Being able to design, code, and publish your own website is something that most people can achieve at least once during their lives. With the availability of free or low cost web hosting services and easy-to-use content management systems (CMS) like WordPress, it has never been easier to get started.
By adding some catchy graphics and copy, anyone can make an excellent looking site using WordPress. It’s one of the top blogging platforms out there so it is not too hard to find quality material online using it.
WordPress certification testings are also very common. There are several websites run by different organizations where you can take their tests for credit without paying anything extra. This article will talk about how to become word press certified from Udemy, a popular source of learning materials.
Disclaimer: I am a co-founder of WPBeginner and contribute to this site in my spare time.
Read all of the WP Certified how to blog posts
As mentioned earlier, reading our most comprehensive how to guides is your best bet for becoming more efficient in the WordPress software. With that said, you will need to read this article all the way through before moving onto the next one.
By now, you have probably already picked up some tips and tricks from various WP beginner blogs. While their content may not be very detailed, they do contain enough information to help you start blogging.
Since we are talking about becoming word press certified here, there is one thing almost every WP beginner website lacks – certification! Almost every site says “beginner blogger” or “newbie blogger” without ever explaining what that means. Or if they do, it is only for a few weeks at a time before asking readers to move on.
That’s why I have compiled an extensive list of articles, videos, and toolkits to become word press certified. This includes things such as how to start a business with WordPress, taming your inner editor, and creating engaging content.
Not only does everything on my list go into great detail, but many also offer certifications as well. So whether you are looking to improve your writing or want to spread your wings by starting your own site, these resources can get you there.
Re-read all of the WP Certified how to blog posts
Now that you have your WordPress website, business, or both under control, it is time to start thinking about other ways to improve your writing skills. One way to do this is by becoming word press certified!
WordPress has an extensive certification program for writers to explore. You can pick and choose which ones fit into your career path and what level of writing expertise you want to attain.
There are three main levels of certification available from WordPress.com. These include Beginner Blogger, Premium Contributor, and Author. Becoming an author means achieving the highest level of certification.
The more advanced certifications require longer periods to achieve, so be aware of these deadlines before jumping in.
Read all of the WP Academy courses
While not necessary for most users, becoming word press certified is a great way to boost your website’s credibility and earn some extra money. The curriculum at WP Academy is extensive – there are over 20 courses available, many of which can be found under the premium membership level.
All of the course material has been professionally designed and vetted by our team of experienced WordPress professionals. Even if you already have some knowledge of WordPress, these lessons will give you insight into how the platform works.
The courses in the certification program cover everything from setting up an online store using WooCommerce to creating engaging content with tips and tricks for bloggers. Since the curriculum is comprehensive, even advanced users will find something new for their site.
There is also a dedicated section on how to help other people learn about WordPress so that they can start building sites or improving existing ones.
Watch all of the WP Academy videos
Many word press professionals require at least certification to work in their field. These professional levels range from beginner to advanced, with each one having its own set requirements.
The most common certifications are for WordPress Developers or Proxies which have no official requirement but is becoming more popular. A proxy is someone who works as an online service provider (think about it like how you use Google to search the web) by creating an account free of cost on another site’s platform and giving out your computer/internet access user names and passwords to other sites.
This way, they don’t need direct contact with the website owner! The person receiving the information can then make changes to those settings without needing permission directly from the site owner. This saves time and money for both parties involved.
Another less known level of certification is that of WordPress Administrator. An administrator has full control over everything related to your WordPress site. They can create new posts, update pages, manage users, etc. As you can probably guess, this requires a higher degree of skill than just being able to edit content.
There are only two ways to get these certifications: through education or practical experience. Most people achieve the former by attending an accredited school while some others learn via hands-on experience. Both are great options so do not hesitate to explore different routes!
The good thing about educational courses is that there are many free resources available online.
Practice writing with WP Certified and WP Academy tips
With both the Generalist version and the Specialist version of WordPress certified, you will need to show that you can write an article using the word press as a setting. You also must be able to use at least one theme in the style that it is written in.
This could be in the form of being able to create your own theme or editing someone else’s. Both of these require basic HTML knowledge so make sure to look into those!
The Generalists certificate does not require any special skills beyond what we mentioned before but the Specialists requirement is more specific to WordPress. This includes things like menu creation, plugins, etc.
Both versions are very similar aside from the level they have their certification at. To keep yourself updated with the latest changes to WordPress and other web technologies, making this our goal every month is ideal.
Review your website and work on improving it
In order to ensure that your site is using an optimized WordPress theme, there are two major components that you should be looking into.
The first component is HTML. What this means is making sure that your web pages have good quality markup and styling. This includes ensuring that all of your page content is well-formed and styled properly with appropriate use of images and bold or italic type.
It also means making sure that your HTML is valid so that your browser will not give any errors when loading the page. The second part is CSS, which changes how your webpage looks. Make sure that these styles are easily editable if you want to see what colors or fonts look best on your website.
Purchase a premium theme and customize it
Now that you have installed WordPress, picked a domain name for your website, and logged into your site as an administrator, it is time to start designing!
You will need to pick a theme to use for your site. A theme is like software used to design and update a web page or website. The price of a good theme can be anywhere from free to very expensive depending on how much personalization and features you want to add to it.
The best way to find a good theme is by looking at ones that are in the market already- you can usually download them directly from their site or through third party sites such as ThemeForest or Adobe Muse.
By buying a pre-made theme, you eliminate the chance of getting a bad one that does not work well and has poor customization options. You can also easily edit and change things such as colors, fonts, and content within the pages and settings of the site without having to learn advanced HTML coding!
There are many ways to become word press certified so do not worry about being beginner level with html codes and styles! Most people who design themes make their income via selling their own designs so there are plenty of resources available if needed.
Learn how to use the WP dashboard
The WordPress Dashboard is your starting point for doing most anything in the website. This includes editing themes, adding pages or components to an existing template, creating new templates, and even going beyond just designing looks — you can do some very cool customization with CSS and/or HTML!
The dashboard is where you start almost every action within WordPress. It’s also one of the first places most users will look when they create an account as well.
By becoming familiar with the settings, features, and functions in the dashboard, you’ll be able to take control over many parts of your site.
There are several ways to access the dashboard easily. You can log into your WordPress account through the web browser using your computer, phone, or tablet; install plugins directly from the dashboard (more about that later); or use either One-Click Installers or apps designed specifically to make it easy to access the dashboard.
This article will go more in depth about what things mean in the dashboard and how to change them. But before moving onto other things, let’s review the three main sections of the dashboard.
Section 1: General Settings
In this section of the dashboard, you’ll find things like changing your WordPress admin username and email, selecting your timezone, enabling comments or not, picking a theme, and more.