Ace Your HubSpot CMS Developer Certification: A Real-World Study Guide

So, you're aiming to become a certified HubSpot CMS Developer? That's fantastic! It’s a great way to demonstrate your expertise and unlock new opportunities. But what happens when the official training materials disappear? That’s exactly the situation one HubSpot Community member found themselves in, sparking a helpful discussion about how to prepare for the CMS Developer II certification without access to the foundational CMS Developer I course.

The Challenge: Missing Foundational Materials

The original poster shared their predicament: they were gearing up for the CMS Developer II certification but discovered that the CMS Developer I course, which provided essential background knowledge, had been removed. This left them searching for guidance on how to proceed.

The Solution: Focus on the Practicum Core

Fortunately, another community member chimed in with some incredibly practical advice. While the official materials might be gone, the core requirements for the practicum remain the same. This means you can still prepare effectively by focusing on hands-on development and mastering key skills.

Here's a breakdown of the practicum core, according to the community's insights:

1. Custom Theme Creation: Build a custom theme from scratch (avoiding the boilerplate as a starting point, but you can still reference elements like layout.css).
2. Theme Settings: Implement at least two color fields in your theme fields.json file to control header and footer colors. Add other custom fields as needed to tailor the theme to specific needs.
3. CSS Structure: Organize your CSS using a structure similar to the boilerplate, with a main.css file for general styles and a theme-overrides.css file for theme-specific customizations.
4. Global Partials: Create reusable header and footer partials that can be included on multiple pages.
5. Navigation Menu: Build a navigation menu within HubSpot's Settings (Content -> Navigation).
6. Menu Integration: Integrate the navigation menu into your header partial.
7. Repeater Module: Develop a repeater module for displaying content like team member profiles (including image and text fields).
8. Drag-and-Drop Template: Construct a drag-and-drop template that allows users to easily arrange content on a page.
9. Page Creation: Create a page using your drag-and-drop template and populate it with sample content.
10. Responsiveness: Ensure that your theme and all its components are fully responsive across different devices.
11. Original Work: All files must be created and modified by you to demonstrate your understanding and skills.

The community member emphasized that the CMS Dev Cert II builds upon this foundation, focusing on speed optimization and accessibility. By mastering these core skills early on, you'll be well-prepared for the certification exam.

In essence, the key takeaway is to get your hands dirty and build! Don't just read about theme development; actively create a theme that meets these requirements. This hands-on experience will be invaluable in preparing for the CMS Developer II certification.

ESHOPMAN Team Comment

We at ESHOPMAN think this is a fantastic breakdown of the essential skills needed for the HubSpot CMS Developer certification. Focusing on practical application, like building a custom theme, is definitely the best approach. Many users underestimate the importance of accessibility and speed optimization; these are crucial for a successful e-commerce experience. If you're looking to build a storefront on HubSpot, mastering these skills will be a huge advantage, and ESHOPMAN can definitely help with the e-commerce aspect.

So, while the absence of the CMS Developer I materials might seem like a setback, it's actually an opportunity to dive deeper into practical development. By focusing on the practicum core and building a solid foundation of skills, you'll be well on your way to achieving your HubSpot CMS Developer certification. Good luck!