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This section includes InterviewSolutions, each offering curated multiple-choice questions to sharpen your knowledge and support exam preparation. Choose a topic below to get started.

1.

Compare these Content Management Systems: Sitecore, Umbraco and EPiServer.

Answer»
  • Umbraco: Umbraco is a free and open-source CMS solution, making it perfect for small and medium businesses that can't afford dedicated IT departments and who need a website very quickly. Since its inception in 2000, Umbraco has undergone significant changes and enhancements. However, it has yet to become an all-in-one solution. It remains a simple, but well-constructed, content management solution.
  • Sitecore: Sitecore is a powerful enterprise-level web content management SYSTEM that comes at an enterprise price tag. It is highly extensible, offers lots of community and developer support, and is very developer-friendly. This CMS is highly customizable, highly extensible, with a clever CACHING system, powerful search capabilities, and a powerful page editor.
  • Episerver: Optimizely (rebranded from Episerver in 2021) is a world-class CMS renowned for its innovative approach to using content, experimentation, and new technologies to CREATE fantastic digital experiences. Using EPiServer is easy and friendly for developers and users. There are a number of features available out of the box, along with an easy-to-use UI and page editor, good drag-and-drop functionality, and ease of customization.
Conclusion:

Sitecore is a highly powerful content management system and it is highly used by companies all over the world. But the QUESTION that pops up in our minds is how to crack the Sitecore interview process. Don't worry, we can help you improve your Sitecore skills in a systematic manner and pass the interview with flying colours. 

Here at InterviewBit, we have categorised the recently asked Sitecore Interview Questions into the basic and advanced levels, which will help you prepare for the interview successfully, and ultimately land your dream job with a prestigious company. The answers to these questions are explained in a WAY that is simple and easy to understand.

Ready to nail your Sitecore interview now?

2.

What do you mean by CM (Content Management) and CD (Content Delivery)?

Answer»
  • Content Management: CM is the "world of content editing" in Sitecore. The feature is only available to content editors so that they can add, edit, and update content on their websites. Editors can access the Sitecore dashboard VIA the Sitecore Experience Platform. This dashboard contains several options depending on the editor's ROLE. It is ultimately the "content editor" that would be accessed to manage the CHANGES to content as shown below:
  • Content Delivery: It determines which content to serve and renders output in the appropriate format for each channel, thus driving the experience for visitors across all channels. Several content delivery servers can be configured for increased scalability and better performance.
    Once a content editor has finalized and processed their piece of content, making it "live" is the NEXT step. For this process, they have the option of "publishing" the content. Consequently, behind the scenes, that piece of content is moved from the "master" DATABASE to the "web" database and once it appears in the web database, it becomes live and visible to everyone. Content delivery servers exclusively connect to the "web" database for content, they do not access the "master" database.
3.

Can you explain what a CMS (Content Management System) is in Sitecore?

Answer»

The SITECORE CMS (Content Management System) is a platform that allows you to create, publish, and manage content for your website. The CMS allows you to create, manage, and modify digital content with ease, thus improving your customers' digital experience. A CMS is a TOOL for COLLABORATING on the CREATION, editing, and publishing of digital content, such as web pages and blogs.

4.

What are the steps to disable analytics in Sitecore?

Answer»

ANALYTICS can be disabled in Sitecore by changing a COUPLE of things in Configurations as follows:

Step 1: Disable analytics

Go to /App_Config/Include/Sitecore.Analytics.config and set Analytics.Enabled to false:

<SETTING name=”Analytics.Enabled” value=”false” />

Step 2: COMMENT out connection strings related to analytics:

Go to /App_Config/ConnectionStrings.config and comment out the following connection strings:

<add name=”analytics” connectionString=”mongodb://localhost/analytics” /><add name=”tracking.live” connectionString=”mongodb://localhost/tracking_live” /><add name=”tracking.history” connectionString=”mongodb://localhost/tracking_history” /><add name=”tracking.contact” connectionString=”mongodb://localhost/tracking_contact” /><add name=”reporting” connectionString=”user id=user;password=password;DATA Source=(server);Database=Sitecore_Analytics” />
5.

What is Versioning in Sitecore?

Answer»

In Sitecore, the VERSIONING system allows creating multiple languages or number versions of any ITEM. The Content Editor or Experience Editor allows you to create new versions of any item in Sitecore, and you can create as many versions as you want. There are two types of versions:

  • Numbered versions: It offers versions in the same languages of an item. As an EXAMPLE, you can make a different version of your products page that can be used during special promotions. You can also create a new version of an image for the promotion, and then after the promotion, you can change it back to the original version.
  • Language versions: It offers versions in the different languages of an item. For example, you can add an ENGLISH version of the item in French. To display alternative TEXT in both languages, you should also include additional versions of the item's images.
6.

Explain different types of rendering in Sitecore.

Answer»

In Sitecore, renderings are used to display or render a PAGE or part of a page. Some of the renderings in Sitecore are as follows:

  • VIEW Rendering: This type of rendering is used in components that involve little logic and don't have database TRANSACTIONS or MVC controllers. This should be used for rendering item content that doesn't require substantial business logic or presentation logic.
  • Controller Rendering: With this type of rendering, you supply the model, controller, and view. This should be used for rendering item content that REQUIRES SIGNIFICANT business logic or presentation logic and relies heavily on external data.
7.

Write down the steps to add a new command in Sitecore.

Answer»

The steps to add a new command in SITECORE are as FOLLOWS:

  • CREATE a CLASS that inherits from the Sitecore.Shell.Framework.Commands.Command class
  • Either add the command to the /App_Config/Commands.config FILE or create a patch file in /App_Config/Include.
  • Add/Include your command definition in the core database.
8.

What do you mean by the media library in Sitecore?

Answer»

All media content hosted on Sitecore can be managed using the Media Library. The Media Library let you STORE and upload images (jpg, gif, png), non-HTML files (PDF, DOC, PPT), videos, and audio files which can be accessed by the Content Editor LATER on. All your media items can be managed from the Media Library, such as images that visitors can download or can be embedded on your website.

  • In addition, all media files can be kept in a single location and arranged in a folder structure like a Content tree.
  • Media items may be FOUND QUICKLY by using the Sitecore search engine or by navigating the content tree.
9.

Explain how you will add a new site to Sitecore.

Answer»

Consider a new site whose name will be 'local.sitecore92.com'. Configuring this site to Sitecore requires the following steps:

  • Step1: Select an EXISTING ITEM in the content tree (or create one from scratch).
  • Step2: Add your site name to Sitecore Instance and it can be DONE in the following two ways:

Add the <site> element under the <sites> section of the sitecore.config file.
Or
Add the <site> element under the <sites> section of the SiteDefintion.config file.

Adding a new site to the config file is only the first STEP. To access the newly added site, there are two other steps that need to be COMPLETED outside of Sitecore.

  • Step3: Add the site name to the IIS binding.
  • Step4: Add the site name to the host's file of your server.

You can now access your newly added Sitecore website after completing these three steps.

10.

Write different types of publishing modes in Sitecore?

Answer»

The three modes of publishing a website are as FOLLOWS:

  • Incremental Publish: It only publishes items currently present in the publishing queue. ​Modifying or changing an ITEM automatically adds it to the publishing queue. This method of publishing is faster since Sitecore does not utilize resources to compare different versions of items in the publishing queue before publishing them.
  • Smart Publish: In this publication, all items that have changed since the last publication are published. A Smart publish compares each item in the master database with its equivalent item in the target database, and if there have been any changes, the item gets published. This involves comparing all items in the database, which is a time-consuming process for publishing an entire website, particularly if there are MANY items in the content tree.
  • Republish: Everything is published there. Every item in the target database is OVERWRITTEN by the equivalent item in the Master database, even if the item has not changed. By REPUBLISHING, all obsolete versions are deleted from the target database. It can be used to bring an entirely new web database online, restore a backup of the master database, and add new content languages, publishing targets, and other system elements to the website.
11.

How many processors are under the pipeline?

Answer»

The Sitecore pipeline has 19 processors by default, HOWEVER, this can CHANGE depending on what modules you have installed in Sitecore. If you install Sitecore DMS (Digital Marketing SYSTEMS), for example, you will see 21 processors under the &LT;httpRequestBegin> pipeline. 

12.

What do you mean by Processor?

Answer»

Each pipeline COMPRISES one or more steps, also known as PROCESSORS. There is a method named Process() for each processor in a pipeline. Process() method takes a SINGLE argument and returns a VOID. Processors can abort PIPELINES, preventing Sitecore from triggering further processors. 

13.

Explain the meaning of Pipeline in Sitecore.

Answer»

In Sitecore, a pipeline is a SET of actions that perform a SPECIFIC task in sequence. PROCESSES in Sitecore are typically defined or considered as PIPELINES. Developers can MODIFY pipelines to alter, add, or remove functionality from Sitecore.

14.

Can text lines be prevented from being transformed into links by Sitecore?

Answer»

There is another way to MAKE an anchor in Sitecore other than transforming text lines into links. We need to put our cursor above the anchor's destination, without highlighting the text. The next STEP is to click the HYPERLINK BUTTON to make the anchor, and then we can proceed with the REST. In order to prevent text from being converted into an unwanted link, follow this procedure.

15.

Why XSL (Extensible Stylesheet Language) is considered better than C# in Sitecore?

Answer»

XSL (Extensible Stylesheet Language) has an advantage over other PROGRAMMING languages in that you can customize or reuse different structures or pages for source or other documents. This will require a rule-based processing model, which most people dislike DUE to its obvious complexity UPON first use. At first, it might seem DAUNTING, but it is a wise investment. We tend to have fewer performance problems with XSLT until we use wrong querying, such as an XPath query. If a website appears to experience performance issues, it may be for another reason.

16.

What do you mean by tokens? List types of tokens supported by Sitecore.

Answer»

A token is simply a way to assign values dynamically when creating an item. Some strings in Sitecore begin with the $ symbol (such as $name), mainly in STANDARD values (_Standard Values) in templates. If we create an item using the same template, a PARTICULAR field will be replaced with a readable name (i.e. item name). The magic in this scene comes from the $name, usually referred to as TOKENS in Sitecore. In a similar vein, Sitecore offers many built-in tokens as follows:

  • $name: The name of the newly created item/
  • $id: The new item's ID.
  • $parentid: The ID of the new item's parent.
  • $parentname: The name of the new item's parent.
  • $date: Current date in yyyyMMdd format.
  • $TIME: Current time in HHmmss format.
  • $now: Current date and time in yyyyMMddTHHmmss format.