Become Salesforce Certified with Salesforce Certification Programs

Complete Guide To Salesforce Certifications – Become Salesforce Certified

March 10, 2023 eye-glyph 78

Table of Contents

Salesforce Certifications are the ultimate benchmark used to recognize the skills, expertise, and knowledge of an individual as a cloud specialist. It offers 25 credentials, most of them targeting consultants and architects. You only need to pass the certification exam to be called Salesforce Certified for the job role you want to excel in.

The Salesforce certification exams focus on various job roles or tracks. These include:

  1. Administrator
  2. Developers
  3. Architects
  4. App Builders
  5. Consultants
  6. Specialists

Types of Salesforce Certifications

How do Salesforce Certification Exams work and How Much do they Cost?

Salesforce Certification examinations mostly last for 90-120 minutes. Within this time frame, the students have to solve 60 multiple-choice questions. The first attempt for the post of administrators, app builders, developers, marketers, consultants, Pardot experts, and CPO specialists costs around $100 (â‚ą7000). The architect specialization category costs around $400 (â‚ą28,000), and the retakes cost $200 while admin certification costs $200 (â‚ą14,000).

It is recommended that you take the training for the certification programs. You can choose whether to take the exam online or at the testing location.

Become Salesforce Certified Now

Let us learn in detail about the pattern and cost of each certification program.

Salesforce Certified Administrator

A Salesforce Certified Administrator is a professional who clears the Salesforce Admin Certification examination. Salesforce conducts an administrator exam to evaluate the aspirant’s knowledge and skills in the administrative aspect of Salesforce. Once you pass the exam, Salesforce, the leading Cloud-based Customer Relationship Management software, awards you the certification.

A Certified Salesforce Administrator manages and configures Salesforce, takes care of user roles and security, and creates and maintains reports and dashboards. They are also responsible for customizing Salesforce in sync with the organization’s needs. Other key areas in which Salesforce Administrator works are helping users troubleshoot issues, providing training and assistance, and guiding the process of Salesforce adoption organization-wide.

1. Salesforce Certified Administrator Beginner

The Salesforce Certified Administrator exam validates your skills to configure and manage Sales and Service Cloud applications. To qualify for the exam, candidates need to have an understanding of the following concepts:

  • Management of users, data, and security
  • Management and customization of Sales Cloud and Service Cloud applications
  • Building reports, dashboards, and workflow

The registration fee for the course is $200 and you will have 110 minutes to attempt 60 multiple-choice questions. The candidates need to acquire 65% marks to pass the exam.

2. Salesforce Certified Advanced Administrator

The Salesforce Advanced Administrator is expected to be proficient at designing advanced reports, dashboards, and automation processes. It is designed for individuals with expertise as a Salesforce Administrator. The program includes advanced configuration, management, application, and application-extending options that are available to an Administrator across the Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, and Salesforce Chatter applications.

There are two certifications available within the Salesforce Certified Administration exam. The first certification is the Salesforce Certified Administrator credential, which focuses on the features and functionality used to maintain a Salesforce implementation. The second certification is the Salesforce Certified Advanced Administrator, which focuses on the Salesforce Admin Certification. One can demonstrate an understanding of administration best practices and can use advanced features and functionality to solve business problems.

The Salesforce Admin Certification exam includes 60 multiple-choice questions and 5 non-scored questions. The candidates are allotted 105 minutes to complete the exam and need at least 65% to clear the exam. They have to pay $200 along with taxes as the registration fee. 

To clear the exam, the candidates should be able to set up and configure Sales Cloud applications, understand the capabilities of Customizable Forecasting and Collaborative Forecasting, set up and configure Service Cloud applications, set up and configure Salesforce CRM content, maintain data quality using standard Salesforce functionality and create workflow rules, approval processes, and formula fields to automate business processes among other things.

3. Salesforce Certified Marketing Cloud Administrator

A Salesforce Certified Marketing Cloud Administrator is expected to have knowledge of the features available to end-users as well as the configuration options available in the Marketing Cloud. Candidates for this program are expected to have at least three to six months of prior experience administering a Market Cloud instance and prior experience with digital marketing. Apart from this, they are expected to have the knowledge, skills, and experience in the area of security, data management, account configuration, subscriber data management, data quality evaluation, Marketing Cloud products and their configuration, troubleshooting account configuration, knowledge of Marketing Cloud extension products, and knowledge of Marketing Cloud integration offerings.

This Salesforce Admin Certification exam contains 60 multiple-choice questions that must be completed within 105 minutes. The passing score is 67% and the registration fee is $100 excluding taxes.

Salesforce Certified Developer

A Salesforce Certified Developer has more than one Salesforce Certification, has cleared the Developer exam, and has proven to possess skills in developing custom applications and integration on the Salesforce platform.

Salesforce Developer Certification exams assess the individual’s knowledge of various development modules in the Salesforce ecosystem, like Apex Development, Lightning Component Development, etc.

A Salesforce Certified Developer develops custom applications and handles the entire course of integrations on the Salesforce platform using numerous programming languages such as Apex, JavaScript, etc. Designing and implementing complex data models and ensuring that the codes are compatible with best practices and timely maintainable. They work with other Salesforce professionals like administrators, consultants, and Architects to deliver the best solution to meet the client’s demand.

You can also check here the advantages of choosing a Salesforce Certified Developer.

1. Salesforce Certified Commerce Cloud Digital Developer

The Salesforce certification for developers measures the declarative and coding skills to extend and create completely customized applications on the Force.com platform for clients. The Salesforce Developer Certification Course consists of 60 multiple-choice questions which the candidates need to complete within 110 minutes. A score of 70% is required to clear the exam. The registration fee to be paid is $200.

2. Salesforce Certified Platform Developer I

This Salesforce Developer Certification requires the candidates to know about designing the data model, UI, Business logic, and security for custom applications; familiarity with a complete development lifecycle, and knowledge of available environments. The candidates are certified with the knowledge and skills to build custom declarative and programmatic applications on Force.com. The Salesforce Certified Platform Developer I consists of 60 multiple–choice questions that must be completed within 105 minutes. The percentage required to clear the exam is 68%. The registration fee is $200.

3. Salesforce Certified Platform Developer II

The Salesforce Certified Platform Developer II certifies the candidate’s advanced knowledge of data modeling and coding capabilities on Force.com. It also verifies a developer’s skills to create complex business logic and interfaces using Force.com.

To earn Salesforce Developer Certification, you need to complete 60 multiple-choice questions within 120 minutes. The candidates have to score 63% to pass the exam which costs around $400. You can check the upcoming exam and prerequisites for certified Salesforce Developer 2 before enrolling.

Salesforce Certified Architects

Become Salesforce Certified Architects

A Salesforce Certified Architect who owns one or more of the Salesforce Certification and has relevant experience, skills, and knowledge in designing, implementing, and scaling complex and scalable solutions on the Salesforce platform.

Salesforce Architect Certification is there to test the candidate’s expertise in various aspects of the Salesforce ecosystem like Technical Architecture, Application Architecture, and System Architecture.

The key responsibilities of a Salesforce Certified Architect are: leading the designing and implementation of typical enterprise-scale solutions on Salesforce, working with stakeholders to understand their requirements, and delivering the desired result by complying with the best practices. They earn hands-on experience in Salesforce Architecture, drafting integration strategies, development methodologies, etc.

1. Salesforce Certified Sharing and Visibility Designer

This Salesforce Architect Certification requires candidates to know about the creation of owner-based and criteria-based sharing rules; organization-wide defaults; understanding of licenses; fundamentals of the role hierarchy. Candidates with experience in communicating solutions and designing trade-offs to businesses and IT stakeholders are suitable for the course. The Salesforce Certified Sharing and Visibility Designer exam comprise 60 multiple-choice questions to be completed within 120 minutes. The certification requires a minimum of 68% in the qualifying exam. The registration fee for the exam is $400. We recommend you should check the updated guide to becoming a Salesforce Certified Sharing and Visibility Designer.

2. Salesforce Certified Mobile Solutions Architecture Designer

This Salesforce Architect Certification is particularly beneficial for integration specialists who conceive and design scalable and sound technical solutions on Force.com. The job of an Integration Architecture Designer is to evaluate the architecture environment, assess the requirements and design technical solutions that are scalable and meet all the end-to-end integration requirements. The candidates require an understanding of the concepts of Web Services, the basic workings of HTTP, the different kinds of APIs, the essentials of data migration considerations, common integration patterns, and patterns/mechanisms for securing integrations. The exam duration is 90 minutes for 60 multiple-choice questions. To become a Salesforce Certified Mobile Solutions Architecture Designer you need to score 67% and pay a fee of $400. Have a detailed look at the ultimate guide to Salesforce Certified Mobile Solutions Architecture Designer.

3. Salesforce Certified Identity and Access Management Designer

The program testifies to the understanding of the candidates of their architectural environment. It assesses the professional capabilities based on knowledge of configuration requirements of delegated authentication; comprehension of configuration requirements; understanding of the use of service provider and the ability to understand and describe provisioning and de-provisioning. The exam consists of 60 multiple-choice questions. You can check the guide to crack the Salesforce Certified Identity and Access Management Designer exam with ease.

The duration of the exam is 120 minutes and the registration fee is $400. The candidates require 65% to pass the exam to become a Salesforce Certified Architect.

4. Salesforce Certified Development Lifestyle and Deployment Designer

This credential proves a developer’s skills to implement management solutions that fulfill all the developmental and deployment requirements. The exam is of 90 minutes and consists of 60 multiple-choice questions. The candidates are expected to have prior knowledge and experience in development and project lifecycle methodologies; exposure to providing requirements traceability; knowledge of salesforce and third-party application development lifecycle tools and a solid understanding of test plan design and evaluation techniques. The credential required for this exam is 68%. The fee to be paid is $400. Browse all about Salesforce Certified Development Lifestyle and Deployment Designer exam.

5. Salesforce Certified Data Architecture and Management Designer

The program is designed for data architects who are expected to develop high-performing, scalable enterprise data management solutions. The certification approves the candidate’s skills to evaluate business requirements and architecture needs device solutions for enterprise data management. You can refer to this guide on How to become a Salesforce-certified Data Architecture and Management Designer.

The exam includes 60 multiple–choice questions that must be completed in 90 minutes. The candidates need to score 67% and have to pay $400 for the exam.

Apart from these designer certifications, Salesforce also provides User Experience Designer Certification for individuals seeking experience and expertise in UX designing on the Salesforce platform. Here we got an entire guide for you on how to get started with Salesforce User Experience Designer Certification.

6. Salesforce Application Architect 

You can earn the Salesforce Application Architect Certification with these below-mentioned prerequisites :

  1. Data Architecture and Management Designer
  2. Sharing and Visibility Designer
  3. Platform Developer I
  4. Platform App Builder

Once the candidate has completed the above programs, they should consider applying for Salesforce Certified System Architect and Application Architect credentials. The candidates also need experience, along with an understanding of designing, building, and deploying custom applications with the help of declarative customization capabilities of the Force.com platform. They need to have knowledge about process automation, data modeling, role hierarchy, permission set, manual sharing, team sharing, license types, territory management, Force.com query optimizer, Large Data Volume, and Report Timeout Issues. Find more about Application Architect.

7. Salesforce System Architect

To gain the certification of a Salesforce System Architect, one needs to fulfill the following prerequisites:

  1. Development and Lifecycle Deployment Designer
  2. Identity and Access Management Designer
  3. Integration Architecture Designer
  4. Platform Developer I

Once they have completed the above prerequisites, they can earn the credentials for Salesforce System Architect as well as Application Architect. The basic requirements for the program include knowledge of Salesforce Architecture and Release Management.

8. Salesforce Technical Architect

The candidate has to have five years or more of implementation experience, three or more years of experience in the architect role, two years or more of experience on the Lightning Platform, have held a technical architect role on multiple complex deployments, or gained knowledge through participation and exposure, experience in guiding a development team, experience with multiple development languages, understanding of data migration considerations, and so on. Get a detailed overview of the Technical Architect Exam.

The program is designed for individuals with prior experience as Salesforce Architects who can design secure, high-performance technical solutions on the Lightning Platform and communicate technical solutions and design tradeoffs effectively to business stakeholders, while at the same time providing a delivery framework that ensures quality and success.

This Salesforce Architect Certification includes 120 minutes of review and solution preparation, 45 minutes of scenario presentation, and 40 minutes for a scenario Question and Answer session.

Salesforce Certified App Builder

The program is designed for application developers and validates the expertise of candidates in designing, building, and implementing custom applications. It tests the expertise of the candidates in designing data models, customization of applications, design of reports and dashboards, and deployment of custom applications. The exam includes 60 multiple-choice questions that are to be solved within 105 minutes. After earning this certificate you can apply for jobs in Salesforce app development companies. The candidates have to score 63%. The registration fee is $200.

Salesforce Certified Consultants

Salesforce Certified Consultants

Only those individuals become Salesforce Certified Consultants who pass the bar while attempting the Salesforce Consultant certification exam. They earn the nitty-gritty in providing Consulting services to organizations that can use the capabilities of Salesforce to drive growth and success.

Salesforce has different Consultant exams, further divided by area of expertise in the Salesforce environment only like Service Cloud Consultant, Sales Cloud Consultant, Marketing Cloud Consultant, etc.

The significant roles of a Salesforce Certified Consultant include developing a solution that meets the demands of stakeholders, guiding the clients and helping them identify business issues, managing the development team who is designing solutions for the customers based on industry standards, and ensuring the implementation process goes well. They also train and support users like administrators and developers in catering tailored solutions to the customer.

1. Salesforce Certified Service Cloud Consultant

The course is aimed at professionals with exposure to implementing Service Cloud Solutions. The exam tests the knowledge of the candidates in designing contact center solutions; designing interaction channels, building interfaces; managing data, and designing analytics to track key industry metrics. This Salesforce Certified Consultant exam is aimed at professionals with exposure to implementing Service Cloud Solutions. The exam tests the knowledge of the candidates in designing contact center solutions; designing interaction channels, building interfaces; managing data, and designing analytics to track key industry metrics. There are a lot of things to keep in mind while attempting the examination. All you need to know about a Salesforcecertified Service Cloud Consultant is clubbed here.

The exam is 105 minutes long, during which the candidates have to complete 60 multiple-choice questions. The registration fee is $220 and the passing score is 68%. 

2. Salesforce Certified Sales Cloud Consultant

The program is implemented to test the ability of the candidates to design and implement maintainable Sales Cloud solutions successfully. The candidates are tested on their knowledge of designing sales and marketing solutions; designing interfaces and applications, managing data, and designing analytics for tracking key sales cloud metrics. This Salesforce Certified Consultant exam consists of 60 multiplechoice questions that must be completed within 105 minutes. The candidates have to score 68% to qualify for the exam. You can also refer to this link to discover how to become a Salesforce Certified Sales Cloud Consultant.

3. Salesforce Field Service Lightning Consultant

Candidates applying for the program should have approximately 2-5 years of experience as a senior business analyst. But do you think that you know all the prerequisites before you apply for the exam? Here are all the prerequisites you need to know regarding the Salesforce Field Service Lightning Consultant Certification.

They should have hands-on experience implementing Salesforce service cloud and field service operations. Additionally, they should be capable of consulting customers on field service operations. The exam consists of 60 multiple-type questions to be completed in 90 minutes. The passing score is 70% with a registration fee of $200.

4. Salesforce Certified Marketing Cloud Consultant

The candidates are required to have the skills to implement tools in Salesforce Marketing Cloud that offers solutions to execute strategic and tactical email campaigns. Check all the things you need to know about a Salesforce Certified Marketing Cloud Consultant.

The exam tests the knowledge of the candidates to configure account setup; define and execute email data interactions; make data-driven decisions, and troubleshoot platform issues.  The exam is 90 minutes long, includes 60 multiple-choice questions, and mandates a score of 68%. The candidates have to pay $200 for registration.

5. Salesforce Pardot Consultant

Candidates applying for the Salesforce Pardot Consultant program should be able to design and implement solutions using Pardot’s marketing automation capabilities that meet customers’ business requirements. They should possess facilitation and consultative skills to gather business requirements, design solution alternatives, and implement them to meet business needs. The candidate needs to have the skill, knowledge, and experience to understand the customer’s marketing to-sales strategy, map customer goals, meet customer business needs, automation processes, migration strategy, qualification strategy, nurturing strategy, generation strategy, analyze the data generated, and organization of data.

The candidates will be awarded 105 minutes to finish 60 multiple-choice questions. They need a score of 70% to clear the exam and have to submit $200 as the registration fee.

6. Salesforce Certified Community Cloud Consultant

To apply for this program, the candidates have to implement and consult on the Salesforce Communities applications in the customer-facing role. The Salesforce Certified Community Cloud Consultant has to be prepared to meet customer business requirements that are maintainable and helps in achieving long-term customer success. Know more about what other requirements are needed to take a Certified Community Cloud Consultant.

The candidates need to have the knowledge, skills, and ability to create, enable, manage membership, and deploy communities, community management consoles, license types, Community Workspaces, security models, and practices to adopt and engage.

The exam consists of 60 multipletype questions that must be completed within 90 minutes. The candidates have to pay a $200 registration fee and have to score at least 62% to pass the exam. After earning this certificate you can work with Salesforce Consulting company.

Salesforce Certified Specialists

Salesforce Certified Specialists are the experts who have in-depth knowledge of various Salesforce products like Sales Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Commerce Cloud, Service Cloud, and so on. They have got skills and knacks in implementation and configuring Salesforce products.

Salesforce has robust exams that test the applicant’s thorough understanding and ability to use the platform effectively. Salesforce Certified Specialists are highly-trained professionals that offer expert guidance to organizations wishing to introduce capabilities in their existing business processes and manage customer relationships more effectively.

1. Salesforce CPQ Specialist

For getting certified as a Salesforce CPQ specialist, it is important that the candidates have experience in implementing the Salesforce CPQ solution. Salesforce CPQ specialists have the liberty to demonstrate their ability to build bundle configurations, pricing, output documents and renewals, and amendments. The candidates are required to have the skills to implement tools in Salesforce Marketing Cloud that offers solutions to execute strategic and tactical email campaigns. The exam tests the knowledge of the candidates to configure account setup; define and execute email data interactions; make data-driven decisions, and troubleshoot platform issues.

The exam is 90 minutes long, includes 60 multiple-choice questions, and mandates a score of 68%. The candidates have to pay $200 for registration. You can also check everything you need to know about a Salesforce Certified Marketing Cloud Consultant.

2. Salesforce Marketing Cloud Email Specialist

A Salesforce Marketing Cloud Specialist exhibits the knowledge and skills for using Marketing Cloud for message design, subscriber and data management, inbox delivery, and external integrations. The candidates are expected to know how to build marketing campaigns while utilizing a content system, segmentation, automation, tracking, and analytics to make data-driven decisions to optimize email campaigns. The candidates should also have the knowledge, experience, and skills to build rational data models, send emails using an email application, build complex email automation, and create reports of email tracking data. 

To earn the certificate, you need to attempt 60 multiple-choice questions within 90 minutes. The passing score for the exam is 65% and the registration fee is $200 exclusive of taxes.

3. Salesforce Pardot Specialist

To gain the certification of a Pardot Specialist, an individual should be able to build strategic marketing processes while incorporating tools like lead scoring, email marketing, and lead generation. The Salesforce Certified Pardot Specialist generally has 6-12 months of experience building and executing marketing workflows with the Pardot platform. The candidates should have the experience, skill, and knowledge of the Pardot platform, should be able to manage Pardot marketing assets, automation, and workflows, interpret metrics from Engagement History, understand administrative settings, troubleshoot and solve basic platform issues and understand Einstein features available and their comparison to Pardot score.

To clear the exam for the credential, a candidate needs to score 65% in the 90-minute long exam. The exam includes 60 multiple-choice questions. The registration fee is $200 excluding taxes.

Become Salesforce Certified Professional

Conclusion

So these are the major Salesforce Certification programs. The candidates’ requirements and qualifications differ based on the field chosen. The Salesforce programs are certified and helpful in various aspects across different cultures. 

If you are also planning for any of the above-listed certifications, check out S2 LABS. It offers intensive training courses on Salesforce certification programs. Build a rewarding career! 

Frequently Asked Questions

Choosing the right Salesforce certification depends on your role and goals. For beginners, start your foot with obtaining Salesforce Certified Administrator. Then go ahead with Salesforce Certified Platform Developer I. Consultants might consider Salesforce Certified Sales Cloud Consultant or Salesforce Certified Service Cloud Consultant based on their specialization.

Salesforce certifications are for everyone, from beginners to experts. These certification authenticates skills in different roles like administrators, developers, consultants, and architects, and help improve career opportunities and knowledge in Salesforce technology.

The highest-paying Salesforce certifications are usually Certified Technical Architect, Certified Application Architect, and Certified System Architect. These roles need extensive expertise and experience, which often lead to higher salaries.

The salary of a Salesforce Certified professional varies based on factors like job role, experience, location, and certification level. On average, Salesforce Certified individuals can earn competitive salaries, often ranging from $70,000 to well over $150,000 per year.