CIW Foundations v5, e-Commerce v5, Site Designer v5 - Yeeps!

admin

OK, so I've been scouring this site for several weeks, reading post after post and article after article. I've been following links and doing a lot of googling and ebay searching...

It seems to me the CIW Master Designer is the certification I want, but I'm concerned about 2 things I'm hoping people here can help me with:

1. How valid is CIW anymore? I'm a bit alarmed at the fact that v5 seems to have very little support online. Even this forum hasn't had a single post in it for more than 2 months! Is there a comparable certification that I'm missing that might be better?

2. If CIW is the way to go, will the v4 study materials suffice? I'm so frustrated that I can't find ANY v5 study materials except study questions or the VERY expensive books by CIW themselves. However, I could get several very thick v4 books for a bargain. But I don't want to shoot myself in the foot by studying old material. Thoughts?

(Bit of background: I have a LOT of experience creating websites from design angle both personally and professionally. What I'm more weak in is the e-Commerce and some foundation stuff, especially in regards to technology.)

Any replies would be greatly appreciated.