Official Shopify Certifications to Earn in 2024

Shopify isn’t just one of the world’s most popular ecommerce platforms. It’s also responsible for a massive community of partners, developers, and designers, all helping to shape the future of web design and online sales. The Shopify company produces a host of resources intended to empower and upskill the next generation of ecommerce experts. 

These resources include not just a huge selection of blog posts and articles, but also videos, guides, and training solutions, available through the Shopify Academy. 

While you can earn relevant Shopify credentials and skills with a range of platforms and providers, few certifications hold as much weight as official Shopify certifications. 

The question is, which certifications should you be focusing on to increase your revenue earning potential in 2024 and beyond?

What are Official Shopify Certifications?

Whether you’re beginning your career as a Shopify developer, theme designer, or app creator for the first time, or you just want to become more competitive in your field, official Shopify certifications are a great resource. They validate your expertise on the Shopify platform, showing potential clients you have the expertise required to build, optimize, and enhance their Shopify assets. 

There are two ways to become “Shopify certified” in 2024. You can obtain a certification by taking a third-party course on an e-learning website like Udemy, or Coursera, or by working with an external training provider. Alternatively, you can choose to take courses offered by the Shopify Academy.

To access the courses offered by the Shopify Academy, you’ll need a Shopify Partner account. You may also need access to the Shopify ecommerce ecosystem, or Shopify Plus, depending on the skills you want to develop. 

The Top Official Shopify Certifications for 2024

There are currently (at the time of writing) four foundational courses available for Shopify partners through the Shopify Academy. They all give you access to an official certification from Shopify that you can display on LinkedIn, on your website development portfolio, and in your resume.

1. Shopify Foundations 

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I’d recommend Shopify Foundations as the first certification to consider if you’re starting a career as a Shopify expert. It’s essentially the go-to course for learning everything you need to know about how Shopify works, what you’ll need to do to design themes, and even how you can debug issues. 

The Shopify Foundations course actually includes 8 classes, and doesn’t require any pre-existing knowledge of Shopify. You’ll learn how to pitch and position your Shopify offering, expand your business by working with Shopify Plus merchants, and make the most of the Shopify platform. 

The courses cover topics like:

• Shopify POS and retail solutions
• Cross-border selling
• Introductions to Shopify Plus
• Tips for working with Shopify merchants
• Marketing via Shopify
• Shopify data and analytics
• Product development opportunities

While it’s free to take the courses, you will need to pay $99 to take the certification exam, and you need to earn a score of at least 80% to successfully pass the test. 

2. Liquid Storefronts for Theme Developers

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Once you’ve mastered the basics of Shopify with a Foundations certification, I’d advise building on your developer knowledge with the “Liquid Storefronts” course. For those who don’t know, Liquid is one of the core programming languages you’ll need to use to design and develop Shopify stores. 

The two-course Liquid Storefronts learning path offered by Shopify teaches you everything you need to know about optimizing and altering a Shopify theme with Liquid. While you don’t need any prior experience with Shopify to take this course, I do recommend brushing up on your knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

It also pays to be familiar with using GitHub, for code versioning, and you should have a basic understanding of templating languages and APIs. Like the Foundations course, there’s a $99 fee to sit the exam for this learning path and earn your official Shopify certification. 

3. Headless Shopify for Developers

Next, if you’re interested in taking advantage of the growing headless commerce market, the Headless Shopify for Developers course is ideal for you. Currently, demand for headless commerce expertise is growing, as companies look for ways to create truly bespoke shopping experiences for customers.

However, creating a headless commerce experience requires an in-depth knowledge of code, content management systems, and programming. To take the Headless Shopify for Developers certification, you’ll need to know how to work with tools like React, JavaScript, CSS, HTML, Node.JS, and GraphQL. It also helps to have a basic knowledge of frontend and backend website logic, UX design, and API architecture. 

The four free courses included in the Headless Shopify course will teach you everything you need to know about Shopify’s headless framework, hosting options, and tooling. Plus, you’ll gain insights into how to create powerful ecommerce pages with headless technology. 

You’ll find your way around the Shopify Storefront API, and get hands-on advice on best-practice strategies for boosting shopping experiences. One point to note is that you will need to pay a little extra to get a certification from this course, as the exam costs $199. Still, it’s a worthwhile choice if you want to find unique ways of increasing your income.

4. Headless at Shopify for Business Consultants

Finally, learning how to develop unique headless commerce experiences isn’t the only way to use the headless landscape to increase your income in 2024. If you’re not a developer, but you do want to help Shopify business owners grow with consultation and guidance, check out the Headless at Shopify Course, designed for Business Consultants. 

The learning path includes two free courses, where you’ll learn about custom storefront solutions you can create with Shopify, and the benefits they can offer your clients. You’ll discover how to support and guide clients through the phases of a comprehensive headless build, managing each stage from discovery, to design, development, launch and maintenance. 

Plus, you’ll get tips on how to deliver the best possible consulting experience to your customers, which could improve your chances of earning new clients through word of mouth recommendations. Like the two first foundational courses mentioned above, this course comes with a $99 fee to take the exam, and you’ll need a passing score of at least 80%. 

I’d definitely recommend combining this course with some other third-party lessons on building a consulting business and working as a freelance Shopify expert to give yourself a competitive edge. 

Shopify Plus Courses and Certifications

While the four options above represent the top official Shopify certifications you can earn in 2024, it’s worth checking out the other webinars and courses on the Shopify Academy too. There are a ton of options available for Shopify Plus developers, all with their own unique benefits. However, you will need access to Shopify Plus to get started. 

Here are some of my favorite courses, intended for Shopify Plus developers:

• Conversion Optimization: Checkout: Few things are more important for companies investing in Shopify Plus than creating a premium checkout experience. This course will teach you how to go beyond the basics of what you can accomplish with the standard Shopify Checkout, using programming, APIs, and integrations.
• How to increase customer conversions with Shopify POS: Omnichannel is a big deal in 2024, with more customers searching for streamlined experiences across a range of online and offline channels. This Shopify course will teach you how to use Shopify’s dedicated POS solutions to increase your client’s chances of earning revenue.
• Site Speed Optimization: This webinar is a must for any serious Shopify developer. Few things affect customer experiences, or a site’s ranking more than page loading times. With the Site Speed optimization webinar, you’ll discover all of the different factors that can harm loading times and cripple your website. Pro tip: combine this with the Shopify course on optimizing page and site speed, found here. 
• Recreating real-life experiences with AR: If you’re one of the many Shopify developers looking at augmented reality as a way to enhance shopping experiences, this course will guide you through the process of developing 3D models, and creating AR product pages. 
• How to Use Shopify Flow to Automate your Business: Ideal for developers and business owners who want to save time and money with automation. This course gives you a simple and comprehensive guide to building workflows with Shopify Flow. 

Earning Official Shopify Certifications in 2024

While there only a handful of official Shopify certifications available on Shopify Academy, they can all boost your chances of earning more clients and revenue in 2024. Plus, if you combine them with the wide range of webinars and other classes Shopify offers, you can expand your education, and become even more valuable to your clients. 

Ready to put your skills to the test and start converting prospects into long-term clients? Expand your revenue potential by joining the Storetasker community today. Sign up to become one of our leading Shopify experts, and connect with clients all over the world.