I’m guessing that there are probably two types of people reading this blog post. Developers who have heard about Sitecore and would like to know a little bit more about it and developers who have been given a Sitecore project to work on who have no idea how to start 😅. The issue with learning ScitreCore CMS is getting access to a development license. Without a developer license, you will not be able to download or install Sitecore. So the question is, how do you get a developer license?
I’m sorry to say, but getting into Sitecore is pretty painful for the average Joe developer. To install Sitecore, the first thing you will need to do is get a copy of the Sitecore installer. All Sitecore downloads are available from the Sitecore portal. To get access to the Sitecore portal you will need to become a Sitecore certified professional by passing the Sitecore training. As with all CMS certifications, the cost of the training is not free. You (or a company) will need to pay well over a thousand pounds 😅😢
After you pass the training, you will be given an account that will allow you access to the portal and the download section… however, as you will discover when you run the installer you will also need a valid license file before the installer will install anything. Sitecore does not provide any type of evaluation or development license, unlike some of the other CMS solutions. This means getting a copy of Sitecore to play around with so you can master it before building a production project is not viable unless you are very rich.
In order to get a Sitecore license, you need to buy a license yourself or work for a company that has a license. A license cost can start around 40k+, so for our average Joe developer that’s never going to happen. So, for those readers who are here out of interest, I’m sorry to say the only way you can play around with Sitecore is to get a job with a partner or a Sitecore client. For a lot of developers, these two hurdles create too big a hurdle to be able to break it into the Sitecore market. As a .NET CMS contractor, I also suffer the same problem.
I am Sitecore certified and have built websites using Sitecore previously. For example, when I take on a project for a year to build a platform on Episerver CMS, getting back into Sitecore is difficult. If a new version has come out, the only way to start playing around with it is to get a contract with a client who has a license. Many companies will only want to hire people with experience with that version. Not being able to download and learn the latest version of Sitecore is a massive hindrance, even for people who are certified and have experience with Sitecore!
For those of you here who do not have access to a license and an installer, I recommend learning something else... sorry! If you are in this scenario and you want to learn a CMS then I would recommend that you go with Epsieerver CMS or Episerver CMS, both are free and easy to get started with. Also, tutorials on how to get started on both can be found on this site. Just search for ultimate Episerver, or uptime Umbraco getting started guide! Granted this is a strange way to finish a post on Sitecore, however, it is what it is. Happy Coding 🤘
