Is There an Official WordPress Certification
Certificates look great in your CV, and they can actually improve your chances of being shortlisted for a certain position. Whether you need a certificate to become a WordPress developer is another story. One of the things that made WordPress so hugely popular, is that it is open for everyone to learn about it and to use it without any type of certification being necessary. But, that doesn’t mean you have to learn about WordPress on your own. There are plenty of unofficial courses and training that can help you get the skills that you need faster.
Benefits of WordPress Certification
Although there is no official WordPress certification, there are quality courses that can help you learn what you need to meet a job requirement, improve your CV, test and systematize your knowledge and get useful contacts along the way. If you are already a developer, your projects and experience will look as good as any certificate in your CV. But, if you have just stepped into the WordPress world, some courses might be very useful for you, and of course, a certificate in a CV never looks bad.
Taking a WordPress Course vs. Learning on Your Own
As we mentioned earlier, anyone can learn WordPress. It all depends on how much time you’re willing to invest in learning. There are plenty of how-to guides, YouTube videos, and blogs available as a resource. But, if you have a limited time to learn, or simply don’t want to waste a minute checking the quality of the resources, a structured WordPress training course may be a better option. The biggest advantage of these courses is that they offer step-by-step training and support to help you along the way. If you choose a WP Course, whenever you run into something that confuses you or that you don’t understand, you can reach out to the course author for help, while if you are learning on your own, you’ll have to find all the answers by yourself.
Where to Find the Best WP Courses
Many companies and individuals organize all kinds of WP courses at different prices. When a company offers a WP course, it tends to have more credibility, as in most cases, more than one person stands behind it, and the company brand itself stands as evidence of quality. In case you are looking for employment in a company that, for example, uses the services of the company that provides WP courses, then you shouldn’t have any dilemma about which training course to take.
Experienced developers often organize WP courses, and the best way to check their quality is to read the author’s biography and check the reviews.
Free courses are a great solution if you’re on a budget, but they usually don’t provide as much support as paid courses. And of course, if you’re already taking a course, think about what kind of certificate would look best in your CV.
To help you choose the best option for you and save you some time and probably some money too, we’ve made a selection of the best paid, affordable, and free courses out there.
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Paid WP Courses
WP Training Courses
WP Training Courses are organized by a company with 10+ years of experience in teaching WordPress. They earned an excellent reputation for working with big brands like DELL, Microsoft, UCLA, NYU, etc. What they offer is pretty exclusive: for the price of around $1438 you get one on one classes where you learn by making the website that you actually need. The teachers are professionals with a lot of real-world experience. Although the course is pricy, consider that what you get is more than knowledge about WP – since you are working on your website with a teacher, there’s a great chance you’ll have your own site ready by the end of the course. What’s also convenient is that if you’re busy, the classes can be scheduled for weekends or evenings. You can choose between three types of courses and three types of certification accordingly: WP Manager, WP Administrator, and WP Front-end Developer.
New Skills Academy
New Skills Academy offers a well-rounded course that covers all the essential WP topics in 30 modules that last 10 hours in total. You can spend as much time as you need on each module, and ask for support at any time. For the price of $299, you get lifetime access and a certificate with no expiry date. Although there are more affordable options, this course has an excellent rating and has even earned multiple awards for quality.
Budget-Friendly Courses
WP Academy
If you feel best when you’re learning at your own pace, you’ll find the WP Academy an ideal solution for you. For a one-time payment of $147, you get lifetime access to all the courses and certifications. Basically, it is only up to you how fast you’ll earn your certificate. Lessons come in the form of videos that are brief and practice-focused, and each course covers a different topic. Both beginners and experienced developers can find something useful to advance their knowledge. Plus, new training courses are constantly added and you don’t have to pay any extra fees to access them. All in all, with WP Academy you get great value for money.
OSTraining
OSTraining is a great platform and an excellent WP knowledge base. They have a huge library of ebooks that are included with a subscription which is only $59 per year and comes with a 100% money-back guarantee. The courses cover a wide range of WP topics and come in the form of lessons and quizzes that help you check how well you acquire the knowledge. Their trainers are experienced WP professionals with proven success in their fields of expertise. After you successfully pass all the quizzes, you get a certificate of completion for each course.
Free WP Courses
Udemy
Udemy offers a wide range of WP courses created by professional developers. The quality of the courses varies a lot so make sure to check the reviews and ratings for each one before you sign up. After you successfully complete the selected course and pass all the related tests or quizzes you get a certificate of completion. These certificates aren’t accredited, but they do look good in a CV and tell your potential employers that you were willing to invest your time in learning about WP.
Yoast
The company that stands behind the most widely used SEO plugin also offers a free WP training course for beginners. The trainers are experienced SEO experts, which itself promises quality. The Yoast free course covers all the WP essentials from setting up, creating, and maintaining a WP site to the basics of WP SEO. The overall duration of the training course is three hours, the material is broken into 43 instructional videos, and you also get PDF documents with the training content so that you can follow the course easily. You can also test your knowledge in 23 quizzes and see where you stand.
In Conclusion
If one of your dilemmas is whether you need a WP certificate to become a WP developer, the answer is definitely no. You can learn a lot on your own, especially if you’re highly motivated or simply talented. Since there isn’t any type of official WP certification, nothing speaks better about your expertise but your experience. On the other hand, there is always something new to learn about WordPress. Therefore, investing in a well-structured WP training is always a safe bet. If you are a beginner, these courses will definitely save you a lot of time and energy in the long run.
Have you had experience with any kind of WP training course so far? Is there some course that isn’t listed here that you would highly recommend? Please, share your thoughts with us in the comment section!
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