Looking for a reliable Sitecore CMS developer? Wondering how to become a Sitecore developer? In this article, I'll share my insights on what Sitecore is, why it's an excellent choice for enterprise-level web development, and how you can become a skilled Sitecore developer.
Understanding Sitecore CMS
Sitecore is a global software company that offers a powerful CMS and a fully-adaptive Digital Marketing System (DMS). For this article, we'll focus on the CMS side of Sitecore.
Sitecore CMS is the foundation of all Sitecore-powered websites, offering flexibility, scalability, and security. It's a favorite among enterprises, used by leading global organizations like Experian, Toshiba, Canon, and Nestlé.
The Sitecore Desktop Interface
The Sitecore CMS incorporates a powerful desktop interface controlled by a fully customizable role-based system. The desktop resembles a Windows desktop, making it easy for new users to learn. It includes multiple applications for specific tasks such as editing content, managing users, monitoring campaigns, and setting up workflows.
Sitecore’s Database Structure
From a developer's perspective, Sitecore is a dream to work with, containing 1,300 classes and 5,000 methods that form a rich, extensive developer framework. The CMS consists of three databases and a web application:
- Core database: Manages membership, system settings, and configuration for all CMS applications.
- Master database: Where content editors work, storing new, edited, and deleted content, including preview mode items.
- Web database: Stores live content for the web application, containing only the latest live versions of each item.
Item Folders in Sitecore
All content in a Sitecore web application is stored in the content tree, with folders for Content, Media Library, Layouts, System, and Templates. Sitecore considers everything within the content tree an item that can be queried using the API.
The Power of the Sitecore API
The Sitecore API is incredibly powerful, allowing developers to query Sitecore items using various technologies like .NET web forms, XSLT, and MVC. Sitecore items can be queried using Sitecore Query, Sitecore Fast Query (similar to XPath), and Linq.
Sitecore also utilizes Lucene to crawl and index website content, which can be enhanced with the Advanced Database Crawler package to index GUIDs, providing advanced search capabilities.
Flexibility and Customization in Sitecore
One of Sitecore's strengths is its flexibility. The CMS is fully customizable and extendable, with almost everything able to be overridden or extended. Sitecore's kernel is built using dependency injection, allowing developers to replace Sitecore classes with their own implementations in the web.config file.
Developers can also export customized functionality from Sitecore into packages that can be imported into other projects, enabling code reuse and sharing on Sitecore's open-source package-sharing site.
Becoming a Sitecore Developer
As a Sitecore Platinum partner, QEdge often receives questions from aspiring developers about how to start with Sitecore development. Here are some key points to consider:
Prerequisites for Sitecore Development
To begin Sitecore development, you should have experience with:
- Microsoft Visual Studio with ASP.NET Framework
- MVC Forms with integrations
- Microsoft SQL Server DB
- Search APIs like Solr, Coveo
- REST API or Web API integrations
- HTML, CSS, JavaScript
Resources for Learning Sitecore Development
There are numerous resources available for learning Sitecore development, including:
- Blogs by experienced Sitecore developers
- YouTube channels dedicated to Sitecore tutorials
- Sitecore Community Forums
- Sitecore Stack Exchange
- Sitecore Slack channels
- Sitecore User Groups
Why Learn Sitecore Development?
There are several compelling reasons to learn Sitecore development:
- Sitecore is becoming one of the most popular CMS platforms available.
- Development is fast, easy, and scalable.
- There is a growing pool of job opportunities for Sitecore CMS developers.
As a Sitecore Platinum partner, QEdge has seen the demand for skilled Sitecore developers continue to rise. By mastering Sitecore development, you can position yourself for a successful and rewarding career in web development.
