Do you have specific knowledge that you want to monetize by publishing paid courses? WordPress makes this quite easy. The problem is only that it's easy to get lost in the many options. This guide will make things easier for you. It will show you what kind of plugins you need to use and how to make them work together. It's short, I promise.
1. How To Create a Paid Course in
WordPress
Using WordPress Plugins To Make Money
From Your Knowledge:
What plugins do you need:
● LMS vs Membership
● Quizzes and Exams
● Tutorials
● Badges and Levels
● Discussions and feedback
●
And how to attract students and $$$
2. It's Easy To Get Confused By The
Many Options.
● Tens of LMS plugins and
themes
● Tens of membership plugins
and even more themes
● Hundreds of “Education”
themes
● Quiz plugins, forum plugins,
tutorials
So, where do you get started?
3. LMS Plugin or Membership Plugin?
One of the most important decisions is how to
structure your course: by using a Learning
Management System (LMS) or by using a
Membership Plugin.
● LMS usually assume that you will want to charge
once for completing a course.
● Membership plugins usually assume that your users
will stay longer and pay for monthly access.
Which leads to different flow (see next slide)
5. Completing a course is
one-time act.
● At the end you can issue certificate
● You can have quiz / exam
● User pays once for the course
● Then you can take them to next course
● And things start again
6. Building a Membership (on the other
hand) Means:
● Users will stay longer time
● Users will pay every month
● You need to add content all the time or user
loses interest
7. Or Mix Both:
● Create courses and lessons
● But charge for access monthly using a
membership plugin
● Get the best of both words
8. Some LMS Plugins to Consider
Because we are the developers Namaste! LMS it's natural to recommend it. Namaste! LMS is free,
connects to the best exam / quiz plugin, gives super-high flexibility options, assignments, gradebook,
certificates - possibly everything you may need.
Some other LMS plugins worth a look are:
● WP Courseware - probably the oldest LMS plugin, costs $67 - $137.
● WooThemes Sensei - supported by the huge Woothemes network. In case you use some of their other
products, this might be the best choice. $129 - $279.
● WP TrainUp - our best competitors. Although not free, it's modestly priced - £45. This is also the most
developer-friendly plugin along with Namaste! LMS.
● Docebo is maybe the most feature rich but it's cloud-based. There is a steep recurring monthly fee starting
at $170.
● Some of the plugins do all in one while others (like Namaste! LMS) integrate with other WordPress plugins.
Both approaches have their advantages and disadvantages.
9. Membership Plugins to Consider
Try our Konnichiwa! Not only it's completely free, but it's probably
the quickest to get started.
Also have a look at:
● Membership by WPMU starts free and has fair priced pro
version. Good choice for a quick start.
● Magic members is another easy one although it costs more.
● S2Member is developer-friendly and big in functions. The prices
are also fair.
● Paid Membership PRO starts with a free version, next one is
$97. This is a good and stable plugin.
● Memberpress is probably the most feature-rich. It comes with
yearly fee however.
10. Meanwhile Don't Forget That
You need to create GREAT, INTERESTING,
AND ENGAGING CONTENT!
12. Add Some Quizzes
A course is nothing without good quiz or exam at
the end (and why only one).
The Best Quiz Plugin Ever is WatuPRO,
Period!
● But if you choose LMS plugin for your course you may have to live
with the built-in quiz plugin
● Only Namaste! LMS integrates with WatuPRO and even with the
free Watu
● If you work with a Membership plugin you will be able to use any
quiz plugin
13. Add Some Tutorials
● Don't forget to format your course like a
tutorial
● Use videos, graphics and charts
● Use tutorial plugin like Daskal, Step-by-Step,
or Instruct (all are FREE)
14. Badges and Levels
● Make your course interactive and more interesting by
assigning badges for completion and levels like
“Intermediate”, “Advanced”, “Master”, “Jedi”, “Guru”, and
so on
15. Plugins for Badges and Levels
● If you are really technical I recommend you to
have a look at BadgeOS. This plugin is SUPER
POWERFUL (and also super complicated).
● Another great choice is WatuPRO Play except
that it's not free and requires WatuPRO as well.
● You can also manually assign badges and
levels but this will be TEDIOUS
16. Discussion and Feedback
● In the best case
you'll want the users
to communicate and
give you feedback!
● To do this you will
need some more
PLUGINS!
17. Contact Form Plugin
There are many of these but in most cases the free
CONTACT FORM 7
Will be good enough
@
18. Add a Forum Plugin
There are many forum plugins, but the best are:
● BBPress
● Simple:Press
● Vanilla Forums (Integration plugin)
Integrating the forum inside the protected course
pages will be easier if you have chosen to use a
Membership plugin rather than LMS plugin
20. Start Selling The Course
● Drive traffic to the site
● Keep members happy
● Add content
● Use affiliate program for more sales
● Don't forget badges, certificates, and rewards
● Put some content free to drive SEO traffic
● Build slideshows like this to draw more interest
21. Conclusion!
1) Install LMS or membership plugin
2) Create payment plans or prices for courses,
exams etc.
3) Create your content
4) Start selling
At the end, steps 3 and 4 are likely to cost you
more in time and/or money than step 1 and 2.
22. Thank You!
Thanks for watching this presentation. For a
longer and more detailed version check here:
http://namaste-lms.org/articles/create-paid-course.php
