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Certification

How to Get Shopify Development Verified — Why It Matters and How to Pass

New Shopify Certification - Shopify Development Fundamentals

April 19, 2025

Author: Grant Emerson

After a weekend of focused studying (and a humbling first attempt where I missed the mark by just two questions), I’m excited to share that I’ve officially earned the Shopify Development Fundamentals badge!

This isn’t just about passing a test — it’s about learning the fundamentals from the source. Shopify’s own Dawn theme is more than a starting point — it’s a living, breathing reference for how Shopify wants stores to be structured. Think of it as a cheat sheet when you’re building custom solutions or fielding requests from clients. The architecture, patterns, and best practices baked into it? That’s your baseline for doing high-quality work, fast.

Why it matters:

Knowing Shopify inside and out helps you make better decisions, write cleaner code, and build stores that are easier to maintain and scale. You’re not guessing — you’re aligned with how the platform actually works under the hood. That’s not just better for performance, it’s better for collaboration and long-term client success.

If you're in the game for the long run, this is the foundation that keeps your builds sharp and your process efficient.

How to pass (and actually learn something):

Take your time. Seriously. The course is packed with valuable insights — don’t rush it.

Go through each section slowly
Take notes
Re-read the parts that don’t click right away

Studying for this test is a chance to go slow now so you can move fast later. With deep, deliberate knowledge, you’ll build faster, write code that's easier to read (months later, not just in the moment), and intuitively design more flexible solutions that anticipate client needs — even the ones they haven’t voiced yet.

📢 Thinking about getting certified?
Let’s chat. I’m happy to share what worked, what tripped me up, and how to best prepare: Let's Chat

🤝 Also, if you’re not already part of it — the Shopify Devs Alliance is a killer community full of experienced devs sharing practical knowledge, real-world patterns, and answering the weird edge-case questions we all run into. Highly recommend.

Onward and upward ⚔️🚀

‍hashtag#Shopify hashtag#WebDevelopment hashtag#ThemeDevelopment hashtag#Ecommerce hashtag#Liquid hashtag#UX hashtag#ContinuousLearning

Developer Sitting at his desk working while there are guitars in the background

Shopify Designer & Developer in Nashville — Grant Emerson

I’m Grant Emerson — a Shopify designer and developer based in Nashville. I help brands build custom stores that look sharp and perform even better.

Developer sits in messy office with a bass guitar laying on the floor, surrounded by books

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