Contentful Learning Center 2.0 — the fast lane for learning Contentful
![Illustration of a desktop with the Contentful Learning Center written on it](https://images.ctfassets.net/fo9twyrwpveg/2J4ZCzehb5111c9Zwn2woR/68babb361c359eb1a2afe5e7578bad25/LMS_SocialImages-03.png?fm=jpg&q=90&w=1536)
If you’re familiar with Contentful, you know that fast build and deployment cycles set Contentful apart from other content management systems. But you can’t build and launch fast unless you get your team up to speed on Contentful.
This is where Contentful Learning Services comes in. We’ve built our learning programs around the same fast and flexible principles that have made the Contentful product so successful. We’re proud to announce some big changes that will make learning Contentful even faster and more flexible, including a completely redesigned Contentful Learning Center — where you will find our first publicly available, expert-led training sessions.
What you need to learn to be successful with Contentful
For developers, the learning curve for Contentful is short because you can use software development languages and tools you already know and love. But there are still some key concepts to learn as a Contentful developer. This is particularly true if you are involved in designing a content model or making decisions about delivery architecture, integration/customizations or CI/CD processes. And there are definitely best practices that can save you a lot of rework later on.
For content creators and other non-developer roles, the Contentful web app is easy to use. But you’ll need to learn about Rich Text and how to navigate a content model that was designed for content reuse. You’ll want to consider how Contentful supports your editorial workflow. And there are time-saving features you’ll definitely want to be familiar with.
Introducing Contentful Learning Center 2.0
Whether you’re evaluating Contentful, starting your first project or ready to learn advanced topics, the Contentful Learning Center is a great place to start. We have redesigned the Learning Center from the ground up based on your feedback. It's now easier than ever to explore learning paths, find specific content, level up your skills and get certified.
![Screenshot of the Contentful Learning Center page](https://images.ctfassets.net/fo9twyrwpveg/5zTEdegdpPMZvo7JRNM457/a504d739ee721c2de76e679c1909bce1/Screen_Shot_2021-05-04_at_10.02.31_AM.png)
Read on to discover what’s available in the new Contentful Learning Center.
Free, self-paced courses
The Contentful Learning Center contains a wide variety of content, including short-learning videos, tutorials and useful tools (for example, open-source GitHub repos). But the heart of our learning program is our library of free, self-paced courses. These interactive courses cover both basic topics that all Contentful users need to know as well as advanced topics and deep dives on specific features that are useful for particular use cases.
We’ve designed our self-paced courses to be compact, engaging and oriented toward real-world tasks and challenges. The courses are interactive, with a blend of text, video, visuals and practical resources. The courses are also modular. You can skip content you’re familiar with and jump right to the topics you need. Fast and flexible.
If you’re getting started with Contentful, you’ll want to start with the courses that cover the critical topics that all Contentful users need to know. We’ve made this easy by adding the label “Contentful Essentials” to the beginning of course descriptions of courses that cover baseline knowledge. And we’ve grouped core courses into learning paths that follow a logical sequence. Once you have the basics that apply to your Contentful role down, you can take additional courses that dive deeper into content that is relevant to your specific Contentful project.
We also have courses on new Contentful features and products, such as our new Compose + Launch apps. We add new content on a regular basis. So, check back frequently. You’ll see our latest courses listed on the Contentful Learning Center home page.
NEW: Expert-led training
Want some more good news? As part of our Learning Center 2.0 launch, Contentful now offers expert-led, live courses. Learning from an expert allows you to ask questions and get human guidance during the learning process.
Contentful expert-led training comes in two flavors:
Virtual classroom courses are just what they sound like — an opportunity to participate in a classroom-style learning experience without the travel.
Accelerator workshops combine tailor-made self-paced learning with intensive, hands-on, small group sessions with a live instructor. Accelerator workshops allow you to get the hands-on, interactive coaching you would get if you attended a small-group, in-person workshop but without sitting on an all-day video conference call.
Click “Expert-led training” on the Contentful Learning Center home page to see the date and time of upcoming expert-led sessions.
If you’re exploring Contentful as a solution to a business need, or if you’re new to the Contentful platform, be sure to check out our Contentful Essentials virtual classroom course. This is a terrific orientation to the Contentful world that covers the basics of architecture, use cases, foundational concepts and best practices. There’s no better head start to Contentful proficiency for developers, team leads and others involved in implementing Contentful. To introduce our new public training program, we’ve included a coupon in the course description that will allow you to enroll in this course for half-price.
Certification
The final piece of the learning puzzle is Contentful certification. If you’re in a developer or technical implementation role, the Contentful Certified Professional program gives you a chance to show the world (and your boss) that you know your stuff.
Here’s a tip. If you go through our learning paths for both developers and content modeling, you’re well on your way to having the knowledge to become Contentful certified. Details about the Contentful Certified Professional program and links to study resources are in a free short course, cleverly called About the Contentful Certified Professional Program.
If you manage a Contentful implementation team, encouraging your team members to become certified will drive more Contentful learning and give you increased confidence that you’ll successfully achieve your goals with Contentful. For Contentful partners, having Contentful Certified Professionals on staff increases your ability to deliver successful Contentful engagements. It also helps you win new business by showing prospective clients that you have Contentful skills on your team.
Next steps
So, there you have it. Contentful Learning Services has created a learning program as fast and flexible as the Contentful platform. Check out our new Contentful Learning Center 2.0 and let us know what you think. If you have suggestions for the new Contentful Learning Center or for content you’d like to see us create, you can use the Feedback item on the Contentful Learning Center top navigation bar.
And don’t forget to check out other Contentful learning resources.
Contentful Help Center – Articles to help content creators get started in Contentful
Developer Documentation – Documentation on key developer concepts and features
Developer Portal – Videos, tutorials, live streams, and other resources for developers
Contentful GitHub – Open source Contentful tools, including our Forma 36 design system
Contentful Community – A forum for Contentful developers and content creators to ask and answer questions.