Blog

AEM Interview Questions and Answers

Basic AEM Interview Questions

1. What is AEM?

AEM stands for Adobe Experience Manager, a comprehensive content management solution for building websites, mobile apps, and forms. It allows users to create, manage, and optimize digital customer experiences across all channels.

2. What is a Component in AEM?

A component is a reusable module or unit of content and logic in AEM. It can represent elements like headers, footers, carousels, forms, or custom functionalities.

3. What is a Template in AEM?

Templates in AEM define the structure of a page. They specify which components can be added and where. Templates can be static or editable (dynamic), the latter providing flexibility to authors.

4. Difference between Author and Publish instances?

Author Instance: Used by content authors to create and manage content.
Publish Instance: Serves the final content to end-users.

5. What is CRX in AEM?

CRX (Content Repository eXtreme) is the underlying content repository used by AEM, built on the JCR (Java Content Repository) standard.

6. What is the role of Dispatcher in AEM?

Dispatcher is Adobe’s caching and load balancing tool. It helps improve performance by caching static content and protecting the AEM instance by filtering incoming requests.

Intermediate AEM Interview Questions

7. Explain the AEM Project Structure.

A typical AEM project follows the Maven Archetype 24 or 25 structure. The key modules include:

core – Java code and services
ui.apps – Components, templates, clientlibs
ui.content – Content structure
dispatcher – Configuration for web servers

8. What are Client Libraries (ClientLibs)?

ClientLibs are used to manage CSS and JavaScript files in AEM. They support dependencies, minification, and versioning.

Example:

9. What is Sling in AEM?

Apache Sling is the web framework that AEM uses to map HTTP requests to JCR content nodes. It uses a resource-based architecture and supports RESTful applications.

10. How is Sightly (HTL) different from JSP?

HTL (HTML Template Language), formerly Sightly, is AEM’s preferred templating language. It separates logic from markup, enhances security, and improves maintainability over JSP.

11. What is the use of the Felix Console?

The Felix Console is a web-based administrative interface used to manage OSGi components and bundles within AEM. It’s available at /system/console.

12. What is the difference between cq:Page and cq:PageContent?

cq:Page: Represents the page itself.
cq:PageContent: Stores the actual content and metadata of the page, like title, description, etc.

Advanced AEM Interview Questions

13. Explain OSGi in AEM.

OSGi (Open Services Gateway initiative) is a modular system and service platform for Java. In AEM, OSGi enables you to create and deploy reusable bundles (modules) independently.

14. What is Sling Model in AEM?

Sling Models are a way to map Java objects to Sling resources using annotations like @Model, @Inject, and @ValueMapValue. They simplify the data access layer in components.

Example:

15. How do you create a custom workflow in AEM?

Create a workflow model using the AEM Workflow Console.
Add steps (process/participant).
Implement custom steps using Java by extending AbstractWorkflowProcess.
Deploy and use the workflow in content pages/assets.

16. What is the difference between Resource and Node in AEM?

Resource: A Sling abstraction representing a node.
Node: A JCR object representing a content element.

Sling adapts resources to various objects like ValueMap, Node, or InputStream.

17. How is content versioning handled in AEM?

AEM provides built-in versioning using the VersionManager. You can restore, compare, and revert to previous versions of a page through the Sites console or using JCR API.

18. Explain the AEM Caching Mechanism.

AEM uses multiple caching layers:

Dispatcher Caching
Browser Caching
AEM HTTP Cache
OSGi Configuration Caching

The Dispatcher flush agents are configured to invalidate content in cache after updates.

19. What is Replication in AEM?

Replication is the process of publishing content from the author to the publish instance. It includes:

Activate (publish)
Deactivate (unpublish)
Reverse Replication (from publish to author)

20. What are Content Fragments and Experience Fragments?

Content Fragments: Structured content without layout, reusable across channels.
Experience Fragments: Full layout blocks that combine content with design for web pages or marketing campaigns.

Bonus Tips to Crack AEM Interviews

Hands-on Practice: Build real AEM components and services.
Stay Updated: Follow AEM release notes and documentation.
Understand Architecture: Learn about Oak, JCR, Sling, OSGi, and Dispatcher deeply.
Learn HTL: Master Sightly/HTL syntax and best practices.
Common Tools: Get familiar with CRXDE Lite, Package Manager, and Developer Console.

Conclusion

This comprehensive list of AEM interview questions and answers covers the essential topics you’ll encounter during interviews in 2025. Whether you’re preparing for a junior developer role or a senior AEM architect position, understanding these questions will help you feel more confident and prepared.

For more hands-on training and practice, check out our AEM Certification Course tailored for beginners and professionals.

— Latest Posts