Creating an E-Learning Platform: 10 Tips for Development

The world of teaching and learning has taken a new turn thanks to e-commerce websites. This new, time- and money-saving option is proving to be a big hit with both teachers and students. Additionally, the convenience of accessing a training session or course through a learning management system is particularly appealing. For a company seeking a simple way to deliver new learning content to its employees, an LMS is an excellent solution that can also be easily created.

The Essentials in Brief

Which Online Platform Would You Like to Create?

In e-learning, there are different business models. Two types are popular. In most cases, it works as follows: the instructors or teachers usually create their own courses and receive payment for them, minus the platform’s commission. An administrator, on the other hand, receives a fixed amount. The alternative is the subscription model. Here, the administrator or site operator usually receives the revenue from all online courses. These earnings can then be used, if needed, to pay other personnel such as teachers and instructors. A teacher can also receive their compensation on some learning platforms through a site commission. 

How to Properly Create Your Own Learning Management System

Give your e-learning platform an attractive appearance with a simple UI/UX design. Additionally, there should be good navigation, and the user should find the platform easy to use. It is also important that there is an option to create certificates. Furthermore, the e-learning software should be tailored to the chosen industry and its customers. For example, if you decide to create a learning platform offering IT courses, then it should only feature those learning applications. Ensure that the courses are interesting for people in that industry. Moreover, do not forget mobile learning if you want to create a successful learning platform.

Udemy is one of the leading e-learning platforms on the market today.

Homepage

You can lay the foundation on your website. Provide users with the necessary tools so they can find the courses they want. All information about the e-learning platform should also be easy and practical to find. Furthermore, the content must be presented with appealing illustrations. You can also emphasize in several places that the users of this platform benefit in many ways. Highlight the favorites of your courses. Showcase the popularity and the positive reviews of your course offerings. For the design of the site, it is also important whether it is a corporate platform for employees or if the e-learning content consists of public courses.

Dashboard for Everyone

Every admin has their own control panel, also known as a dashboard. On an e-learning platform, it makes sense for both students and teachers to have such a dashboard. Additionally, a teacher should be able to offer a student a customized dashboard for instruction so that both parties can exchange the necessary information and data. Using the dashboard, the teacher can track viewership, transactions, and much more. Students benefit from the connection to social media, course upgrades, email settings, transactions, and profile management. Drag and drop functions are also always welcome—that is, the ability to use site functions via drag or drop with the mouse.

Basic Fundamentals

An e-learning platform like Udemy should have various features, although developing these features is often costly. However, they are usually the foundation for a platform’s success. For instance, an online course should be easy and quick to find. It is also practical if courses can be imported in PDF, DOC, or another format so that not everything has to be entered manually. Additionally, infographics and surveys are well received by users for utilization and improvement. Moreover, custom setting options should not be missing and you should see if you can automate important functions. A public e-learning platform also enables the use of affiliate links to increase its revenue. For example, open source also presents itself as a tool for the platform. There is plenty of software available that you can use and where the code can be viewed.

Core Characteristic: Course Design

The most important element when creating e-learning is a comprehensive course offering. These e-learning courses can be created effortlessly with our software. Courses should include quizzes, readings, and other content. Upon completion, participants receive certifications that confirm their achievement. IT skills are not required for using the platform or participating in the courses. Important information about the e-learning course should be communicated via notifications, such as push or email.

Core Characteristic: Discussion

The learning platform Udemy not only offers a wide range of courses but also provides appropriate forums for them. This is also possible with our help. For example, this can be achieved by integrating bbPress or through free linking with BuddyPress, depending on your specific needs.

Core Characteristic: Teachers & Revenue Sharing

Your e-learning platform should allow teachers to create their own courses and offer them on your platform, while you act solely as the admin. For this, as the platform provider, you are entitled to a commission percentage.

Skillshare is a good alternative to Udemy.

Advice for Creating an E-Learning Platform

Set Clear Learning Objectives

It is very important to design clear learning objectives for your course offerings right from the start, as students are often under time pressure. Therefore, opt for clear learning objectives to serve as decision-making aids.

Make the Courses Interactive

When developing the courses, ensure that students have ample opportunities to engage actively through the use of audio, video, or text.

Plan the Content Effectively

You should carefully plan the content in order to offer an optimal product. Keep in mind that the virtual classroom of your e-learning platform stands out significantly from offerings like real-time lectures or other e-learning courses. It offers a range of advantages. Therefore, the content should be memorable, up-to-date, and unique in its form.

Offer Qualified Educators

For the success of an e-learning platform, the support of highly qualified educators or experts in their respective fields is essential. They should influence the course progression either as speakers or contributors. A partnership with a well-known educational institution would also be beneficial, making the course offering appear more trustworthy and competent.

Use Multimedia Learning Materials

For your course offerings, a mix of different media—including texts, videos, audio, infographics, or various types of presentations—is recommended. They prove to be more effective than an offering in pure text form or having all the learning material solely as audio content. Since there are rarely immediate human reactions to online courses, students tend to lose interest.

Regular Assessments

A successful e-learning platform continuously requires accurate evaluation of its students’ work in order to precisely measure their progress. This evaluation can be supported by personalized recommendations. Additionally, analyses or reports on the course progression should be shared to clearly highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the participants.

Offer Valid Certificates or Special Awards

It is important that every student who completes your course is duly certified, and that these certificates add value to their career. Special awards can also serve as career boosters.

Coursera is an e-learning website that also offers certificates.

Technology

Technical Expertise

You should have a good knowledge of programming, as every part of the e-learning platform—including user management, course pages, etc.—needs to be programmed. PHP, NATTER, and NodeJS are all excellent tools to work with when it comes to easily creating a platform. NodeJS is the newest, while PHP is used by many popular sites. It does not matter which language is used, as long as the development team is comfortable with it. The server and the database must have the appropriate settings. For more challenging cases, a dedicated server may be necessary, whereas for smaller projects, a host with GoDaddy is recommended.

Costs

The costs of an e-learning platform increase when you outsource the development. However, competent development by a skilled team usually proves to be the best option. The costs for regular maintenance and updates, on the other hand, are much lower.

Time

It typically takes around 2 to 3 months to develop a fully functional e-learning platform.

Ready to Start an E-Learning Platform

Popular tools such as Teachable and Thinkific are well-suited for handling e-learning topics, student management, media and text expansion, membership accounts, as well as servers and databases.

Conclusion

Free Consultation