Acquia Certified Drupal Front End Specialist Cheat Sheet

Exam Details: 90 minutes | 60 questions | 68% passing score | Drupal 10/11

This cheat sheet covers all six domains of the Acquia Certified Drupal Front End Specialist exam, weighted by the official blueprint.

Domain 1: Fundamental Web Development Concepts (25%)

• HTML & CSS → Semantic markup, the cascade, specificity, modern layout (flexbox/grid).
• PHP concepts → Basic syntax used in theme files and preprocess functions.
• JavaScript & jQuery → DOM manipulation, Drupal.behaviors, once(), attaching via libraries.
• Responsive design → Mobile-first, media queries, fluid layouts, breakpoints.

Domain 2: Theming Concepts (25%)

• Custom regions → Declare regions in *.info.yml, render in page.html.twig.
• Theme configuration → theme-settings.php, settings form, default config.
• Stylesheets → Define and attach CSS via *.libraries.yml, libraries-override.
• JavaScript in a theme → Attach JS libraries, dependencies, settings via drupalSettings.
• Breakpoints → *.breakpoints.yml, responsive images integration.
• Sub-themes → Extend a base theme (base theme: key), inherit and override.

Domain 3: Templates and Preprocess Functions (25%)

• Twig syntax → {{ }} print, {% %} logic, filters, |raw, |t, autoescaping.
• Core templates → Override node.html.twig, field.html.twig, block.html.twig, etc.
• Template suggestions → hook_theme_suggestions_HOOK_alter(), naming conventions.
• Preprocess functions → template_preprocess_HOOK(), hook_preprocess_HOOK() to add variables.
• Alter hooks → hook_form_alter(), hook_theme_suggestions_alter().

Domain 4: Layout Configuration (15%)

• Blocks → Create/place blocks, block visibility conditions, custom block types.
• Views → Build content lists as pages, blocks, and feeds; fields vs entities, filters, sorts.
• Layout Builder → Section/layout/block model, default vs per-entity overrides.

Domain 5: Performance (5%)

• Site configuration → CSS/JS aggregation, caching, responsive image styles.
• Custom theme → Minimize render-blocking assets, efficient Twig, library dependencies.

Domain 6: Security (5%)

• Site configuration → Text formats, allowed HTML, trusted roles.
• Custom theme → Autoescaping, avoid |raw on untrusted data, sanitize attributes.

Tip: Domains 1–3 each carry 25% (75% combined) — master web fundamentals, theming, and Twig/preprocess before performance and security.