CMS PaaS Certification Track
Track overview
Section titled “Track overview”The CMS PaaS certification track validates your ability to build, deploy, and operate Optimizely CMS as a self-hosted .NET application. This track covers content type development in C#, hosting and deployment, server-side customization, database management, and the full range of platform extensibility available in the PaaS model.
CMS PaaS remains the right choice for organizations that need deep server-side customization, direct database access, or integration with existing .NET infrastructure.
Exam domains and weightings
Section titled “Exam domains and weightings”Foundation (prerequisite)
Section titled “Foundation (prerequisite)”The Optimizely Foundations exam is a single cross-product assessment required before any Core certification. It covers platform-wide concepts across all Optimizely products — not specific to this track. See the Foundations exam overview for domains and format.
Core (30 MCQs + 2 tasks + 1 rationale, 90 minutes)
Section titled “Core (30 MCQs + 2 tasks + 1 rationale, 90 minutes)”| Domain | Weight | Topics |
|---|---|---|
| Custom development | 30% | Custom providers, scheduled jobs, event handlers, initialization modules |
| Content type architecture | 20% | Type inheritance, composition, validation, migration between versions |
| Hosting and operations | 20% | CI/CD pipelines, database management, performance monitoring |
| Security and access | 15% | Role-based access, visitor groups, membership providers |
| Integration and APIs | 15% | REST API, Graph, service API, external system integration |
Advanced (20 MCQs + 3 tasks + 2 rationales, 120 minutes)
Section titled “Advanced (20 MCQs + 3 tasks + 2 rationales, 120 minutes)”| Domain | Weight | Topics |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced .NET extensibility | 30% | Custom middleware, dependency injection, background services, custom caching |
| Performance and scalability | 25% | Load balancing, output caching, CDN, database optimization |
| Migration strategies | 20% | PaaS-to-SaaS migration, version upgrades, content migration |
| Cross-product integration | 15% | CMS + Commerce, CMS + Experimentation, CMS + ODP |
| Multi-site and multi-tenant | 10% | Multi-site architecture, shared content, tenant isolation |
Who should take this track
Section titled “Who should take this track”- Developers — .NET engineers who build content types, custom providers, and rendering templates (all tiers).
- Solutions Architects — Architects who design CMS PaaS implementations and hosting strategies (all tiers).
- Administrators — Platform owners who manage deployments, databases, and server infrastructure (all tiers).
- Practitioners — Content editors who work in CMS PaaS daily (Foundation and Core).
Preparation resources
Section titled “Preparation resources”- CMS PaaS learning path (self-paced, available in the certification portal)
- .NET developer documentation for Optimizely CMS
- Hosting and deployment guides
- CMS PaaS sandbox environment (provided with learning path enrollment)