Umbraco Training: From classroom to on demand

When Umbraco Training started, everyone sat in a room together. Today you can take every course on your own schedule, from anywhere. A lot happened in between, and most of it came from listening to the people we teach.

I have been part of that journey. Curious how I ended up at Umbraco? Read more here.

How training adapted over the years

Umbraco Training moved from the classroom to live online sessions to fully on-demand courses. Each step answered something learners and teams told us.

Classroom. We started in person. You sat in a room with a trainer, asked questions on the spot and got help right away.

Live online sessions. Next we taught live over video, so teams did not need to travel.

On demand. This year we moved every certification course on demand. Learners now choose their own time and pace.

The 2 a.m. course

Live sessions worked well until the clock got in the way. Teams in Australia wanted to learn with us, so our trainers set alarms for 2 a.m. to teach them live.

That taught us something. A fixed schedule cannot fit every time zone, and it should not cost our people their sleep. Learners deserve a course they can start at a reasonable hour, wherever they are.

So we rebuilt our offer around that idea. Every course is now on demand, and in-person sessions stay available for teams who want them.

Alina smiling and making a peace sign at Codegarden — Alina at Codegarden

Training today: on demand, with an in-person option

All Umbraco courses are now on demand. Start whenever it suits you, and spread a course over several days instead of following a fixed schedule. Every course has a feedback form, so you can still reach the training team with questions.

Every course uses the latest Umbraco version. Teams moving from an older version see what is new right away, for example the backoffice rebuilt in v14. This summer we also released improved versions of Fundamentals and Security.

Teams that want an in-person or live session can book a team training. We teach up to 15 people one or more courses of your choice, online or in person. It also costs less than buying individual on-demand courses for each team member.

Live sessions give us something on demand cannot: we see the curiosity in the room, and the places where people get stuck. Those moments show us how to improve the courses, so we feed them back into every new version.

Alina with a team of developers after an in-person team training — Alina´s first in-person team training at RedMane in Chicago

Certification: three levels, each building on the last

Umbraco certification has three levels. Each one requires a valid certification from the level before it.

Certification	What you need
Umbraco Professional	Fundamentals course + Professional exam
Umbraco Expert	Valid Professional certification + Umbraco & MVC, Security, Extending the Backoffice and Application Integration courses + Expert exam
Umbraco Master	Valid Expert certification + Searching & Indexing and Load Balancing courses + Master exam

Certifications are valid for two years. When yours expires, you do not need to retake the courses. Buy a renewal exam on the training platform instead. Once you reach Master, you do not need to renew the lower levels.

Where should your team start?

New to Umbraco? Start with Fundamentals. You build a site from scratch, and the other courses build on it.

Want to go further with the CMS? The Expert and Master bundles are the easiest way to certify. They cost less than buying the courses one by one, and they include your first certification exams. You can still buy any certification course on its own if you only need one topic.

Expert bundle: Fundamentals, Umbraco & MVC, Security, Extending the Backoffice and Application Integration.
Master bundle: everything in Expert, plus Searching & Indexing and Load Balancing.

The bundles hold the courses most relevant to the Umbraco CMS. Add-on courses are not part of the certifications. They cover specific products, and each one gives you a diploma when you finish.

Add-on course	Best for
Commerce Fundamentals (new this year)	Developers turning a standard Umbraco project into a full e-commerce store
Umbraco Forms (new this year)	Developers who build, theme and extend forms
Umbraco Compose (new)	Teams that orchestrate content from multiple sources
Cloud Developer	Developers working with Umbraco Cloud, including troubleshooting
Content Management	Editors who update content in the backoffice
Engage for Marketers	Marketers who personalize experiences and measure results with Umbraco Engage

Teaching the next generation

The Umbraco Education program lets Umbraco partners teach the Fundamentals course at universities of their choice. Students gain a real-world skill and a certification for their CV. Partners build their name locally while the community grows.

Want the full story? Read the blog post If we want Umbraco to grow, we need to start with the next generation.

What is new

A new training course has just been released: Umbraco Compose. It covers how to orchestrate content from multiple sources using Umbraco Compose. Read more about the course and get access on [link to the Umbraco Compose course page on umbraco.com].

A rebuilt Searching & Indexing course is also on the way, because search changes in Umbraco 19.

A tip for your first course

"The course exercises are designed to show you a path, not the only path"

The exercises build on each other, so follow the guide exactly until you finish. Then create a fresh project and rebuild a feature with your own architecture.

If an exercise does not work or you want something added, use the feedback form inside the course or email training@umbraco.com. Your feedback shapes our courses.

Ready to start? Browse Umbraco Training.