Do you know how to start an online training platform in WordPress? Stay with us in this practical article.
Online courses are now a popular way for people to advance in their lives and careers without paying a lot of money. Moreover, online courses have solved the problem of location limitation. You can sit at home and take courses in German or any other country. Websites offering video courses can generate significant income, especially when they are focused on a specific area. If you also want to monetize your knowledge online, the best thing to do is to choose one of the popular LMS plugins.
An LMS or Learning Management System offers many features to hold a class without students needing to be in a physical classroom. It all depends on the LMS plugin you are using. However, in general, the tools allow you to create different classes, share lessons, enroll learners, and evaluate them with the help of tests.
In this article, we are going to introduce you to several useful LMS plugins in WordPress, and finally, the method of setting up an online training platform using the Lifter LMS plugin will be examined step by step. These plugins are:
- LearnDash
- Lifter LMS
- LearnPress
- Tutor LMS
- Sensei
- WP Courseware
- Good LMS
- Namaste! LMS
- MasterStudy LMS
Table of Contents
Introducing 7 plugins to set up an online training platform in WordPress
1- Introduction of LearnDash plugin
LearnDash is used by many companies and universities due to its high speed, set of features, and attractive design of online courses. Most of the essential features that an online learning platform needs are covered by LearnDash. Therefore, this plugin is considered a complete set of excellent tools for presenting content, selling courses, giving away, and incentivizing learners.
The cost of using this plugin is determined annually. For example, to support a website with all the features available in LearnDash, the first year costs $159. Licensing for 10 sites brings the cost to $189 per year while supporting 25 sites costs $329. The downside to LearnDash is that there is no free trial. But the good thing is that you have 30 days to cancel your purchase if you are not interested.
The main features of this plugin are divided into four general categories:
- Courses
- earn money
- Management
- technical
Main features of the LearnDash plugin:
Providing facilities to create courses with different levels (beginner to advanced). For example, you may want to use different courses and tests with different levels during the course.
Includes tools for drip release of content in a scheduled and scheduled manner
The possibility of adding a lesson timer to check the amount of lessons completed by each student and also ensure that a certain amount of each lesson is completed.
No need to integrate the plugin with Forum, because they are already built in LearnDash.
Market your courses with various e-commerce tools like shopping cart, membership, subscription, and course packages.
Automatic email notification and detailed reporting
Ability to manage groups and user profiles (suitable for group work)
Support for different types of media such as videos, images, audio files, Adobe Captivate files, and Google Docs
2- Introduction of Lifter LMS plugin
Lifter LMS is a great alternative to LearnDash, but it’s worth noting that prices start at $299 per year for a full LMS package. Its price may seem high to many people, but the unique and practical features that this plugin offers, including integration with services such as WooCommerce, MailChimp, and AffiliateWP, make Lifter LMS one of the most popular plugins. It has become an online educational platform.
This plugin offers a trial version for $1 and is valid for 30 days. So there’s more incentive to test Lifter LMS before paying full price. Several features of this plugin are almost similar to LearnDash, but there are significant differences in this plugin. For example, Lifter LMS includes a graphics package with backgrounds and other design elements. You can also see customer information and it will help you sell your courses later.
Another reason the Lifter LMS plugin looks interesting for beginners is its ability to integrate with Divi and Beaver Builder. These drag-and-drop page builders eliminate the need for coding and provide a more visually appealing design experience.
The main features of the Lifter LMS plugin:
Direct WooCommerce integration to sell courses separately or in different packages
It has various tools with the ability to drag and drop for a very attractive design (suitable for beginners and those who want to design a professional platform in the simplest way possible)
The free version of this plugin is also available. So you can build a simple online training website for free. The only plugin that you have to pay for separately is the plugin related to the payment gateway.
Customer support includes technical support and lots of free training courses.
Support for providing various types of multimedia, beautiful course builder tools, publishing drip content, and providing tests
Creating a collective conversation space for professors and students to communicate with each other
Providing marketing tools such as multiple payment gateways, unlimited pricing models, coupons, etc.
3- Introduction of the LearnPress plugin
LearnPress is known as the easiest LMS plugin in the world. This plugin is completely free, but you may have to pay for compatible templates. Many of LearnPress’ basic plugins are free, and the support department will respond to your emails within 24 hours. You can also pay separately for access to things like certifications, instructor support, and WooCommerce support.
The main features of this LearnPress plugin:
- It has ready-made templates for designing landing pages for advertisements and explanations about a specific course, curriculum, and more
- The possibility of creating beautiful pages for information and announcements for people who may want to become teachers.
- LearnPress supports a large selection of payment gateways, including 2Checkout, net, and Stripe
- Support for multiple instructors for one course (possibility of specifying two or one instructor for a single course)
- The availability of the survey and scoring system by students after completing the courses
- Support for publishing content in a drip and scheduled manner along with random tests, membership fees, and WooCommerce ads
4- Introducing the Tutor LMS plugin
Tutor LMS is one of the newest in the world of WordPress LMS plugins. However, it has unique features such as a course builder, drag-and-drop test design, and support for Themeum’s powerful templates.
Tutor LMS also integrates with many eCommerce plugins, such as page builder plugins and other popular ones like GamiPress, BuddyPress, etc. Overall, the Tutor LMS feature set is similar to plugins like LearnDash and Lifter LMS.
The main features of this Tutor LMS plugin:
Access to the frontend course builder using the professional version of the Tutor LMS plugin (this feature allows new users to stay away from the coding space and complex tasks and create their courses using an easy-to-use visual builder tool design and organize)
Support more than 10 different types of questions for test design
It has question-and-answer and student forums
Support for several e-commerce plugins such as WooCommerce, EDD, Restrict Content Pro and Paid Membership Pro
It has useful features such as certificates, assignments, and Gradebook in the professional version.
Providing tools (one-click) to move between different platforms.
It currently supports LearnDash and LearnPress, but the list of supported platforms will continue to grow.
5- Introduction of the Sensei plugin
Sensei is provided as an extension for WooCommerce, so it is practically an eCommerce store plugin that can also sell videos and online courses. You create the courses you want, define the lessons, and add tests.
The price of this plugin starts at $129 and increases up to $279 depending on the number of sites you want to implement the platform on. This price is only for one year and you need to upgrade it annually. Sensei has a user interface similar to WordPress. So a novice user should have no problem creating a course.
The main features of this Sensei plugin:
Extensions integrate well with WooCommerce and WordPress.
Most of the WordPress themes available in the market are well-coordinated and compatible with Sensei.
User registration is done through WordPress.
Integration with WooCommerce allows users to instantly pay for a course. It can be shared or separated.
Provides a simple analysis of student grading, course completion, and enrollment information.
It offers multiple-question designs such as true or false, single-line questions, file loading, and multiple-choice questions for exam design.
Sensei will display random tests based on a bank of questions that you entered before the test started.
Exam grading can be done automatically or manually.
6- Introduction of the WP Courseware plugin
WP Courseware is one of the most promising LMS plugins for a reason. First of all, its price is much lower than some other plugins, which start at $99 per year. This amount supports two sites. Another interesting point is that WP Courseware is used by some of the top universities in the world such as the University of Illinois and the University of Wisconsin Madison.
WP Courseware has an impressive set of features. It uses drag-and-drop editors. You can easily create courses and even protect courses. Another important point is compatibility with many plugins and services such as OptimizePress, BuddyPress, and Visual Composer.
The main features of this WP Courseware plugin:
The most affordable package that this plugin offers is the $99 package with support for 2 websites for one year. So, if you are planning to create 2 online course websites, WP Courseware is a cost-effective option similar to plugins like LifterLMS and LearnDash.
The intuitive design is done with drag-and-drop functionality, and it also offers basic tools like course protection, drip content publishing, and email notifications.
By integrating WP Courseware with eCommerce plugins, you can sell your courses. You are not limited to just WooCommerce or a payment gateway.
The tests offer different types of questions and tags. In addition, if you want to create random tests during a course, you can use the question bank.
7- Introduction of Good LMS plugin
Good LMS retails for $31 and is the only functional LMS plugin available on CodeCanyon. The $31 fee only includes support and updates for one year, but after one year, you still have control over the plugin’s features. This is the cheapest plugin on the list.
Like many plugins, Good LMS also has features for creating courses, selling them, conducting exams, and issuing certifications. The design process is very similar to designing a regular blog post.
The main features of this Good LMS plugin:
It allows you to create an educational marketplace (like Udemy) by ranking courses and setting commissions for instructors.
The price of this plugin is much lower than other plugins.
Exam settings so that all students have multiple opportunities to participate in the exams.
Creating simple coupons helps you share codes to get more students.
This plugin relies heavily on the WordPress user interface, so the average WordPress user doesn’t need to learn new design techniques.
Now that you are familiar with several examples of plugins for creating online educational platforms, we want to teach you step-by-step how to implement this platform using the plugins introduced on the WordPress site.
Step-by-step steps to create and launch an online training platform
- Step 0: Choosing the right LMS plugin for WordPress
- Step 1: Installing WordPress on the website
- Step 2: Install and activate the LifterLMS plugin
- Step 3: Creating the first training course
- Step 4: Creating lessons and adding content to the relevant course
- Step 5: Preparing and presenting a certificate or certificate for the students of the course
These 5 steps are necessary for setting up an online educational platform. In the following, each of the steps will be examined in detail.
Step 0: Choosing the right LMS plugin for WordPress
To create an online learning platform with WordPress, you will need an LMS plugin that allows you to easily create your courses and add relevant content. Note that this plugin must protect your content and allow you to sell the course online.
As you know, there are many plugins to create this platform, and in this article, some of the most popular ones were introduced to you. However, three of the most popular plugins we suggest you use are LifterLMS, LearnDash, and WP Coursewar.
Each of these three plugins has unique, practical, and easy features and at the same time has a reasonable price. These plugins have a very simple user interface and provide you with basic features such as exams, documents, certificates, course progress, prerequisites, etc. Among these, the plugin that is suggested to you is LifterLMS, which is fully described in this article.
The reason for suggesting this plugin to you is that the LifterLMS plugin is an “all-in-one” plugin. In other words, it provides you with all the features you need at once. LearnDash and WP Courseware also allow you to pay online, but you lack some basic shopping features like discount codes, course packs, etc. Another point is that LifterLMS supports membership on the site internally, that is, it allows you to create a membership site without using external plugins.
The core LifterLMS plugin is free, but to add e-commerce capabilities and integrate with other marketing tools, you need to purchase one of its advanced paid packages. Its most popular package is called “Universe Bundle”, which costs $299 per year and allows you to access all the basic add-ons.
Step 1: Installing WordPress on the website
Before you start installing online learning platforms, you need to set up your WordPress website. For this, you need a domain and hosting. Regarding the domain, your website can go to a full domain (eg: sellcoursesonline.com) or a subdomain (eg: learn.sellcoursesonline.com). Regardless of the domain you use, it is recommended to separate the training platform (or membership site) from your blog or main WordPress site, as this will greatly help minimize potential technical issues.
You need a hosting provider to host your WordPress site and all your files. There are many sites for receiving hosting services from which you can get hosting. Among these sites, we can mention Mihan Webhost, Ganjahost, and Iranhost. Note that in hosting purchases, check things like speed, SSL certificate, daily backups, and technical support to buy the best types of hosting. After preparing the host, download WordPress from https://wordpress.org upload the file through the host’s control panel, and continue the installation process. After installing WordPress, we go to the main point, that is, setting up the educational platform.
Step 2: Install and activate the LifterLMS plugin
First, you need to download the original LifterLMS plugin. After downloading the LifterLMS plugin, go to the plugins menu and select the new plugin option. Then upload the plugin file to your WordPress site and install LifterLMS. As you know, to use the plugin, you need to activate it. When you activate the plugin for the first time, you need to do a series of initial settings. Just follow the on-screen instructions and make the necessary configurations in a few minutes.
After the initial setup of LifterLMS, you can add more advanced plugins to your site. In the following, we will teach you how to add the Stripe add-on file to the site. First, download the Stripe compressed file (.zip) and then upload the file to the site through the plugins menu. Continue the installation process similar to the method of installing all plugins and activating the plugin.
After activating this plugin, go to the LifterLMS menu, the settings section, then select the Checkout option, and finally go to Stripe. Using this path, you can integrate your Stripe account with LifterLMS and activate the desired payment gateways. Likewise, you can add and activate other add-ons to your site.
The third step: creating the first training course
Creating a course in LifterLMS is very simple. You must first create your course structure before you can add content to it. To do this, it is enough to select the add course option from the courses menu. Here you can choose a name for your course, create your course introduction page, specify the price of the course, and manage the registration status.
With a little scrolling, you will see options through which you can add the desired content to your product (course) page. LifterLMS creates a default product page based on the content you add in the WordPress editor. If you want to create a highly customized product page for your course, you can create a page using popular page builders like Thrive Architect. Then add it as your product page here.
This plugin allows you to specify the prerequisites of your courses, limit the duration of registration and the number of registrations, and also check the status of your courses.
You may ask how to add the price to the course information. To do this, go to the Product option. Click on the Add Access Plan option and then define the course title, price, payment type, and expiration time of access to the course. Finally, click on the Save Access Plans button. With LifterLMS, you can add more than one pricing plan to your course. For example, you can have a one-time payment per month or consider a monthly subscription for your users.
Another feature of this plugin is the management of professors and trainers. You can easily add new professors. It also allows you to manage students (manually add students to the course, manage registrations, etc.).
Similarly, you can create a new course using LifterLMS. Next, we’ll cover how to organize your courses and course content using the Course Builder.
Step 4: Creating lessons and adding content to the relevant course
LifterLMS has a drag-and-drop course builder that you can use to add lessons and sections to your course. You can launch the course builder in a few different ways:
Go to the Courses menu and select the Courses sub-menu. Then click on the right Builder option, below the course name.
You can also access this builder through the right panel on your course editor page by selecting the “Launch Course Builder” option.
On the Course Builder page, you will see several options for adding elements.
- Section: You can add a section to the course by clicking on this option or dragging it on the course page.
- New Lesson: You can add a new lesson to the course using this option.
- Existing Lesson: This option allows you to reuse previous lessons.
If you want to change the position of a lesson or move it to another section, you can do so using the drag-and-drop feature.
Now we want to see how to add content to your course lessons. To do this, click on the gear icon under the course name. A new window will open on the right side, where you can add a video, audio, quiz, or even assignments to the lesson.
If you want to add just one video to your lesson, simply copy and paste the desired YouTube, Vimeo, or Wistia video URL. If you want to add text or other types of content to the lesson, click on the WordPress icon. Now you can add your content to it using the WordPress editor.
If you plan to add quizzes to your lessons, select the Quiz tab. You can easily enter the desired questions for the exam by clicking on Add Question.
After selecting “Add Question”, a new window will open where you can select the type of question. To add any of the advanced quiz types, you must first add the Advanced Quiz add-on to LifterLMS.
After you have added content to your lessons, it is better to have a general review of the result of the work. You can do this by clicking on the lesson view icon. Also, make sure the lesson is published.
Step 5: Preparing and presenting a certificate or certificate for the students of the course
LifterLMS has several built-in elements to attract and engage learners. These include certificates, achievements, and emails. To send a course completion certificate to students after completing the course, you must first create a certificate. To create a certificate, go to Engagements, then select the Certificates option, and finally the Add Certificate button.
Selecting this option will open the WordPress editor to design and publish the certificate. If you scroll down a bit, you will see the option to upload an image. You can upload a new background image for the certificate. In each of the LifterLMS packages you subscribe to, you will have access to a graphics package as part of the LifterLMS Pro plugin. This graphics pack has many custom background images for certificates.
Once the background image is loaded, you need to add the content that sits on top of it. You can add text and graphics to your certificate using the WordPress editor.
To grant a certificate to a student, you need to go to Engagements and select the Engagement Add option. You can set the time to send your certificate. When you’re done, click the Publish button.
The certificate will be sent to the students at the end of the course, which will be accessible by default in the dashboard of each student. The LifterLMS plugin not only allows you to send emails but also has a plugin to integrate with Twilio that allows you to send SMS to your students in different situations when needed and based on the actions you take.