality changes are being tested. Thus, at least 1.5 years of experience are required.

The target audience for this exam is primarily highly skilled backend developers as this is one of the most difficult Magento certification tests.

Price: $295 

Magento 2 Professional Developer Plus (AD0-E704 Adobe Certified Master Magento Commerce Architect)

Candidates with this certificate are Magento architects and developers with 2 years of experience in customizing different Magento platform areas, as well as working in leadership roles like leading Magento teams and projects. 

A Magento-certified developer of this level of expertise makes key technical decisions on a project and works with customers to build project requirements.

Any architecture only works well with a solid foundation – especially considering how complex Magento 2 architecture is. This is why Magento Commerce Architects are crucial for businesses that aim for success. 

Price: $395

Magento 2 Front-End Developer (AD0-E701 Adobe Certified Expert – Adobe Commerce Front-End Developer)

To take this exam, a Magento developer must have at least 1.5 years of experience with Magento 2. The test is for front-end developers whose task is to create and customize Magento themes and includes primarily scenario-based questions.

As the frontend is the part of the website most open to the public, hiring a Magento-certified front-end developer is crucial to establish a solid connection to customers online.

Price: $295

Magento 2 JavaScript Developer (AD0-E705 Adobe Certified Expert – Adobe Commerce JavaScript Developer)

As the name suggests, this exam validates skills in regards to developing new JavaScript modules for Magento 2 as well as customizing the existing ones. This expert Magento developer have to bring at least 1 year of JavaScript experience. 

JavaScript developers with this badge will provide the Magento-based stores with a smart look and dynamic visual elements necessary to create a smooth and transparent user interface (UI). 

Price: $295

Magento 2 Cloud Developer (AD0-E706 Adobe Certified Expert – Adobe Commerce Cloud Developer)

To get this credential, Magento 2 developers/architects must have completed at least two Cloud implementations during the course of 6 to 12 months. This particular Magento 2 certification validates the engineer’s knowledge to deploy, test, troubleshoot, and operate in the Magento Cloud environment. 

Read more: What is Magento Commerce Cloud? – Features And Benefits 

Such Magento-certified experts will enhance your project operations and performance by leveraging Adobe Commerce Cloud platform features. Working in the closed cloud system is what makes Magento professionals different from those with the Magento Commerce Architect badge.

Price: $295

How to Check if a Magento Developer is Certified?

Many ecommerce development companies like Elogic, taking pride in being certified and partnering with Adobe, display their badges directly on their websites. So look for the badges on the company’s homepage or corresponding Magento services page.

In addition, official certified Magento partners can be found on the Adobe Partners page.

In order to check individual certifications, business owners hiring developers might have to either ask for a direct link to their badge at youracclaim.com or validate their candidates’ skills during an interview. 

A Note for Magento Professionals: How to Prepare for a Magento Certification Exam

Essentially, developers aren’t required to complete any special training before the exam. But it isn’t just the real life and work experience that can help a developer prepare. To do so, several steps can be taken:

• revise theory
• work on Magento projects
• develop Magento 2 modules and/or themes

For every selected Magento 2 Certification type, candidates can prepare by completing courses on the Adobe Digital Learning Platform or by going through the Magento 2.4.x Developer Documentation. Read more about it below and find some more valuable resources a Magento developer might use to prepare for the certifications exam.

Courses on the Adobe Digital Learning Platform

The Adobe Digital Learning Platform offers versatile courses to prepare developers for their exams. Themes of previous courses include Core Principles for Theming in Magento 2, Managing Your Magento 2 Store, Requirements Discovery, and many more.

Magento 2.4 Developer Documentation

The Magento 2.4 Developer Documentation is now available as the Adobe Commerce 2.4 Developer Guide. It’s a collection of guides, tutorials, and community resources that can help Magento Developers to learn and grow. 

Development Guides, MOOCs & Informal Learning

There are other alternative learning sources provided by developers of the Magento community. Here are a few options for those seeking more in-depth Magento 2 certification training:

• Max Pronko offers courses on his YouTube Channel and personal blog
• M.academy provides lessons on Magento 2
• FireBear Studio is a dedicated Magento blog with a list of Magento resources
• Magemastery offers online courses and workshops for Magento 2 developers
• Magento Forum is home to the Magento developer community
• Classroom Training by MageTraining offers courses like those for frontend and backend Magento developers
• Certification Resources by SwiftOtter include practice tests and study guides
• Magento 2 Developer Training by Mage Academy was designed for experienced developers and teaches changing or adding Magento 2 functionality 
• MageTalk: A Magento Community Podcast is a Magento podcast for fans of auditory learning
• Alan Kent and Alan Storm write blogs with useful Magento 2 tips and real-life cases
• Magento Developer Blog, as the name says, is the official developer blog my Magento

Wrapping Up the Magento Developer Certification List

Magento 2 certification is indeed a great validation tool for a variety of Magento developers and companies working with the platform. 

Looking at how many brands and corporations run their stores on Magento 2, there will always be a need for top-certified Magento developers. And using the Magento certification badges, it’s possible to:

• Validate developer skills and qualifications to find reliable tech partners – for business owners;
• Get exposure and access to larger projects and bigger incomes – for Magento developers.