Program Overview
Based on research of industry needs and competencies and skill sets identified as essential for Web technology workers, WOW has designed the following guidelines, learning objectives, and resources as a foundation for those pursuing knowledge, experience, and/or careers as E-Commerce Professional and or Webmasters. The guidelines, objectives, and resources are designed to make the learning experience comparable to one experienced in college-level courses by providing course descriptions and learning objectives. After completing the CECM guidelines and resources, individuals may take the WOW Certified E-Commerce Manager.
Note that this is a professional level exam. Those wishing to take this exam should have a portfolio of at least two years work in developing and maintaining E-Commerce sites. For those who wish to learn more about E-Commerce in general, we have found these books to be a good starting point. This is not an endorsement of these books; there are many others of similar quality.
- The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon
- Ecommerce Evolved: The Essential Playbook To Build, Grow & Scale A Successful Ecommerce Business
- Starting an Online Business All-in-One For Dummies
Introduction
WOW Certified E-Commerce Manager (CECM) examination measures essential competencies for aspiring or practicing Web professionals. The WOW Certified E-Commerce Manager (CECM) examination measures essential competencies for aspiring or practicing Webmasters. The examinee must demonstrate knowledge of Internet basics, security basics, Web Business Strategies, Web Site Project Management, Web Marketing and Sales, and Fundamentals of E-Commerce at the standard defined by this test specification. The skills and knowledge measured by this examination are derived from an industry-wide and worldwide job task analysis which was validated through a survey of hundreds of designers. The results of the survey were used in weighting the domains and ensuring that the weighting is representative of the relative importance of that content to the job requirements of a WOW Certified E-Commerce Manager. The intent is to certify individuals in a body of knowledge that is identified and accepted as the baseline or foundation of any E-Commerce Manager.
The exam contains 70 questions. Examinees have 60 minutes to complete the exam. The exam is currently only available in English and only available online. As part of the professional certification process, we may ask the examinee to provide a portfolio of their work (specific E-Commerce sites they work with).
NOTE: This examination blueprint for the WOW CECM examination includes the weighting, test objectives, and example content. Example topics and concepts are included to clarify the test topics and should not be construed as a comprehensive listing of all the content of this examination.
The table below lists the domains measured by this examination and the extent to which they are represented in the examination.
Topics of the exam include:
| Domain % Of Examination | |
| Internet and Business Basics | 5% |
| Security Basics | 3% |
| HTML | 10% |
| CSS | 10% |
| Web Project Management | 10% |
| Fundamentals of E-commerce | 34% |
| Marketing and Sales | 18% |
| UX and UI | 5% |
| Legal Issues | 5% |
| TOTAL | 100% |
Examination Description
The examinee selects, from four (4) or more response options, the option(s) that best complete(s) the statement or answer(s) the question. Distracters or wrong answers are response options that examinees with incomplete knowledge or skill would likely choose, but are generally plausible responses fitting into the content area. Test item formats used in this examination are:
Multiple-choice: The examinee selects one option that best answers the question or completes a statement.
Multiple-response: The examinee selects more than one option that best answers the question or completes a statement.
Sample Directions: Read the statement or question and, from the response options, select only the option(s) that represent(s) the most correct or best answer(s).
Content may include the following. Below is a list of topics for each objective.
Examination Domains and Topics
- Internet and Business Basics
Content may include the following:- eMail fundamentals
- IP addressing (IPv4 and V6)
- Browser layout engine differences
- Search Engine Optimization
- How to use search engines
- Absolute vs. relative URL
- Domain registration and DNS
- Site hosting
- File naming conventions (including case sensitive names)
- Protocols (TCP/IP, FTP/ sFTP, http/ htps)
- Sitemap
- Code validaton
- Captcha
- Budgeting
- Outsourcing
- ROI
- Security Basics
Content may include the following:- Anti-malware
- Firewalls
- DOS and DDOS
- SPAM
- HTML
Content may include the following:- HTML elements and attributes (including comments and proper coding techniques)
- Deprecated HTML elements and attributes
- HTML coding fundamentals (paragraphs, headings, quotes, entities and related)
- Differences between head and body tags
- Links and anchors
- Data tables
- iFrames
- Forms (including Get vs. Post) and data validation
- Lists
- Semantic markup
- History of HTML
- Presentation vs. content
- Images
- File Paths
- Information architecture
- CSS
Content may include the following:- CSS syntax
- Selectors, properties, values
- CSS transitions
- CSS transforms
- CSS animation
- Pseudo-classes
- Pseudo-behaviors
- Media queries and breakpoints
- Responsive design techniques
- Box model
- Colors, backgrounds, borders
- Specificity
- Cascade
- CSS units
- Fonts and font families
- Positioning
- Gradients
- Flexbox and Grid
- CSS variables and mixins
- Web Project Management
Content may include the following:- Project management, program management, portfolio management
- Code commenting and documentation
- Scope (and scope creep)
- Time management
- Cost management
- Risk management
- Communication management
- Version control and change management (including Git)
- Backup and Recovery Strategies
- Website planning
- Site goals and target audience
- Communicating expected outcomes (site maps, wireframes, style tiles, mood boards)
- Releases (model, location, media)
- Requirements
- Local vs. remote vs. testing servers
- E-Commerce
Content may include the following:- Advertising and marketing
- Conversion rate
- Social media
- Terminology (retention, ROI)
- Customer service and CRM
- Ethics
- Budgeting and billing
- SEO and SEM
- Site metrics and analytics
- Content management systems
- Privacy
- Security
- Order processing and fulfillment
- Database management
- Credit card processing
- Marketing and Sales
Content may include the following:- Ad placement and tracking
- Search engines and rankings
- Site metrics and analytics
- Marketing, advertising and promotions
- Market research and development
- Customer profiles and personas
- UX and UI
Content may include the following:- User interviews
- Customer journey map
- Task analysis
- Affinity map
- Personas
- User flows
- Prototypes and wireframes
- Usability
- A/B testing
- Smokescreen test
- Patterns
- Hick’s Law
- Fitt’s Law
- Mouse vs. keyboard vs. touch interactions
- Visual hierarchy
- Responsive vs. adaptive design
- Legal Issues
Content may include the following:- Basic elements of a contract
- Copyright, fair use, trademarks
- Social media
- Creative commons
- Intellectual property
- Attribution and fair use