Guided Coursework
Your structured path through BigCommerce's official developer training - which courses to take, in the order that works best at Codinative, with your progress tracked as you go.
Prerequisites
The courses assume you’re already comfortable with core web development. If any of the essentials below are shaky, spend a little time leveling up first - the material will move much faster.
You should already know:
- HTML - semantic markup and document structure.
- CSS - selectors, the box model, and layout with flexbox & grid, plus responsive design. (Sass/SCSS is a plus - it’s what Stencil themes are built in.)
- JavaScript (ES6+) - variables, functions, promises and async/await, the DOM, and the Fetch API.
- Node.js & npm basics - you’ll install and run the Stencil CLI with them. New to this? Start with Environment setup.
- HTTP, JSON & REST fundamentals - requests and responses, status codes, and headers.
Helpful, but you’ll pick these up along the way:
- Handlebars templating - taught in Stencil Core.
- React / Next.js - needed later for Catalyst and app development.
- GraphQL basics - covered in the API courses.
BigCommerce Learn
The Learn tab in the BigCommerce developer docs is where the official training lives. It is organised into learning plans - multi-course journeys tied to developer certifications - and individual courses, each with structured lessons, hands-on exercises, and assessments.
Three learning plans form the backbone of this path: Developer Foundations, Stencil Developer, and B2B Developer. The phases below draw from them in the sequence that builds your skills fastest - front-end first, then Stencil, then the APIs, and finally B2B.
The Codinative coursework path
Work through the phases top to bottom - each one builds on the last. Check a course off when you finish it; the next course unlocks only once the current one is done, and your progress is saved in this browser.
Your progress
0 of 10 courses complete
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- 1
Foundations - front-end first
Developer Foundations - part 1Source plan: Developer Foundations
- 12 lessons4h 20min
Familiarize yourself with the key concepts and tools involved with custom development on BigCommerce.
- 16 lessons6h 50min
Explore the key front-end development principles for both Stencil and Catalyst storefronts.
- 2
Become a Stencil developer
Stencil DeveloperSource plan: Stencil Developer
- 16 lessons6h 20min
Learn the fundamentals of Stencil, BigCommerce's default theme engine, and the Cornerstone base theme.
- 28 lessons10h 50min
Dive deeper into Stencil's technology stack, advanced customization, and deployment workflows.
- 3
Build with the APIs
APIsSource plan: Developer Foundations & Stencil Developer
With Stencil and storefronts behind you, learn the APIs that power widgets, catalog data, and shopper-facing storefronts.
- 22 lessons9h 25min
Learn to create and manage widgets, templates, and placements using the Widgets REST API.
- 21 lessons9h 5min
Learn to interact with the Catalog API to manage products, categories, brands, and more.
- 28 lessons12h 40min
Learn how to interact with the GraphQL Storefront API to enable shopper-facing workflows.
- 4
B2B development
B2B Developer - all coursesSource plan: B2B Developer
- 19 lessons8h
Learn the key capabilities of BigCommerce B2B Edition and how to use the REST Management API.
- 18 lessons8h 35min
Learn to use the B2B GraphQL API to manage companies, quotes, shopping lists, orders, and invoices.
- 25 lessons8h 15min
Learn the architecture and customization strategies for the shopper-facing Buyer Portal app.
How to work through it
- Go in order. Each phase assumes the one before it. The tracker keeps you on sequence - the next course unlocks only when you complete the current one.
- Do it on a sandbox. Pair each course with a developer sandbox store so you’re building, not just watching.
- Then move on to Beyond the Courses. Once the courses are done, work through the essential follow-up modules - Customization Surfaces, Apps & Integrations, Catalyst & Headless, and Using the BigCommerce Docs - which tie the courses to how Codinative actually builds.