If you have a WordPress site or have helped your friends and family set up websites for themselves, you’re probably interested in acquiring a WordPress certification.
But, something is stopping you. What is that? Is it because you don’t see the point? We understand that! However, there are so many benefits to glean from getting yourself a WordPress certification!
We know you’re skeptical, but let us explain all the benefits and then see how you feel.
Why Should You Get a WordPress Certification?
Without further ado, we are just going to hop straight into it!
To Test Your Knowledge
Even if you don’t care about any of the other benefits, getting yourself a WordPress certificate gives you the confidence that you truly know what you’re doing. There’s nothing more worthwhile than that!
To Be More Attractive To Employers
In this day and age, employers are looking for cyber skills above anything else. Whether is partly sad is down to personal feelings. However, if you have a WordPress certificate, it’s bound to be a great thing!
Not only does it show that you have a great command over the platform, but it also tells employers that you are dedicated enough to do something like this off your own back. It truly says a lot about a person.
Get a WordPress Certification to Improve Your Freelance Portfolio or CV
Think about it. Your portfolio or your CV is the first thing potential clients or employers will see. If they don’t like that, they won’t bother contacting you. So, it needs to stand out enough to make them want to reach out.
While you might not think that a WordPress qualification will be the piece that sets you above the rest, it may well be. Don’t underestimate the power that this platform has over large businesses and corporations. They might even use WordPress themselves.
Learn Something New
It has always been important to keep learning new skills. However, it is more crucial now than ever before. Not only can you learn all there is to know about WordPress from home, but it is relatively budget-friendly too.
Get Sparkling References From The Course Providers
Finally, earning a WordPress certificate gives you a unique opportunity to ask for glowing references from those who helped you achieve it. That’s right. Even though you won’t attend a “normal” college or university for this, you can still get amazing referrals.
Alongside this, those who put the course together may well have contacts in the industry. You never know, you might get your next career venture or client from them! In our opinion, it’s always worth a try.
The 6 Best WordPress Certification Providers
#1 WP Academy
WP Academy is perfect for those of you who are on a budget but still want to bust out a great looking CV, with some fab cyber-related qualifications attached.
The best part is that this certification provider operates on a one-time fee protocol. So, all you have to do is pay $147 and you have access to all the certifications and courses forever!
Some of the courses that you can find on this comprehensive site are as follows:
- How to Use BeaverBuilder — helps you to set out WordPress sites faster
- Using WooCommerce — shows you how to start an online store on your WordPress website
- WordPress Success — guides you through the process of building a WordPress website from the beginning to the end
- SEO Course — tells you about how to rank higher in Google searches by optimizing your site and its content
- Email Writing Masterclass — helps you write emails that are almost guaranteed to convert into sales
#2 WordPress Certification by Template Monster
Template Monster is a little bit different from the other WordPress certification providers we’re talking about here. Why? Because its primary aim is not to be a certification provider at all.
The company was founded in 2002 offering website templates developed by the in-house team. Over the years, they have expanded and now offer lots of templates and other cool features too.
Alongside your WordPress certification that you can acquire from Template Monster, you can also purchase a variety of themes to make your site look super professional. You get a lot of bang for your buck with these guys as they offer the following:
- Custom widgets
- Custom shortcodes
- SEO certifications and templates
- 24/7 customer support
- Power Builder and other fun page builders
- Cherry Framework (a WordPress add-on that provides a ton of features)
You might be asking yourself how Template Monster made it onto our “best WordPress certification providers” since this isn’t its primary goal. Well, it’s because it is completely free! Yep, you can reap all the amazing benefits of taking this course without spending a penny.
#3 New Skills Academy
As you can probably imagine, New Skills Academy doesn’t just offer WordPress courses. This provider has a wide variety to choose from and it’s quite easy to get sidetracked by all the other amazing options on offer.
Having said this, the dedicated WordPress certification is pretty extensive too! You should expect to spend around 10 hours of study to complete this course. The developers have packed so much in that 10 hours is bound to feel like 10 minutes once you get stuck in.
You will be covering a load of topics, some of which include the following How to:
- Install WordPress onto your computer
- Navigate and use the WordPress dashboard
- Make video galleries
- Make image galleries
- Manage user comments
- Create contact forms
- Customize themes
While this one is on the pricier side of life ($299), you do receive a really thorough insight into WordPress.
#4 CancanIT
If you feel that you don’t need to go through an entire course to pass your WordPress certification exam, CancanIT is the one for you.
Yes, the exam will cost you money ($120). But, you can retake it as many times as you need to pass. Just remember that you need to know yourself beforehand because no CancanIT does not provide any training for this one.
To pass and receive your certification, you have to get through practical and theoretical tests. The latter contains 20 questions. You’ll need to get at least 15 correct to pass. During the practical exam, you’ll be asked to make a little site and implement custom features. They give you 150 minutes to complete this section but you can finish before then.
Bear in mind that the questions are always random. If your buddy takes the test at the same time as you, each will be different. Because of this, it’s hard to prepare for so you need knowledge of almost all parts of WordPress to succeed.
#5 WP101
Arguably, this is one of the biggest providers of WordPress certifications for beginners. This site offers loads of video-based, step-by-step demonstrations that can take you from a 100% newbie to a seasoned intermediate in one fell swoop.
Since 2008, this provider has helped over 2 million reach their WordPress-related dreams. Their wealth of experience has led them to create so many courses for all you WordPress beginners to choose from. These include:
- WordPress 101
- Classic Editor
- Easy Custom Forms with Ninja Forms
- How to Add an Event Calendar
- WooCommerce Quick Start Guide
- The Complete Guide to Yoast SEO
- Easy Email Newsletter Mailpoet
- and more!
If you haven’t got much time to dedicate to learning the ins and outs of WordPress, WP101 is the way forward. Most of their demonstrations are around 5 minutes long so are perfect for those who ideally need more hours in their day. Oh, and you’ll pay a mere $19 a month for the privilege!
#6 WP Apprentice
If you aren’t looking to spend any money, then WP Apprentice might be the one for you. While there are paid plans to choose from (we’ll talk about those a bit later), the provider offers a free version. This dives into the basics of WordPress and aims to get your site up and running in a mere 1 hour.
However, if you would like to start looking at the dos and don’ts of eCommerce and search engine optimization, then you can opt for a paid plan to gain access to all kinds of courses and features. The courses include:
- WordPress Quick Start
- Gutenberg Essentials
- Business Website Blueprint
- SEO Fundamentals for WordPress
- eCommerce Training Bundle
You can decide between spending $39, $75, or $99 depending on how many bits and pieces you want to access. Just bear in mind that when you do purchase, you can take advantage of the following features:
- Tune-Up Guide
- WordPress Security Training
- Members Forum
- and lots of other nifty tidbits!
Frequently Asked Questions
Is There An Official WordPress Certification?
We are almost certain that you will have answered your own question by now. Regardless, the answer is no.
Your next question, however, is probably “why isn’t there an official WordPress certification?”. And honestly, that’s a great query, but the answer is incredibly simple.
WordPress is an open-source project. This means that anyone with a computer (essentially) can submit code. There isn’t a company backing the site. A non-profit group called the WordPress Foundation is the team of minds behind the premise, but they don’t offer certifications.
There are plenty of options out there for you to earn your stripes with a WordPress certificate. However, you do need to remember that they aren’t endorsed by WordPress (since it isn’t a company in the traditional sense). Of course, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t work hard to get one. As we said at the beginning, it will drastically your chances of finding a job.
How Long Does It Take To Get Prepared For The WordPress Certification Course?
Unfortunately, this isn’t a question we can answer simply. Why? Because it depends on you (everyone learns at different rates), the competence level you wish to achieve, and the specific course you are doing.
We’ll look at each level in turn so you can decide whether you are prepared enough to take your online WordPress certification course.
The Basics
To learn the basics, it will take you around 10 hours. This includes knowing how to do things like this:
- Add blog posts
- Change basic details
- Upload and update site content
Entry Pro
To get to this level (and be confident with everything) will take you around 6 to 12 months. However, taking a course can drastically reduce this. You will need to know a little bit of code and work plug-ins like the back of your hand.
Full-Blown WordPress Pro
To reach this level, you will need to have at least 2 years of experience. You have to be able to handle absolutely everything from the front end and the back end. It’s not easy, but it can be done if you’re dedicated.
How to Become a WordPress Expert?
Okay, the first thing to note here is that WordPress is a giant platform and not easy to use. You can’t really become an expert on the whole CMS. It would be near-on impossible (sorry to say). However, you can acquire a lot of knowledge about the platform and be incredibly well-versed in using it. So, we’ll look at how to do that.
Step One: Know Your Limits
In other words, understand where your knowledge gaps are so you can fill them!
Step Two: Know the Key Components
Fully understand the core of WordPress like the themes and plugins.
Step Three: Confidently Use the Customizer
Understand how to implement code and play around with the settings to get a fully customized look.
Step Four: Learn the Technical Side
Understand how the plugins are created. Know how they use CSS, PHP, HTML, and more.
Step Five: Learn the Database Side
Learn how the information is stored in the backend so you can effectively tinker with it.
Step Six: Know WordPress Hosting Choices
This includes knowing the providers, how it works, different types, and what managing these sites entails.
Step Seven: Give Back to the WordPress Community
Help to expand the platform by imparting extensive code knowledge and experience
