Online Course Platform – Using the best online course platform for your educational content can have a significant impact on the success of your venture. Identifying the medium that suits your needs can be challenging but not impossible. By asking the right questions, knowing what key features to look for, and taking the time to weigh your options, you can make the right decision.
Here we show you all the top online course platforms available today and share tips on how to choose the one that can help you achieve your goals.
Online Course Platform
Online course platforms are digital channels through which educational resources can be made accessible to a global audience. These platforms can be used to provide engaging learning modules and tools through text, audio, video and other formats.
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A standalone platform lets you create your own online learning website that you don’t have to share with other brands and content creators. It is ideal for solo entrepreneurs and small businesses. But for your venture to be profitable, you need to put a lot of effort into marketing and selling your courses.
A shared platform is like a learning content marketplace where your courses appear alongside thousands of other digital assets from different creators. The advantage of this type of platform is the opportunity to reach more students with minimal effort. However, you would be trading a larger portion of your profit for this type of convenience.
Although WordPress is mostly used for blogging, its flexible features, along with the right plugins, can allow you to turn any website into an online course platform. But, using WordPress in this way requires technical know-how, so it is best for users who are already familiar with its tools.
Designed for content creators with a large following, Kajabi is an all-in-one online course platform that can also help you optimize your website. Through it you can access your site, marketing tools and products from a single dashboard. It also has powerful analytics that gives you reliable business insights and real-time business.
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It doesn’t have free accounts, but it does offer a 14-day trial. You can choose from three monthly plans that start at $149. If you prefer annual billing, you can save up to 20%.
The basic plan lets you create up to three products, while the growth, which costs $199 per month, lets you create up to fifteen. With both plans, you can build unlimited landing pages and send unlimited marketing emails. As for its Pro plan, which costs $399 per month, you can create a hundred products, make unlimited landing pages and send as many as two million emails.
Udemy is one of the biggest and best free online course platforms today, with over a hundred and thirty courses in their system. It lets you host and build free courses without limitations. If you’re new to course creation, Udemy has resources that can help you create and sell profitable learning experiences online. Best of all, it’s available for free.
In exchange for convenience and ease of use, Udemy takes a big cut of your profits. If, say, a student finds your course on the platform and decides to pay for it, you only get 50% of the sale. However, if you sell directly to prospects, you get a bigger cut. If a student enrolls in a course after clicking on a referral link from your socials, you can get about 97% of the profit.
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If you’re looking to test the waters without spending a dime, Thinkific’s free plan with zero transaction fees lets you do just that. It allows you to create up to three courses under your brand.
Thinkific has paid plans, starting at $49 per month. All three of its paid plans allow you to create unlimited courses and reach an unlimited number of students.
Its most popular plan, Pro, is ideal for content creators who want to take this venture to the next level. For $99 per month, you can issue course completion certificates, assignments, and live lessons with Zoom. You would also get advanced pricing options. As for its $499 per month Premier plan, it’s designed for businesses that want to deliver online training on a larger scale.
Skillshare is one of the largest course marketplaces for creative professions or interests such as animation, photography, illustration, writing, and film. Many of the courses on the platform are taught by prominent artists and creatives. Even if you don’t have your own audience or a well-established brand, its large user base can work to your advantage, allowing you to earn right away.
Top 10 Things To Look For When Choosing The Perfect Online Course Platform
Nevertheless, established content creators have the biggest advantage on Skillshare. Since everyone earns based on a loyalty system, about 30% of their premium membership revenue goes to an elite pool of teachers on the platform. The more people watch your videos, the more you earn.
Its premium plans are affordable, starting at $8.25 per month if you choose annual billing. It also has pricing plans for businesses that cost $99 per user per year.
Built for business professionals and aspiring entrepreneurs, Teachable gives you an opportunity to grow your brand and earn passive income through online courses. As a content creator, you get full control over branding, marketing, pricing, and so much more. You can create multimedia coaching sessions on its powerful yet easy-to-use editor.
Its basic plan costs $29 per month (billed annually), while its Pro plan costs $99 per month. It also offers a $249 monthly plan for businesses. All its paid plans offer unlimited hosting and students, student management, lecture comments, etc.
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Teachable also has resources for its content creators, allowing you to improve how you build and sell your online courses.
If you are looking to build engaging and interactive learning courses, Learnworlds is a good option for you. It supports e-books, video interactions, notes, self-assessments and other fun learning features.
LearnWorlds has a drag-and-drop editor that allows you to create online educational resources in no time and with no prior experience. It also offers a wide range of customizable templates for website and landing pages. You can change the themes to match your branding.
LearnWorlds offers a free 30-day trial. After the trial period, you can sign up for their paid plans, which start at $24 per month with annual billing. They also have robust plans for businesses and learning centers that receive high volumes of learners.
Types Of Online Learning Platforms
LearnDash prides itself on being the most trusted WordPress learning management system for businesses and other digital creators. It has powerful administration tools that give you more control over your courses and students. By using a self-hosted tool, you would not be bound by the limitations of hosted alternatives. Additionally, you can build engaging learning experiences without technical skills.
If you already use WordPress, you can also use this tool. It has three plans: Basic ($159), Plus ($189), and Pro ($329). All their paid plans offer unlimited courses and users, advanced quizzes, certificates and badges, drip courses, and free integrations, among others.
Podia is an easy-to-use platform designed for beginners. It has intuitive tools that let you build online courses without technical expertise. From a single dashboard, you can manage your content, market and payments.
You can choose between two plans. Mover costs $39 per month if you pay annually. This includes storefront, unlimited courses and clients, webinars, and email marketing. For $79 per month, you can get extra features like Zoom integration, blog, affiliate marketing, and offsite buy buttons.
Best Online Learning Platforms
If you ever decide to switch to another platform, Podia makes it easier for you by migrating your content for free.
If you like building multimedia courses, Ruzuku is a platform worth considering. It has a user-friendly interface that allows beginners to create step-by-step learning experiences with text, PDFs and more. You can outline and reorder the steps with ease. You can also host live webinars on the platform with up to a hundred participants.
Ruzuku offers three paid plans, all of which have unlimited courses and students, as well as unlimited video and audio hosting. Solo instructors have two options: the bootstrapper plan, which costs $74.75 when billed annually, and up-and-comer, which costs $83.08 per month.
For larger organizations and institutions, Ruzuku has a $125 monthly plan that allows for multiple instructors and site managers.
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Academy of Mine is an all-in-one LMS platform that can help you build personalized learning experiences for B2B training, certifications or professional development.
Due to its extensive features, it is most ideal for organizations or educational institutions with multiple instructors. Starting at $9,997 per year, you can build unlimited courses using a variety of media formats, ranging from text, PDFs, and videos.
The platform also offers 15 hours worth of onboarding support, including walkthroughs, content creation lessons, data migration assistance, and more.
Knowing what to look for in an online course platform can make it easier for you to narrow down your options. Although different platforms cater to different needs, there are some features that everyone can benefit from.
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Ideally, an online course platform should be able to integrate with other much needed online solutions such as email marketing tools, analytics, and more.
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