I've rarely stepped away from Sitecore over the last 17 years. However, it has been 4 years since my last Sitecore training course (Sitecore 10 .NET Developer) and 6 years since my last Sitecore blog post!
What's Changed?
Before, you could choose from the two core variants of the main CMS product:
Sitecore XM (CMS only)
Sitecore XP (XM + marketing automation, analytics and personalization)
And you could add extra modules such as:
JSS (Sitecore JavaScript Services for Headless)
SXA (Sitecore Experience Accelerator)
In 2022 Sitecore released XM Cloud which was the first iteration of their core CMS product available in a SaaS model.
In late 2025 they followed up with a revamped and re-branded SitecoreAI CMS including generative AI features.
Key Components of SitecoreAI CMS
Cloud Portal
This is the central hub to access all the Sitecore DXP products. You manage the organization and users here. It is accessed at: https://portal.sitecorecloud.io.
Has interfaces for the following editors:
Sites
Pages
Components
Explorer
Forms
Content Editor (this is familiar to existing Sitecore developers)
Deploy App (allows you to manage environments and deploy CM instances)
Experience Edge
This is where you publish to from the Content Editor (no publishing to web DB any more!).
There is no CD environment with a headless CMS. Experience Edge is the publish destination. It delivers content to your head app and is a CDN-backed GraphQL API. Hosted by Sitecore.
SitecoreAI CMS for Developers - Course
This course is very new (as of Q1 2026). When I first started looking, it was not available, so I took the "SitecoreAI CMS for Marketers" course. This was a useful way to get up to speed with the key concepts and new areas of UI.
Once I finished that course however, the SitecoreAI CMS for Developers course became available. Perfect timing!
Structure and Format
Self-paced learning
Roughly 14 hours
Combination of text, videos, animated gifs and knowledge checks (quizzes) plus labs
Dear Sitecore, if you're reading; I get the reasoning behind the animated gifs, but I prefer videos. They can include captions, you can change the playback speed and you know where the start and end are!
Assumed Prior Knowledge
There is no assumption of prior knowledge (and there is no specific course for developers who already know Sitecore).
Certain topics will be very quick to cover if you are a seasoned Sitecore developer.
Course Topics
Topic | Category | My Take |
|---|---|---|
Cloud Terminology and the Benefits of SaaS | New | Evolution of XM Cloud concepts. Completely new compared to Sitecore XM or XP. |
Key Components in Developer Workflow | New | Outlines the key concepts of SitecoreAI CMS in terms of delivering content along with component definitions. Same principals as XM Cloud. |
Manage Sites within Site Collection | New | Conceptually similar to SXA Sites and Site Collections (tenant structure) |
Deployment of SitecoreAI CMS Projects | New | Covers Deploy app, Sitecore CLI plugin and Deploy API. Same principals as XM Cloud. |
Sitecore APIs and Webhooks | New | More info about Experience Edge and the related APIs it supports. Webhooks from Experience Edge. Remember there are also webhooks you can configure from Sitecore CM itself. |
Content Modelling | Familiar | This is very similar to regular Sitecore XM or XP. Some additions here relating to SXA. |
Renderings and Layouts | Evolved | If you already know about the Sitecore presentation layer and SXA, this is a big help here. |
Page Builder (aka "Pages") | New | Similar to XM Cloud. Page Builder is the low-code or no-code approach to component building. Also covers partial designs and page designs which are concepts from SXA. |
Web Development with SitecoreAI CMS | Evolved | Same concepts as JSS which has been around for several years. Covers installation of Sitecore CLI and JavaScript SDK CLI. |
Sitecore Content Serialization | Evolved | Sitecore Serialization has been around for some years now. Quite possible that if you have not worked on a greenfield project recently, you won't have had need to use it. Covers configuration (similar concepts to Unicorn), modules and package installation. |
Security for Developers | Evolved | Managing users in cloud portal is new. New roles such as Org Owner, Org Admin and Org User lie outside of the Sitecore CM instances. Other content relating to the CM roles is unchanged from Sitecore XM and XP concepts. |
Developers Lab Guide | New | Lots of examples on calling GraphQL endpoints. How to set up access tokens from the Deploy App. How to run Postman requests against the APIs as well as GraphQL playgrounds. |
Sitecore Marketplace Developer Basics | New | Marketplace covers Custom Apps (ones you write to fill a feature gap) and also Public Apps which are publicly available. Completely separate from the old Shared Source Sitecore marketplace which has been retired for several years now. |
SitecoreAI CMS for Developers Certification - Exam
Cost
$165 (on https://shop.learning.sitecore.com this is the price I see when I log in here, don't quote me on this!)
$330 (on https://www.webassessor.com)
Check with your employer's Sitecore contact as you may be able to get a voucher to cover the cost.
Format
Duration: 120 minutes
Multiple choice questions
Online proctored exam - you can sit it at home or work, but need to install a special browser
Exam Topics
SitecoreAI CMS Architecture and Developer Workflow
Deployment of SitecoreAI CMS Projects
Sitecore APIs & Webhooks
Content Modelling
Renderings and Layout
SitecoreAI CMS Pages
Web Development with SitecoreAI CMS
Sitecore Content Serialization
Security for Developers
My Exam Recommendations
Before sitting the exam, re-run all the knowledge check sections from the training course.
Frequently Asked Questions (Developer’s Perspective)
Could you do the course and exam without access to a SitecoreAI Organization or Project?
Just about! To make meaningful use of the labs of the training course, you need access to a project to try out the GraphQL exercises and explore the UI.
Do I have to write code or submit anything for review in the course or exam?
No, and this is both good and bad. Good because there is a lower barrier to getting through the course. Bad because writing code is a great way to solidify your knowledge and understanding.
Will I be ready to develop sites with SitecoreAI CMS after taking this course and or exam?
That depends. If you are new to headless architecture (or coming from a traditional Sitecore background), you will want to explore React (along with learning about SSG and SSR) or Sitecore's ASP.NET Core SDK.