a:4:{s:5:"child";a:1:{s:0:"";a:1:{s:3:"rss";a:1:{i:0;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:3:"


";s:7:"attribs";a:1:{s:0:"";a:1:{s:7:"version";s:3:"2.0";}}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:1:{s:0:"";a:1:{s:7:"channel";a:1:{i:0;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:52:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	

 
	
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
	";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:3:{s:0:"";a:8:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"LearnDash Archives - LearnDash";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:25:"https://www.learndash.com";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:47:"A Learning Management System Built on Wordpress";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:13:"lastBuildDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 21 Mar 2022 11:15:48 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"language";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2:"en";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:9:"generator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"https://wordpress.org/?v=5.8";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:5:"image";a:1:{i:0;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:11:"
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:1:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:3:"url";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:80:"https://www.learndash.com/wp-content/uploads/cropped-learndash-favicon-32x32.png";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"LearnDash Archives - LearnDash";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:25:"https://www.learndash.com";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:5:"width";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2:"32";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:6:"height";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2:"32";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}}s:4:"item";a:10:{i:0;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:76:"
		
		
					
		
		
		
				
		
		

					
										
					
					
			
		
		
			";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:5:{s:0:"";a:7:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:59:"How LearnDash 3.6 Offers a Sleeker Experience for Our Users";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:86:"https://www.learndash.com/how-learndash-3-6-offers-a-sleeker-experience-for-our-users/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:95:"https://www.learndash.com/how-learndash-3-6-offers-a-sleeker-experience-for-our-users/#comments";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 03 Dec 2021 02:37:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"category";a:2:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:9:"LearnDash";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}i:1;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"LearnDash Tips";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:34:"https://www.learndash.com/?p=29330";s:7:"attribs";a:1:{s:0:"";a:1:{s:11:"isPermaLink";s:5:"false";}}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:429:"<p>From new user flows to cleaner backend organization, LearnDash 3.6 reduces hassle while keeping the tools you need right where you can find them.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com/how-learndash-3-6-offers-a-sleeker-experience-for-our-users/">How LearnDash 3.6 Offers a Sleeker Experience for Our Users</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com">LearnDash</a>.</p>
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:16:"Mikelya Fournier";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:40:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:6185:"
<h2>From new user flows to cleaner backend organization, LearnDash 3.6 reduces hassle while keeping the tools you need right where you can find them.</h2>



<p>It’s easy for educators online to become overwhelmed by the number of technical decisions they have to make in order to launch their course, as well as all the settings, options, and customizations each new tool comes with.</p>



<p>Given how many online tools there are (LMSs, CMSs, CRMs, social media networks, hosting sites, marketing automation tools, email tools, SEO tools, themes, security tools, etc.), any educator may quickly find themself working with over a dozen tools in order to create, launch, and maintain their course.</p>



<p>Almost all of this is inevitable. The only way around it is to try your luck with an “<a href="https://www.learndash.com/the-dangerous-myth-of-the-all-in-one-lms/">all-in-one</a>” option that will claim to deliver on half those options, and then only provide the most minimal support for each. However, what you <em>can</em> do is find tools that have good user experiences, so the time you take learning to use each of these tools is minimal.</p>



<p>That’s what we chose to focus on when we worked on the LearnDash 3.6 release. We wanted to offer a number of tools that would enhance the functionality of your course while also making it easier for our users to find what they need and accomplish their goals.</p>



<p>To that end, here are a few of the top new features from LearnDash 3.6 that improve the user experience for our users.</p>



<h3>1. The Advanced Tab.</h3>



<p>One of the classic problems of interface design is knowing which options need to be front and center, and which should be tucked away. Few interface problems are more frustrating than not being able to find a setting to turn on or off. At the same time, when there are too many settings to configure all in one place, it can overwhelm the users, making it even harder for them to find what they’re looking for.</p>



<p>In LearnDash 3.6, we’ve remedied this problem by taking options that most of our users don’t need to touch (or only need to touch one time), and moving them to a new Advanced tab. If you need to find information about custom labels, REST API, or data upgrades, it’s now in this tab. Other options that you need to access more often stay right where they are, where you can easily find them.</p>



<h3>2. Course Grid 2.0</h3>



<p>On the topic of new and improved user experience, the latest version of Course Grid is now Guttenberg compatible. That means you can insert it as a block in your page editor, then drag and drop it to where you’d like it to appear relative to other content blocks on the page. Displaying your courses where you want and how you want will be that much easier going forward.</p>



<p>The Course Grid 2.0 also includes new options to edit its appearance on your website. This includes new skins, new templates, and new elements you can choose to include or exclude. As a result, you’ll have more control over how your courses display on your site, and can fine-tune it to your heart’s content.</p>



<p>Last but not least, the course grid now includes filter options on the front end, so that your learners can search your courses according to pricing and taxonomy. This is huge for any organization with a large catalog of learning content, as it will improve the user experience for learners while also making it easier for them to showcase their content.</p>



<h3>3. New User Registration Flow.</h3>



<p>This is another request we’ve heard many times, and we’re excited to finally be able to deliver. When new users sign up for your course, you can now create a seamless registration flow with dedicated registration pages that automatically logs users in once they sign up.</p>



<p>This will cut down on confusion from new users and make it easier for them to start their course right away. And it’s worth pointing out: Less confusion for your users means fewer annoyed learners messaging you about why they can’t access their course right away.</p>



<h3>4. LearnDash Integrity.</h3>



<p>Finally, after you go through all the work of creating a new course, you want to be sure your content is safe, right? For most of our users, <a href="https://www.learndash.com/how-to-protect-your-course-from-content-theft/">this isn’t a huge concern</a>. It takes a lot of work to steal content, and many users are more interested in purchasing the real deal from a creator they trust rather than try to hunt down plagiarized material from someone else. However, pirated content is pirated content, and while it’s impossible (or at least unfeasible) to completely prevent someone from stealing your materials, you can make it harder.</p>



<p>To that end, we’ve now made it easier for you to protect your intellectual property. LearnDash Integrity comes with hotlink protection, which prevents third-party websites from directly linking to your content and eating up all your bandwidth. It also makes it harder for users to copy your content, and prevents concurrent logins.</p>



<h3>Your hard work should go toward your course.</h3>



<p>It’s hard work to launch an online course, but the payoff for most educators is incredibly rewarding. You get to share your expertise with people who recognize its value and are willing to pay you what it’s worth.</p>



<p>We want to make sure that your hard work goes where it will do the most good—not struggling with a user interface, or placating irritated customers, or trying to research ways to fight content pirates. The more we can do to make everything that <em>isn’t</em> creating your course fade into the background, the more energy you will have for delivering the knowledge you’re known for.</p>



<p>We think that experience must feel pretty great.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com/how-learndash-3-6-offers-a-sleeker-experience-for-our-users/">How LearnDash 3.6 Offers a Sleeker Experience for Our Users</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com">LearnDash</a>.</p>
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:36:"http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/";a:1:{s:10:"commentRss";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:91:"https://www.learndash.com/how-learndash-3-6-offers-a-sleeker-experience-for-our-users/feed/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:38:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/";a:1:{s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1:"2";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:1;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:60:"
		
		
		
		
		
				
		
		

					
										
					
		
		
			";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:3:{s:0:"";a:6:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:49:"3 Ways LearnDash 3.6 Helps You Market Your Course";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:76:"https://www.learndash.com/3-ways-learndash-3-6-helps-you-market-your-course/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 30 Nov 2021 21:58:57 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"category";a:2:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:9:"LearnDash";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}i:1;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"LearnDash Tips";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:34:"https://www.learndash.com/?p=29326";s:7:"attribs";a:1:{s:0:"";a:1:{s:11:"isPermaLink";s:5:"false";}}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:345:"<p>The latest update allows for new ways for you to present your course to learners.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com/3-ways-learndash-3-6-helps-you-market-your-course/">3 Ways LearnDash 3.6 Helps You Market Your Course</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com">LearnDash</a>.</p>
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:16:"Mikelya Fournier";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:40:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:6105:"
<h2>The latest update allows for new ways for you to present your course to learners.</h2>



<p>We hope you’ve heard by now about our release of <a href="https://www.learndash.com/learndash-version-3-6-is-here/">LearnDash 3.6</a>. It’s an exciting update to our platform with a number of much-requested features, as well as a few new ones that we think our users will love.</p>



<p>That said, it’s one thing to read about a new feature and other thing to know how to apply it to your course. So with that in mind, I’d like to take a closer look at three of the features that can give you an edge when selling and marketing your course. As always, you can read about how these features work in more detail on our <a href="https://www.learndash.com/support/">documentation</a>.</p>



<h3>1. Subscription payments.</h3>



<p>The most exciting update for most of our users is the new subscription payment option. Our new recurring payments option makes it easier for you to set a billing interval for your course, and to set a trial period so that learners can get a taste of what you have to offer before they dive in.</p>



<p>This has been one of our most-requested additions for a long time, so we’re excited to finally include it in our LearnDash core offerings. Before now, users have had to use a separate plugin to enable this feature. While some of those plugins offer advanced features that may be valuable to some users, they are no longer necessary for users who want to sell their course by subscription.</p>



<p>We’ve talked in the past about the <a href="https://www.learndash.com/should-you-use-a-subscription-pricing-strategy/">benefits of offering subscriptions for your course</a>, and how they can help bring in hesitant learners. Subscriptions lower the barrier-to-entry on a course, making it easier for learners to justify paying $10/mo. rather than $100 up front. Plus, it’s easier to sell learners on a pricing structure they’re familiar with (Netflix!). If you’re offering a course that includes a lot of fresh, original content, this pricing structure is essential.</p>



<h3>2. Per-course redirects.</h3>



<p>Where do your learners go after they register and enroll in one of your courses? The obvious answer for most educators is that you want them to be redirected to the course main page, so they can start learning while their engagement is high.</p>



<p>However, the moment after a learner enrolls is a time when you know you have their full attention. They’ve just completed a purchase, they’re clearly invested in your material, and if you wait to engage them on another day, you risk catching them when they’re tired, stressed, or otherwise uninterested.</p>



<p>So, instead of sending them straight to the course page, think about whether this can be another marketing opportunity. Per-course redirects allow you to build landing pages specifically tailored to appear to leaners after they complete the registration and enrollment process. You can use the same URL for each course, or customize them based on what course your learner enrolled in.</p>



<p>For instance, you can use these pages to:</p>



<ul><li>Suggest other, related courses that they may want to enroll in.</li><li>Offer a special discount code.</li><li>Offer a reduced rate on an add-on or micro course.</li><li>Pitch your one-on-one coaching sessions.</li><li>Direct learners to resources they need to download before they begin.</li><li>Welcome them to your course and encourage them to follow/subscribe to you elsewhere.</li></ul>



<p>Your most valuable customers are the ones you already have. The learner who has just purchased a course is more likely to purchase another course than a lead who has come in cold. Per-course redirects let you pitch to new leads when they’re still flaming hot.</p>



<h3>3. New email settings.</h3>



<p>Finally, we’ve added a new option for sending emails to your learners, located under a new tab which you can find by following: wp-admin &gt; LearnDash LMS &gt; Settings &gt; Emails. This allows you to send email based on specific triggers (“Course Purchase Success,” “Group Purchase Success,” or “New User Registration”) so that new learners have the confirmation they need that their purchase and registration process was a success. You can even update the “from” name of your emails so that it doesn’t say “WordPress,” without having to install a separate plugin.</p>



<p>This may not seem like marketing, but it does have a lot to do presenting a good brand image. Modern buyers are used to seeing confirmation emails in their inbox when they purchase something. It’s a subtle reassurance that what they wanted to happen did, in fact, happen. The more smoothly that process takes place, the greater credibility you have with them as an educator.</p>



<p>It’s also important that, when they receive emails from you, those emails come <em>from you</em>. A learner who signs up for your course who then receives a confirmation email from WordPress may wonder if they made some kind of mistake. By having your own name on the email, it increases the professionalism of your communication.</p>



<h3>A smooth presentation means a more professional appearance.</h3>



<p>At the end of the day, one of the most important qualities you can market to your learners is <em>professionalism</em>. Professionalism establishes your own authority, and helps build trust with learners. It sets you apart from those who are selling low-quality content, and demonstrates that you pay attention to the details so that your learners have a great experience.</p>



<p>That kind of quality is something you can market—both to learners who buy your course and get to experience it for themselves, and to learners who are on the fence.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com/3-ways-learndash-3-6-helps-you-market-your-course/">3 Ways LearnDash 3.6 Helps You Market Your Course</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com">LearnDash</a>.</p>
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:2;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:63:"
		
		
		
		
		
				
		
		
		

					
										
					
		
		
			";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:3:{s:0:"";a:6:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:56:"LMS Pricing Plans: What’s Best for Your Online Course?";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:78:"https://www.learndash.com/lms-pricing-plans-whats-best-for-your-online-course/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 19 Nov 2021 14:39:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"category";a:3:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11:"Comparisons";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}i:1;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:9:"LearnDash";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}i:2;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:9:"WordPress";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:34:"https://www.learndash.com/?p=29282";s:7:"attribs";a:1:{s:0:"";a:1:{s:11:"isPermaLink";s:5:"false";}}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:408:"<p>How can you compare the cost of your Learning Management System if each service uses a different pricing model? Here’s the breakdown.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com/lms-pricing-plans-whats-best-for-your-online-course/">LMS Pricing Plans: What’s Best for Your Online Course?</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com">LearnDash</a>.</p>
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:16:"Mikelya Fournier";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:40:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11383:"
<h2>How can you compare the cost of your Learning Management System if each service uses a different pricing model? Here’s the breakdown.</h2>



<p>Educators new to online education often find themselves faced with a bewildering array of options for their learning management system. Each of these platforms, apart from offering different features, interfaces, and user experiences, also comes with its own pricing structure—whether that means taking a cut of your sales, charging by the user, offering a tiered monthly subscription, or charging an annual licensing fee.</p>



<p>The LMS pricing plan you choose can have significant repercussions for your business. In some cases, it could expose you to a wide audience while also taking a big chunk of your sales. In others, it could simply make it harder for you to get your business off the ground. However, understanding the implications of these pricing structures can be complex, and since they’re all different, making a one-to-one comparison isn’t always possible.</p>



<p>So, in this post, we’re going to do a deep dive into what some of these pricing structures mean from a business perspective so that you can make the best choice for your learning program.</p>



<h3>Elearning Marketplace: Host your course for free, lose a cut of your profits.</h3>



<p>One of the most famous learning platforms is <a href="https://www.learndash.com/the-risk-with-udemy-and-similar-sites/">Udemy</a>, a global marketplace where any instructor can sign up for free to sell their courses potential learners around the world. Because it’s so well known, it can attract a wide range of learners who can search for courses by subject or keyword. This means instructors on Udemy get to tap into a huge audience without having to build their own marketing from the ground up. Sounds amazing!</p>



<p>Unfortunately, that’s where the good news stops. Udemy strictly controls how sales happen on their site, while also taking a huge cut of all transactions. They not only set both minimum and maximum price points for your courses (nothing under $9.99 and nothing over $199.99), they also take&nbsp;<a href="https://support.udemy.com/hc/en-us/articles/229605008-Instructor-Revenue-Share">63% of all sales</a>&nbsp;made through their marketplace, whether a student has clicked on one of their ads or browsed through the site.</p>



<p>For users who opt into the Udemy Deals Program, the situation can be even worse. Udemy promotes this program as a way for them to run targeted discounts in specific markets to draw in more students, but what this really means is that at any time they can slash the price of your $79.99 course to $9.99 in order to draw in promotional sales, and they walk away with a cut of that revenue.</p>



<p>The only way you can keep most of your list price (97% after transaction fees) is if you run marketing promotions using your own trackable coupons or referral links, but then you’re back to running your marketing yourself.</p>



<h3>Tiered Pricing: Easy onboarding, but everything you need is just out of reach.</h3>



<p>While Udemy is certainly a well-known brand, most LMSs don’t actually use the marketplace pricing structure. Instead, they offer purchasing tiers with monthly or annual subscriptions, so that educators can choose whichever plan seems to best fit their budget and their teaching needs. These LMSs usually offer unlimited users and courses, and only take a modest cut of profits (maybe 5%), and mostly only on their free plans.</p>



<p>Overall, tiered pricing plans like this have a lot of benefits. Users who are just starting out can keep their costs low by going without a few features, while those with bigger budgets can use more advanced tools. However, in practice, this payment structure has some significant pitfalls.</p>



<p>First, as anyone who has ever looked at these pricing tiers knows, the tool you really need always seems to be&nbsp;<em>just</em>out of reach. That’s understandable! LMSs are businesses, and they need to do what they need to do to survive. But when you’re trying to plan a course and even basic features aren’t offered until the “Pro” pricing tier, it can become pretty frustrating.</p>



<p>This is especially true when the tools included at various pricing tiers don’t reflect the actual costs associated with developing them. Sometimes, these LMSs will draw users in by offering expensive services at their lowest pricing tiers (“unlimited <a href="https://www.learndash.com/online-education-is-about-more-than-video/">video hosting</a>!”), but then ask you to pay $99/mo to include graded <a href="https://www.learndash.com/7-ways-make-better-quizzes-course/">multiple choice quizzes</a> on your course. Maybe that makes sense to them from a business perspective, but as a user, it just doesn’t feel good.</p>



<p>The bigger problem here is that not every course can be modified easily if it isn’t built with the right tools to begin with. If you build a course using one set of tools, and then later upgrade, making use of your new features means going back and modifying your original course.</p>



<p>What this means is that, if you’re looking at an LMS that uses a tiered pricing structure, do your due diligence to be sure they actually have the tools you need to run a course the way you want to. (In fact, do this research the other way around: first decide what <a href="https://www.learndash.com/how-to-determine-your-lms-needs-when-searching-for-an-elearning-platform/">instructional design tools are important to you</a>, <em>then</em> make sure the platform you’re looking at supports them.) Once you’re sure it meets your requirements, look at how they’ve structured their pricing tiers, and decide whether the tier you need is worth the cost.</p>



<h3>Pay Per User: Simpler pricing structure, but a giant bill to match.</h3>



<p>Some LMSs takes a different approach. Rather than basing their pricing tiers on features, they charges based on the number of users on your account (or the number of courses you create).</p>



<p>Let’s take Talent LMS as an example. Talent is an impressive platform, with a lot of the advanced elearning features that are sadly lacking from competitors like <a href="https://www.learndash.com/lms-comparison-learndash-vs-teachable/">Teachable</a>, <a href="https://www.learndash.com/lms-comparison-learndash-vs-thinkific/">Thinkific</a>, or <a href="https://www.learndash.com/lms-comparison-learndash-vs-kajabi/">Kajabi</a>. Their basic plan, which starts at $59/mo., will cap your users at 40. The next plan up, which costs $129/mo., caps users at 100, and so on and so forth. These are for their standard plans, when you already know how many learners you expect to have. If you want a little more flexibility, you can opt for their “active plan,” which won’t cap your users, but will charge a higher rate for any users beyond your plan’s limit.</p>



<p>In many ways, they’re wise to choose a pricing structure that puts their full range of features in the hands of their users as quickly as possible. It means their users can start building the course they had actually envisioned from day one, instead of being hampered in the early stages of their course from a lack of necessary tools. Plus, users face no tough calls about whether to double their monthly bill just to get the one key feature left out of the lower pricing tier.</p>



<p>However, tying the monthly bill to the number of active users poses some sales problems. You might easily be misled into reading $129/month for up to 100 users as “each user costs $1.29.” That’s not going to make or break the cost of your course, and you can easily bump the price of your course up to cover it.</p>



<p>But that $1.29/user fee isn’t just one payment. It’s every month. Over the course of a year, that user will cost you $15.48, and will continue to do so for as long as they’re on your account, regardless of whether they’re still paying for content.</p>



<p>Now, maybe if you’re selling your course for $2,000, and it doesn’t matter much to you whether a user stays on your account for four or five years after making that one purchase. This pricing model may also work fine for large corporations, who don’t mind paying less than $20 a year per employee on their platform. But for anyone running a business with tighter profit margins, these expenses can be crippling.</p>



<h3>Self-hosted + Licensing: A little more set-up, a lot more control.</h3>



<p>As a WordPress-based LMS, we here at LearnDash operate under a different model altogether. Instead of hosting your course ourselves, we leave it to you to choose the hosting option that best fits your needs. This is one of the biggest costs for most users, but it’s also the one that will have the most significant implications for their course infrastructure.</p>



<p>Once they have their WordPress website set up (or if they happen to already be running a WordPress website), they can then purchase our premium plugin for an annual licensing fee of $189 (our Plus Package, including Pro Panel). With that they have access to&nbsp;<em>everything</em>&nbsp;our plugin offers, along with as many users and courses as their hosting plan can support. And we don’t charge a cut of your course sales either—you keep every penny you earn.</p>



<p>For some educators, particularly those who are worried about their technical abilities, the thought of setting up a website can be intimidating—especially as the hassle is often exaggerated. The reality is that you don’t need to be a web developer to launch a course using LearnDash, and we’ve heard from many users who describe themselves as not being technically savvy that they were able to successfully launch a course on our platform.</p>



<p>And the benefits to building your online course on WordPress are significant. You get to use the <a href="https://www.learndash.com/5-reasons-wordpress-is-the-best-choice-for-course-creators/">world’s foremost Content Management System</a> (CMS), you retain full ownership of all your content and data, and you aren’t held back by new restrictions that always seem to pop up the moment your course seems on the verge of taking off.</p>



<h3>Choose the LMS pricing plan that supports your business’s growth.</h3>



<p>Launching a business is tough. There’s a lot of hard work that goes into the planning and execution, and a lot of big decisions get made even before you bring in your first sale. That’s why your choice of platform—and the pricing model it uses—is so important to your long-term success.</p>



<p>If you’re losing a portion of your profits every time you land a sale, or if the tools you need are always out of reach, or if you’re paying extra for each new user or each new course, getting the momentum you need to grow a thriving business will only be that much harder.</p>



<p>So go easy on yourself and choose the option that won’t hold you back. Choose us.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com/lms-pricing-plans-whats-best-for-your-online-course/">LMS Pricing Plans: What’s Best for Your Online Course?</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com">LearnDash</a>.</p>
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:3;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:60:"
		
		
		
		
		
				
		
		

					
										
					
		
		
			";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:3:{s:0:"";a:6:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:55:"7 Signs You Need a New Learning Management System (LMS)";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:80:"https://www.learndash.com/7-signs-you-need-a-new-learning-management-system-lms/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 10 Nov 2021 02:18:36 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"category";a:2:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:10:"E-Learning";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}i:1;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:9:"LearnDash";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:34:"https://www.learndash.com/?p=29206";s:7:"attribs";a:1:{s:0:"";a:1:{s:11:"isPermaLink";s:5:"false";}}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:367:"<p>Your LMS is the foundation of your entire online learning experience. Is it letting you down?</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com/7-signs-you-need-a-new-learning-management-system-lms/">7 Signs You Need a New Learning Management System (LMS)</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com">LearnDash</a>.</p>
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:16:"Mikelya Fournier";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:40:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:7597:"
<h2>Your LMS is the foundation of your entire online learning experience. Is it letting you down?</h2>



<p>For online educators, few decisions are as consequential as which <a href="https://www.learndash.com/how-to-determine-your-lms-needs-when-searching-for-an-elearning-platform/">Learning Management System (LMS) they choose</a> to be the platform for their online course. Your LMS will determine what teaching tools you have at your disposal, the user experience of your learners, and even your ability to launch a financially viable program. However, it’s not uncommon for educators to find themselves a few years into their online education program but stuck on a platform that isn’t serving their needs.</p>



<p>Maybe they made their initial choice in a hurry, before fully researching their marketplace. Maybe their needs have shifted drastically since they launched their first course, and their platform isn’t keeping up. Or maybe they’ve been in the business for years, and the LMS they chose a decade ago is now severely outdated.</p>



<p>If you’re in this position and trying to decide whether to move to a new LMS, here are seven signs that the time has come.</p>



<h3>1. You hate it.</h3>



<p>Let’s start with the most obvious reason to switch LMSs: your current LMS is driving you crazy. It takes too many clicks to access basic functions, the tools are clumsy, it doesn’t have enough options for customization, it’s slow, it’s ugly, it’s frustrating. In other words, it’s costing you productivity, either because it’s hard to use, or because using is enough a source of stress to impact your work day.</p>



<p>It’s unlikely that a well-built LMS will give you this level of user fatigue, but if it does, do yourself a favor and switch. The long-term gains you make in productivity will more than compensate for the short-term hassle of changing platforms.</p>



<h3>2. Your learners hate it.</h3>



<p>Another good reason to switch LMSs as soon as possible? The <a href="https://www.learndash.com/why-learner-experience-should-be-the-top-priority-of-your-course/">user experience</a> is bad for your learners. Bad UX in the design of your LMS won’t just lead to unhappy learners, it can also make it harder for them to study or get their course work completed. The more your learners have to wrestle with your user interface, the more distracted they will be from their course work. No one needs additional stress when they’re trying to study.</p>



<p>On the other hand, changing to an LMS with a better UX (meaning a UX that will get out of your learners’ way and let them learn) will boost satisfaction with your course—and probably your course sales as well.</p>



<h3>3. It’s missing key functions every LMS should have.</h3>



<p>We’re sometimes surprised by the features an LMS <em>doesn’t</em> have—like decent quiz options, or a content drip feed. And yet, some of the most popular LMSs out there <a href="https://www.learndash.com/lms-comparison-learndash-vs-teachable/">fall into this bucket</a>, either because they don’t have these features at all, or because important features are always a pricing tier out of reach.</p>



<p>While there’s no need to pay extra for features you’ll never use, there are many functions that at this point are considered basic enough for every LMS to have. If your platform is missing them, it’s time to move on.</p>



<h3>4. It’s design templates are too restrictive.</h3>



<p>Another common problem with LMSs is that the design templates they offer can be too restrictive. Of course, they rarely seem so at first. A template in the hands of an experienced designer can look beautiful—until you run into all the things it can’t do.</p>



<p>Appearances are important. They affect how learners interact with your content, how you present yourself and your materials, and how effectively you can market and sell your course. If you’re constantly running into issues with the design of your course that prevent you from creating the look and feel you want for your brand, find a new LMS.</p>



<h3>5. Its pricing structure is costing you too much.</h3>



<p>LMSs have differing price structures, and in some cases it can be difficult to understand what the pros and cons are of each model. Many courses will have a “free” option for those who are just signing up, but will have a more aggressive pay scale during your growth phases to push you toward pricier options. Others will charge by the user, or take a portion of your sales.</p>



<p>No one wants to put a lot of work into building, marketing, and selling their course just to see their profits disappear into the costs of their LMS. If you’re paying thousands of dollars to your LMS each year just to maintain your course, it’s time to think about whether their platform is worth it.</p>



<h3>6. It hasn’t kept up to date with elearning innovations.</h3>



<p>Elearning has come a long way in recent years. Not so long ago, many online learning courses were little more than text readings <a href="https://www.learndash.com/online-education-is-about-more-than-video/">supplemented by video</a>. The experience for many learners was isolating and failed to engage them on a more significant level. Today, online educators have more tools at their disposal, including gamification, branching scenarios, and other interactive elements.</p>



<p>Not every LMS has kept up, however. Online learners are savvy and are attracted by courses that provide a good learning experience. If your LMS hasn’t kept up on elearning innovations, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to deliver the learning experience you want.</p>



<h3>7. It won’t scale to match the growth of your course.</h3>



<p>While some LMSs are good choices for educators who are just starting out, that doesn’t make them a good platform for growing online course communities. Eventually you may found that the LMS that worked well when you had one or two courses won’t be sufficient when you have twelve or twenty—or it won’t let you add enough admins to manage content, or it caps the number of learners you can have, or it simply costs too much.</p>



<p>Any LMS that inhibits your course growth will eventually stunt your ability to develop a thriving business. When your LMS gets in the way of that, it’s time to switch.</p>



<h3>Switching LMSs can be costly, but stying with an LMS that is underserving your needs is a greater risk.</h3>



<p>Many educators hesitate to switch LMSs because they are aware of the risks involved. Moving course materials, retraining staff, and modifying the way you teach are all significant changes. You may even do all that only to be disappointed in your new LMS. All these concerns can make it seem like the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t.</p>



<p>But there are also risks to staying with a platform that’s underserving you. If your LMS is causing stress for both you and your learners, if it’s expensive and unwieldy, and if it won’t let you take advantage of innovations so that you can stay at the front of your field, then staying with your old LMS is no longer worth it. The sooner you switch, the faster you can start taking advantages of your new platform.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com/7-signs-you-need-a-new-learning-management-system-lms/">7 Signs You Need a New Learning Management System (LMS)</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com">LearnDash</a>.</p>
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:4;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:79:"
		
		
					
		
		
		
				
		
		
		

					
										
					
					
			
		
		
			";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:5:{s:0:"";a:7:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:51:"5 Tips to Build SEO Strength for Your Online Course";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:78:"https://www.learndash.com/5-tips-to-build-seo-strength-for-your-online-course/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:87:"https://www.learndash.com/5-tips-to-build-seo-strength-for-your-online-course/#comments";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 21 Oct 2021 23:38:23 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"category";a:3:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:8:"Business";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}i:1;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:10:"E-Learning";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}i:2;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:9:"LearnDash";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:34:"https://www.learndash.com/?p=29174";s:7:"attribs";a:1:{s:0:"";a:1:{s:11:"isPermaLink";s:5:"false";}}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:371:"<p>Trying to grow the audience for your course the natural way? Here are some SEO tips to get you started.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com/5-tips-to-build-seo-strength-for-your-online-course/">5 Tips to Build SEO Strength for Your Online Course</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com">LearnDash</a>.</p>
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:16:"Mikelya Fournier";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:40:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:16156:"
<h2>Trying to grow the audience for your course the natural way? Here are some SEO tips to get you started.</h2>



<p>Many course creators start their programs on a <a href="https://www.learndash.com/how-to-market-your-online-course-on-a-budget/">shoestring budget</a>, and when they think about marketing, their first impulse is to turn toward paid media. Paid advertising on platforms like Google, Facebook, or Instagram can, of course, achieve excellent results. But they also require an ongoing investment. The moment you stop paying for ad space, those leads sources dry up.</p>



<p>The other way to build an audience is through <a href="https://www.learndash.com/using-seo-to-sell-more-online-courses/">Search Engine Optimization (SEO)</a>. If a learner is on Google searching for a course like the one you teach, you will of course want to be at the top of their search results. To get there, you need to make sure your content is formatted in a way that makes it easy for Google (and the learner) to see that the information on your site matches the learner’s search terms.</p>



<p>There’s a lot of myths about SEO, and it’s easy to be misled, especially by people who are doing it the wrong way, or who did it the wrong way, got burned, and now believe it doesn’t work at all. So before we get into best practices, let me set some expectations by bursting some of those myths and misconceptions.</p>



<h3>Top 4 SEO Myths</h3>



<ul><li><strong>MYTH: SEO doesn’t work.</strong> It does work, so long as you follow the right strategy. It’s also not guaranteed or exact. You may not see yourself ranking for the exact terms you wanted, but you will see yourself rank for adjacent terms.</li><li><strong>MYTH: I’m entitled to the #1 ranking on Google.</strong> No, you aren’t. You can do everything right, and find yourself ranking behind another site with more heft and a bigger budget who put more work behind ranking for that term. That’s OK. There are plenty of keywords to go around.</li><li><strong>MYTH: SEO happens instantly.</strong> SEO takes time—not only for Google to crawl your site, but for user behavior on your site to affect various ranking factors. It might take a few months to see results. In the meantime, be patient and trust the process.</li><li><strong>MYTH: SEO ranking can be bought.</strong> Only if you’re hiring an expert to do the work we’re about to discuss for you. Otherwise, no: SEO rankings aren’t like search ads. You have to earn your rankings.</li></ul>



<p>Now we’ve got that out of the way, let’s dig in to real strategies to help you earn content rankings for your online course.</p>



<h3>1. Choose your keywords.</h3>



<p>If someone is searching for your course, what keywords might they type into Google? These keywords may be phrases like “online pottery course,” “compliance certification,” or “writing support group.” Some of these key phrases will be more important to you than others, but they should all be <a href="https://www.learndash.com/how-to-research-your-course-audience/">relevant terms for your elearning business</a>.</p>



<h4>Now do two things with that list:</h4>



<p>1. Take any keyterms that are too broad, and use them to create keyword variations. For instance, “writing support group” might have, as variations, terms like “online writing support group,” “writing support group for women,” or “sci-fi and fantasy writing support group.” Think about synonyms as well, such as “women-led writing support group” or “speculative fiction writing support group.</p>



<p>2. Look for any ways that keyterms in your list might mean things other than what you thought they mean, or which might attract people outside your audience. If you’re focused on a writing group for speculative fiction, you might want to remove “literary fiction writing group” from your keyterm list.</p>



<p>Your goal for this list should be to create a general cloud of search terms that you would like to rank for. As you begin ranking for some of the longer, more niche terms, it will raise your credibility with Google, making it more likely that you’ll rank for other, related terms. You will probably also rank for terms that aren’t on your list at all.</p>



<h3>2. Focus on rich content.</h3>



<p>You’ve got your keywords, now it’s time to <a href="https://www.learndash.com/tips-for-creating-a-course-content-marketing-strategy/">think about content</a>. The biggest question for most people is: how long and detailed should SEO content be? Is it a better strategy to write a lot of short posts, or fewer, longer posts?</p>



<p>The short answer is that longer and more detailed is better. Longer posts give you more space to incorporate keywords in a natural manner. They also give Google more context for what your article is about. Most importantly of all, a learner who is searching the Internet for an answer needs your article to provide it. If you’re overly focused on short content, you could be leaving out some of the key details that learner needs to find a complete answer to their question.</p>



<p>And yes, I have heard the objections:</p>



<ul><li>“But people don’t have the attention span for long content!”</li><li>“People want your answer to get to the point!”</li><li>“You’re a content writer, of course you think more content is better!”</li></ul>



<p>To which my response is: I don’t expect most people to read every word I write. If you wanted a few tips on how to optimize your online course for better SEO purposes, all you have to do is skim the article to find the most relevant points. Some readers will probably already know a few things. Others may be completely new. By writing a more detailed post, I can serve both audiences.</p>



<p><strong><a href="https://www.sweor.com/seocontentlength">The data backs this up.</a> Longer content not only ranks higher on search engines, it’s also more likely to receive shares and comments on social media.</strong></p>



<p>That said, there’s still a very important case to be made for short content, in some contexts. SEO isn’t everything, after all. If you go to write a post and are satisfied with what you wrote after 300 words, don’t feel like you need to add words just to make it longer.</p>



<p>Long content is valuable not because it’s long, but because it contains important information. If you aren’t sharing anything meaningful, move on.</p>



<h3>3. Incorporate keywords strategically.</h3>



<p>Once you begin writing content, look for ways to naturally include your keyterms in the copy. For instance, you might want to write a blog post about “5 Tips for Finding a Speculative Fiction Writing Group,” or “How to Give Constructive Feedback in Your Writing Group.” Longer content makes it easier to include keyterms more times without being too repetitive.</p>



<p>Google will place more weight on words in some copy areas than other.</p>



<h4>If you can, try to use your keyterms in places such as:</h4>



<ul><li><strong>Page title and URL.</strong> The title of your page and its URL should mostly match, but it doesn’t have to be exact. If a reader can look at the URL and look at the title of your page and see that they’re basically the same, that’s good enough. Don’t worry about removing stop words from your URL (“and,””the,”etc.). This is recommendation is oudated.</li><li><strong>Headers.</strong> You should always header tags to format your posts for greater readability. Headers are primarily to help your readers skim and navigate content, so it’s more natural for them to be focused on important keyterms anyway, but try to include your phrases in these places wherever natural.</li><li><strong>Anchor text.</strong> When you add a link to a post, the anchor text are the words that get underlined. It’s important to always use descriptive anchor text for accessibility reasons, but if a keyword just happens to make sense there, too, all the better.</li><li><strong>Formatted text.</strong> Most of us use formatting (bold, italics, bulleted or numbered lists) when we’re trying to call attention to something that is particularly important. It’s unclear how significant this is as a ranking factor, but it probably plays some role.</li><li><strong>Alt tags.</strong> Alt tags provide descriptions to screen readers so that someone who is blind or visually impaired can know what is in an image. These should primarily describe the content of an image, but it may be relevant to use a keyterm here.</li><li><strong>Meta descriptions.</strong> The meta description of your page should be a few sentences that describe what the content is about. This isn’t a ranking factor, but it will appear in Google’s search results, and provides extra content to searchers.</li></ul>



<p>Back in the day, you had to be pretty exact with your phrasing to rank for a term, but this made for stilted copy that was awful to read. Thankfully, Google’s most recent algorithm updates have fixed this problem, and it is much better now and spotting keyword variations or synonymous phrases. In other words, “women’s writing support group” and “writing support group for women” should both work the same way.</p>



<h3>4. Create a linking strategy.</h3>



<p>So far, we’ve spent a lot of time talking about keywords and how important they are to improve your search engine rankings. But what happens if you’ve written a perfectly optimized page, and then someone else writes a perfectly optimized page on the same topic? How do search engines know what to prioritize?</p>



<p>The answer has to do with your site’s overall credibility, as measured by how other users interact with it. Google isn’t just trying to serve up the page with the most optimal keywords, it’s also looking for sites that seem to be have good standing among other Internet users. Of the signals that tell Google your site is valuable are the backlinks point toward it. If a lot of people are linking to your site, that means you must be widely trusted.</p>



<p>To this end, having a lot of content on your site is a huge factor. It means there are more pages for people to link to, and more avenues by which visitors can and up on your site.</p>



<p>Naturally, this can be frustrating for elearning sites with a lot of content behind a paywall or a login page. But if you have blog content or information-rich subject pages on the front end of your site, those pages can be doing the work of attracting backlinks and building your domain strength.</p>



<h4><strong>Ways to earn backlinks include:</strong></h4>



<ul><li>Write excellent content that other people will want to share and reference!</li><li>Network with other educators in your community and look for ways to partner or guest blog.</li><li>Look for guest blogging opportunities on high-profile sites. You may have to do extra research and pitch your idea, but if you get published it can bring in a lot of traffic.</li><li>Keep an eye out for broken links on other sites. If someone’s written an article in your field that includes a broken link, you can contact the site administrator or the author of the post to suggest something you’ve written instead. You have to be very careful with this strategy, however, as a lot of people will suggest their content even if it’s no match. 99% of these requests that come my way to straight into the spam folder, but the couple times I successfully replaced a broken link were helpful.</li></ul>



<p>While you’re at it, also consider your internal linking strategy. Long, content-rich pages with lots of internal links are what’s known as “anchor content.” These are the important, high-value pages that can direct a your visitors toward other resources that they may find important. Even if you aren’t linking to an anchor content page, having internal links can encourage visitors to stay on your site longer and discover new content.</p>



<p>When you right content for your site, think about opportunities to link to other pages. All our blog posts include link to related topics that we’ve written about previously. This gives our visitors more content to read if they encounter a term or idea they’re not familiar with and want to learn more.</p>



<h3>5. Use a schema markup tool to target rich snippets.</h3>



<p>Points 1–3 take a lot of work, and if you do it right there’s a good chance you’ll start earning the backlinks we mentioned in point 4 without having to shop your content around. But even after all this, there’s one last thing you can do to help your content earn more rankings: format your content for Google’s rich snippets.</p>



<p>I’ll admit that I myself am not an expert at this, so this suggestion is more an idea of how you can take your content to the next level than directions for how to do it. I’ve worked with people who have gotten my content to rank in Google’s rich snippets, and it’s always an exciting thing to see. But it takes a little extra back-end know-how, which is often beyond what someone beginning in SEO is ready to tackle. That said, here are the basic principles.</p>



<p>A few years ago, Google rolled out their Rich Snippets feature to make it easier for searchers to find high-level answers to questions without having to navigate to a page. Earning a featured snipped means your search ranking is Position 0.</p>



<p>You can earn a featured snippet if your content is clearly written and well-formatted. Google will crawl your page like usual, and if it seems to think your post matches the search criteria, it will pull from it to make a rich snippet.</p>



<p>However, you can help Google out by including markup code that effectively labels what your content is so that Google knows how to display it. If you’re writing a recipe, you’d format it so that Google can easily identify the ingredients, the cooking temperature, and the cooking time.</p>



<p>If you’d like to know more, <a href="https://developers.google.com/search/docs/advanced/structured-data/intro-structured-data">check out Google’s content on rich snippets</a>. You don’t have to know all the code yourself to make this work—there are plugins available that can help you format your content for this, too.</p>



<h3>Good SEO is about giving your searchers the content that will benefit them.</h3>



<p>The bottom line with SEO is that your content has to be <em>good</em> for it to work, long-term. If you’re writing content that is awful to read, people will turn away and look elsewhere. If your content is uninformative, or too obviously self-serving, people may also be turned off.</p>



<p>Google will notice if your content isn’t attracting people, and eventually your rankings will suffer. But that’s actually beside the point. The point is that, as an educator, you should always be putting your best foot forward. If the content on your blog indicates that you aren’t a compelling writer, or if it’s uninformative, or if it’s just boring to read, it won’t be effective in selling your course.</p>



<p>Good SEO will help draw more traffic to your site through search engine results. But more traffic will only work in your favor if it convinces more people to take your course. If you increase the volume of visitors to your site, only to lose them with bad content, it’s unlikely they’ll give you a second chance.</p>



<p>On the other hand, good content can not only demonstrate your knowledge level to future learners, it can also show how well you’re able to share that knowledge with others, and whether or not you’re an engaging educator. All those qualities will go a long way to boosting your sales—as well as your SEO.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com/5-tips-to-build-seo-strength-for-your-online-course/">5 Tips to Build SEO Strength for Your Online Course</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com">LearnDash</a>.</p>
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:36:"http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/";a:1:{s:10:"commentRss";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:83:"https://www.learndash.com/5-tips-to-build-seo-strength-for-your-online-course/feed/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:38:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/";a:1:{s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1:"1";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:5;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:63:"
		
		
		
		
		
				
		
		
		

					
										
					
		
		
			";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:3:{s:0:"";a:6:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:72:"How to Determine Your LMS Needs when Searching for an Elearning Platform";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:99:"https://www.learndash.com/how-to-determine-your-lms-needs-when-searching-for-an-elearning-platform/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 19 Oct 2021 14:07:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"category";a:3:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:10:"E-Learning";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}i:1;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:9:"LearnDash";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}i:2;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:9:"WordPress";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:34:"https://www.learndash.com/?p=29168";s:7:"attribs";a:1:{s:0:"";a:1:{s:11:"isPermaLink";s:5:"false";}}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:440:"<p>Learning Management Systems (LMSs) come with a bewildering range of features. How do you know what you truly need for your course?</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com/how-to-determine-your-lms-needs-when-searching-for-an-elearning-platform/">How to Determine Your LMS Needs when Searching for an Elearning Platform</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com">LearnDash</a>.</p>
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:16:"Mikelya Fournier";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:40:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:10647:"
<h2>Learning Management Systems (LMSs) come with a bewildering range of features. How do you know what you truly need for your course?</h2>



<p>You need an LMS. Maybe you’re getting ready to launch your first course, or perhaps you’ve already been in the elearning industry for some time and are looking to switch platforms. Over the last decade or so, the range of options available to online educators has expanded significantly, as have the features that come with them. This broadened market means educators now have more options to choose from—but also more products to navigate.</p>



<p>Choosing the right LMS is a significant decision. In some cases, your choice of LMS may mean the success or failure of your course. Usually, the consequences are not so dire. One LMS may be slightly easier to use, but may come with restrictions on what you can do with your course. Another might help you sell courses, but doesn’t offer the learner experience you were hoping for. Pros and cons abound, and only you, the educator, know what tradeoffs you’re willing to accept.</p>



<p>However, the biggest dangers an educator faces when choosing an LMS are either not understanding their on requirements well enough, or else being lured into a poor purchase by features they don’t end up using that much. To help you find your way, here are top considerations you should bear in mind as you navigate the LMS market.</p>



<h3>1. What are your hosting requirements?</h3>



<p>Generally speaking, the LMS market breaks down into <a href="https://www.learndash.com/9-pros-and-cons-of-self-hosted-e-learning/">hosted</a> vs. <a href="https://www.learndash.com/6-advantages-of-using-an-open-source-lms/">self-hosted options</a>. A hosted LMS will handle all the back-end infrastructure, but will have limited options for customization. You usually pay a recurring fee for these plans, and if you ever stop paying that fee, your content goes away. (The common analogy is renting vs. owning.)</p>



<p>Self-hosted LMSs are a little more DIY, but that investment comes with some important payoffs: you have more control over your website and its content, what you can do with your site isn’t tied to your LMS’s payment tier, and you usually save money as well.</p>



<p>Going the self-hosted route is good for small businesses that hope to grow, but it’s practically a requirement for any large elearning business. For small educators who only plan to launch a course or two as a part-time gig and don’t want any hassle, a hosted option may be a convenient solution.</p>



<h3>2. How many courses do you plan to launch?</h3>



<p>Are you creating a one-off course as a sideshow to your main area of business, or do you plan to make elearning your primary focus? Are you developing a simple onboarding training course for your small business, or will you be creating a training infrastructure that supports multiple locations, job descriptions, and career paths? Are you focused on one area of expertise, or do you have several?</p>



<p>The more courses you have, the more you will need to consider how your LMS choice will integrate with the rest of your website. If your LMS puts all your courses on the home page and doesn’t give you many options to organize your content on other pages, it may be too restrictive for your needs.</p>



<h3>3. How many instructors and learners will be on your site?</h3>



<p>Are you the only instructor on your site, or will you have multiple users who need advanced permission controls? Many hosted options restrict the number of admin accounts you can create, which may be a nonstarter if you have a large team. Similarly, some platforms will strict the number of active users you can have, or make you pay by the user past a certain limit.</p>



<p>If you’re running a small course, these may not be concerns. But if you plan to grow your course, <a href="https://www.learndash.com/how-to-scale-up-your-learndash-infrastructure/">make sure your LMS can scale with you</a>.</p>



<h3>4. What learner assessment options are available?</h3>



<p>For some courses, offering grades or other assessments aren’t a significant concern. But for others, assessment isn’t just a requirement for the course, it’s also something learners themselves want. Assessments are how learners measure their progress and get feedback on their work. The better your assessment tools are, the more you can satisfy this need.</p>



<p>Look at both the assessment tools available (types of quizzes, for instance), and what kind of settings you have for those assessments. If an LMS lets you create multiple choice quizzes, can learners select multiple correct answers? Can they take practice quizzes? Will they receive a grade at the end? Are there other quiz types available? Can learners submit assignments? How easy is it to manage these from the backend of the platform?</p>



<p>Remember: Your course should be more than a <a href="https://www.learndash.com/online-education-is-about-more-than-video/">series of nice videos</a>. Quality assessment tools are the bare minimum a decent LMS should be offering.</p>



<h3>5. What kinds of elearning experience does it offer?</h3>



<p>Assessments (quizzes and assignments) form a key part of what we call the “learning experience,” but there’s a lot more to giving learners a positive experience than writing thoughtful quiz questions. How you support your learners also matters, so a platform that gives you insight into learner engagement will help you build a better course.</p>



<p>For obvious reasons, learner experience is tied to user experience, so clunky tools or a frustrating course design will have a negative effect on learner experience as well. On the other hand, anything that makes the course more engaging will make for a positive learner experience.</p>



<p><a href="https://www.learndash.com/4-exceptionally-good-reasons-gamification-is-worth-the-hype/">Gamification</a> elements are also part of the learner experience. <a href="https://www.learndash.com/learndash-achievements-2/">Adding points to assignments, awarding badges, and posting a leaderboard</a> can all help keep learners more engaged. There are even more creative ways to provide a better experience, such as through branching scenarios or other course design options.</p>



<h3>6. What community building options are there?</h3>



<p>Community is a huge part of online learning. For some learners, finding a community of others who share an interest (whether it’s a career path, a hobby, or a self-improvement goal) is the main draw of a course. If they find a community through your course, many of them will become dedicated members for years to come.</p>



<p>However, to build this community, you need a platform that can support it. At the very least, your platform should allow learners to comment on lessons and start a dialog with their classmates. Many LMSs don’t come with built-in forums, but they should offer solid integration options. Most importantly, an LMS shouldn’t limit your ability to find a solution that fits your needs.&nbsp;</p>



<h3>7. How much design flexibility will you have?</h3>



<p>Earlier, we touched on the idea that user experience (UX) is related to learner experience. This applies to design as well. How you visually present your course matters.</p>



<p>Many platforms will showcase course templates that seem to offer flexible design options, but which are actually very limiting. Often, it’s hard to realize how limiting these templates are until you start to use them and find out that elements you thought you could change aren’t editable.</p>



<p>Do your due diligence here. Look carefully at how the showcased examples vary from each other—it may help you spot which elements are fixed and which are flexible. Even better, choose an open source platform that gives you a wider range of templates to choose from—or even the option to design your own.</p>



<h3>8. What ecommerce/marketing/sales integrations are available?</h3>



<p>Finally, while concerns like infrastructure, features, functionality, and learner experience should always come first, once an LMS is checking all those boxes, you should stop to see what kind of marketing and sales support they offer as well.</p>



<p><a href="https://www.learndash.com/add-on/learndash-notifications/">Trigger-based notifications</a> can help you automate some sales and marketing functions, while also keeping you in better touch with your learners. If you already have marketing tools that you like, check whether your new platform offers integrations with them.</p>



<h3>Balance room to grow against pie-in-the-sky thinking.</h3>



<p>Only you will know what your online course needs, and we’re not ones to tell anyone to stifle their ambition. However, it’s always bets to take a step back from what any platform is marketing as their killer, must-have feature and ask yourself if that’s really what you came to them for. The worst mistake you could make is choosing a platform based on some exciting features it has, only to realize after the fact that it doesn’t meet your minimum requirements.</p>



<p>At the same time, it’s good to think about where you want your elearning business to go. Your LMS should grow with you, so if you know where you want to be three or four years from now, choose an LMS that will still make sense for your business three or four years down the road.</p>



<p>We have users on our platform who have been with us since we launched. Some of our biggest fans are developers who have chosen our platform for their clients dozens of times. We’ve also had users without any technical background who have succeeded in using our platform, and have fallen in love with online education in the process. We’ve had world-class universities and solo entrepreneurs both user our platform to glowing reviews, and our user base includes educators from countries around the world.</p>



<p>We know we’re not everyone’s solution. But that usually says more about an individual’s tradeoff priorities than the capabilities of our platform. If you want an LMS that gives you flexibility, functionality, and room to grow, you’d be hard pressed to find one better than ours.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com/how-to-determine-your-lms-needs-when-searching-for-an-elearning-platform/">How to Determine Your LMS Needs when Searching for an Elearning Platform</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com">LearnDash</a>.</p>
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:6;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:60:"
		
		
		
		
		
				
		
		

					
										
					
		
		
			";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:3:{s:0:"";a:6:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:47:"Does Your Website Need More Than a Course Grid?";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:73:"https://www.learndash.com/does-your-website-need-more-than-a-course-grid/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 01 Oct 2021 03:59:15 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"category";a:2:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:9:"LearnDash";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}i:1;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:9:"WordPress";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:34:"https://www.learndash.com/?p=29141";s:7:"attribs";a:1:{s:0:"";a:1:{s:11:"isPermaLink";s:5:"false";}}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:354:"<p>You’re building your course website. How should you structure it, and what pages do you need?</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com/does-your-website-need-more-than-a-course-grid/">Does Your Website Need More Than a Course Grid?</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com">LearnDash</a>.</p>
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:16:"Mikelya Fournier";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:40:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:7583:"
<h2>You’re building your course website. How should you structure it, and what pages do you need?</h2>



<p>Here’s a topic we haven’t touched on much in this blog: your course website.</p>



<p>We’ve written a lot about how to create a top-notch course, how to build community, and how to support learners as they move through your program. But there’s a lot of questions about building an actual course website that we haven’t covered.</p>



<p>To start, let’s acknowledge that different educators will have different needs for their course website, and one solution won’t fit everyone. Very generally, most of our users fall into one of these buckets:</p>



<ul><li>You’re a solo elearning instructor with only a few courses.</li><li>You’re a large elearning company with a lot of courses, instructors, and subjects.</li><li>You have elearning courses, but they aren’t the focus of your website.</li></ul>



<p>Depending on which of those descriptions fits you best, you may already have a good idea of your website requirements. Many of our users already have WordPress websites by the time they come to us, and are simply looking to extend elearning functionality to the platform they already own. For them, creating a new page and adding their courses to it is a fairly straightforward process.</p>



<p>Other users choose to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.learndash.com/should-you-use-a-subdomain-for-learndash/">use LearnDash on a subdomain</a>, so that they can avoid brand confusion, separate functions, or segment their audience. In this case, they may have already fleshed out the primary portion of their site, and are basically using the subdomain as a login portal to the rest of their user content.</p>



<p>However, if you’re new to elearning, don’t have a website, and aren’t sure what you would use your website for (beyond giving your courses a home), then this post is for you. There’s a lot your website should be doing for you beyond offering sales pages for your courses. Here’s what to consider.</p>



<h3>1. Build your SEO with a blog or other long-form content.</h3>



<p>Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of the primary ways to attract an audience to your course without paying a cent in ad money. However, unless your course is an open course (meaning anyone can access it), your actual content will be behind a gate. This will keep anyone out who hasn’t registered for your course, but it won’t do your SEO much good.</p>



<p>This is where a blog comes in. By keeping a blog in the public-facing portion of your website, where search engines can track it, you build your SEO strength and establish your brand authority.&nbsp;</p>



<h3>2. Write an about page to introduce learners to your background and expertise.</h3>



<p>About pages are tricky to write, and its’s easy for some to dismiss them as being not really all that necessary. Most learners aren’t there to learn about your personal backstory, they’re there to take a course.</p>



<p>However, if you’re going to sell someone on your course, you do still have to sell them on your expertise. A well-told story can win over learners who are on the fence and grow trust in your abilities. Having that information on an about page (instead of on the home page) can keep the most relevant information to learners front and center, while also placing your reference info where it’s easy to find.</p>



<h3>3. Create subject pages for different topics, experience levels, or industries.</h3>



<p>Another way to generate SEO for your course is by building separate landing pages based on topic, experience, or industry. You can then use your subject pages to go deep into what your courses are offering students, discuss the particulars of your program, and offer up quotes from past learners.</p>



<p>Again, many learners want to do their research before they sign up for a course. Course subject pages let you elaborate and really pitch your course before asking them to make a decision.</p>



<h3>4. Create a resource page, an introduction page, or a guide to your community.</h3>



<p>Have you taken time to develop PDFs over the years? Webinars? Infographics? Some of these may be part of your course, but others you may want to share more publicly, as lead generation tools. Having a reference page makes these resources easy to find, for learners and leads alike.</p>



<p>Giving them their own web page also lets you organize these resources into a searchable library, something which is even more important if you have a lot of them.</p>



<h3>5. List events and provide a place for your community to connect.</h3>



<p>Finally, while you may primarily run events and webinars through your course, you may also want to have public events that you can sell separately. You may also want to create a separate gateway to your course forum, which may require its own landing page. Giving these pages their separate space (and their own spot in your navigation menu) raises their profile and makes it easier for learners to see everything your course offers.&nbsp;</p>



<h3>Your website is where you control your brand and attract your audience. Don’t make it an afterthought.</h3>



<p>One of the reasons I wanted to cover this topic is because, in reviewing some of the various hosted Learning Management System (LMS) platforms (<a href="https://www.learndash.com/lms-comparison-learndash-vs-teachable/">Teachable</a>, <a href="https://www.learndash.com/lms-comparison-learndash-vs-thinkific/">Thinkific</a>, <a href="https://www.learndash.com/lms-comparison-learndash-vs-kajabi/">Kajabi</a>), I noticed that the options they offer for building a robust website can be meager, at best. If you don’t want your course grid to be on your home page, you may be out of options.</p>



<p>I suspect the reason for this is that these hosted platforms are either working with users who are new enough to online learning that they don’t have a website yet (and therefore don’t see a need for pages other than the course grid), or else want to integrate with already-existing websites by not duplicating the homepage structure. They’re expecting these websites to treat them as subdomains, where the only visitors are ones who are directed there specifically to take courses.</p>



<p>There are UX problems that can crop up in these situations, which you might have noticed if you’ve ever been on a site where the platform changes from one page to the next. For many users, it can feel like they’ve been redirected from a familiar site to a new site with completely different layout and structure. It’s not the end of the world, but it’s better if you can keep a more coherent user experience from one page to the next.</p>



<p>This is one of the reasons we’re such strong advocates of WordPress: because most educators don’t just need a great&nbsp;<em>LMS</em>, they need a great&nbsp;<em>CMS</em>, too.</p>



<p>You want an elearning site where you can show off all the great courses you offer. But you also want a site that can host more content than your courses, where you can establish your brand, and where you can build the SEO strength that will attract new visitors to your site. That’s what running LearnDash on WordPress can get you.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com/does-your-website-need-more-than-a-course-grid/">Does Your Website Need More Than a Course Grid?</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com">LearnDash</a>.</p>
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:7;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:60:"
		
		
		
		
		
				
		
		

					
										
					
		
		
			";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:3:{s:0:"";a:6:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:41:"Are 3rd Party Plugins a Bug or a Feature?";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:67:"https://www.learndash.com/are-3rd-party-plugins-a-bug-or-a-feature/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 03 Sep 2021 03:59:19 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"category";a:2:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:9:"LearnDash";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}i:1;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:9:"WordPress";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:34:"https://www.learndash.com/?p=29043";s:7:"attribs";a:1:{s:0:"";a:1:{s:11:"isPermaLink";s:5:"false";}}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:402:"<p>Many hosted LMS solutions like to knock open-source platforms for relying on 3rd-party plugins to expand functionality. Here’s why that’s a good thing.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com/are-3rd-party-plugins-a-bug-or-a-feature/">Are 3rd Party Plugins a Bug or a Feature?</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com">LearnDash</a>.</p>
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:16:"Mikelya Fournier";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:40:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:7116:"
<h2>Many hosted LMS solutions like to knock open-source platforms for relying on 3rd-party plugins to expand functionality. Here’s why that’s a good thing.</h2>



<p>Do enough research into various online learning platforms, and you’ll notice that a lot of the hosted, “all-in-one” LMSs (like Teachable or Thinkific) are quick to knock WordPress sites for relying on 3rd party plugins to expand functionality. As the argument goes, all-in-one platforms are better because everything naturally works together. You don’t have conflicting programs, you don’t have to manage different update schedules, and you don’t have to keep paying for more products just to get the feature you need.</p>



<p>It’s a compelling argument.</p>



<p>Unfortunately, the solution all-in-one platforms offer isn’t quite what it’s made out to be.</p>



<p>Frequently, the features offered on these platforms only seem impressive on the surface. Dig a little deeper, and it soon becomes apparent that what they’re offering is pretty shallow. (An example:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.learndash.com/lms-comparison-learndash-vs-teachable/">Teachable only offers one question type for their quizzes</a>. We offer eight, with the option to integrate with other plugins to provide more.)</p>



<p>We believe that an LMS that integrates with a suite of 3rd party solutions gives everyone the freedom to do what they do best. Here’s why.</p>



<h3>1. You don’t have to wait on someone else’s development schedule.</h3>



<p>Features take time to develop—especially if they’re being properly tested. Unfortunately, on an all-in-one platform, every feature has its own place in the development queue, and the one you want most may be farther down the list than ones you don’t care about at all. In some cases, the feature isn’t on the list at all.</p>



<p>With a hosted platform, if this is the case, you’re out of luck. You may spend years hoping for your dream feature to become the next priority, and even once it does there’s no guarantee it will be everything you hoped.</p>



<p>An open-source solution, like WordPress, means you don’t have this problem. Someone out there has probably developed a plugin for the feature you want, and if they haven’t, you can hire a developer to build it for you.</p>



<h3>2. The feature you really need isn’t always one price tier out of reach.</h3>



<p>All-in-one services, like any business, are trying to make money. To maximize their income, most take the time-honored approach of offering a tiered system. Basic tiers onboard new users with minimal features, while more advanced options are for the higher-tier plans.</p>



<p>This can be a source for many users, who feel that the feature they really want is always a step up the pricing ladder. Again, this makes sense from a business standpoint (developing features is expensive!), but for many users it just doesn’t feel good. No one wants to pay for a bunch of features they don’t need only to have to pay extra for the ones they really do.</p>



<p>Plugins mean you can pick and choose which features you want, and then only pay for those. It’s true that you’ll have more licenses to manage, but the sum of 3rd party plugins along with your LMS is usually less expensive than the pricing tier you would pay on a hosted solution, where you’ll also be paying for the features you don’t need.</p>



<h3>3. You don’t have to settle for a solution that underserves your niche.</h3>



<p>Many courses serve very specific audiences, and with those audiences come niche use cases. Because hosted platforms are almost always developing for the lowest common denominator, the needs of niche users can sometimes be overlooked.</p>



<p>This wouldn’t be a problem if users could choose other options, but hosted LMSs are almost always closed platform. They may offer their own 3rd party integrations for some functions, but even when they do, it will be with a single business partner. (On Teachable, you can add a forum to your course, but only if you use the only 3rd party solution available, which costs $99/mo.)</p>



<p>The beauty of a plugin market, like what you find on WordPress, is that it will offer you a range of options, one of which is sure to be the solution you actually need. And, like we said before, if you have an extreme niche requirement that isn’t yet served by the market, you can hire a developer to build it out for you.</p>



<h3>4. If you don’t like what your platform provides, you can go elsewhere.</h3>



<p>Finally, if you’re on a hosted platform and there’s something about the features they offer that you don’t like, you’re stuck, because all-in-one also means all-or-nothing.</p>



<p>On the other hand, if you’re working with an <a href="https://www.learndash.com/6-advantages-of-using-an-open-source-lms/">open-source LMS,</a> you’re never out of options. Don’t like how one feature works? Another plugin is there to provide you with something better. And the fact that users <em>can</em> change plugins if they want to means that plugin developers have a lot of incentives to stay competitive with their offerings. Hosted platforms don’t have those incentives.</p>



<h3>Choose an LMS that gives you options—but also lets you find your own.</h3>



<p>A few months ago, we wrote about the advantages of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.learndash.com/5-advantages-of-choosing-a-flexible-lms/">choosing a lean LMS</a>. Our perspective was this: The more resources we spend developing features for segments of our user base, the more we have to charge everyone for functions they may never use, especially if they have a 3rd party solution they actually prefer.</p>



<p>This isn’t to say we never develop new features. Recently, we’ve expanded our platform to include add-ons for gamification and membership. However, we are very selective about where we put our resources, because we want to be sure that the features we offer will serve the broadest portion of our user base—and that what we develop is created thoughtfully, so that it functions well and is easy to use.</p>



<p>Even so, we are constantly encountering use cases that we would never have thought of on our own. Online education is a huge space—one that includes educators from around the world, teaching nearly every subject imaginable. It’s also a creative space, where educators should be able to teach courses however they see fit, without being limited by a platform.</p>



<p>In the end, “all-in-one” platforms are like “one size fits all” clothing: true only at the most basic sense, and never what you really need.</p>



<p>We prefer to go a different route. By combining the stability of our platform with the flexibility of WordPress, our users get the best of both worlds.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com/are-3rd-party-plugins-a-bug-or-a-feature/">Are 3rd Party Plugins a Bug or a Feature?</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com">LearnDash</a>.</p>
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:8;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:60:"
		
		
		
		
		
				
		
		

					
										
					
		
		
			";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:3:{s:0:"";a:6:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:52:"Delivering a Successful LMS Project with James Tryon";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:79:"https://www.learndash.com/delivering-a-successful-lms-project-with-james-tryon/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 16 Jul 2021 00:49:37 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"category";a:2:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:9:"LearnDash";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}i:1;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:9:"WordPress";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:34:"https://www.learndash.com/?p=28863";s:7:"attribs";a:1:{s:0:"";a:1:{s:11:"isPermaLink";s:5:"false";}}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:382:"<p>If you’re a learning developer, understanding your client’s goals is key to delivering a successful project.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com/delivering-a-successful-lms-project-with-james-tryon/">Delivering a Successful LMS Project with James Tryon</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com">LearnDash</a>.</p>
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:16:"Mikelya Fournier";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:40:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:6464:"
<h2>If you’re a learning developer, understanding your client’s goals is key to delivering a successful project.</h2>



<p>We spend a lot of time on our blog writing to online educators, but a sizable portion of our userbase is comprised of <a href="https://www.learndash.com/7-reasons-learndash-is-the-best-lms-for-developers/">developers who use WordPress</a> to deliver projects for clients who don’t have the time, the technical skills, or the time to learn the technical skills to set up a website for themselves. Some of our developer users are old hands in the web industry, but many are new to the work, and even those who may have been around for a while may not have handled an LMS project before.</p>



<p>For all these users, we have some great news: Our Training Specialist, James Tryon is leading a presentation in partnership with GoDaddy on how to deliver a successful LMS project. <strong><a href="https://events.godaddy.com/events/details/godaddy-events-godaddy-pro-online-presents-delivering-a-successful-lms-learning-management-system-project/">The event takes place Wednesday, July 21st at 3:00pm EST.</a></strong> We encourage you to sign up so you don’t miss out on James’ insights, which are built off of over two decades in the creative industry.</p>



<p>For those of you who aren’t able to make the talk (or who are coming to this announcement after the fact), we’d like to share two practical pieces of knowledge from James about how to make sure your project does well. We’ve written this piece for developers who are working with clients, but if you’re a client interested in hiring a developer, these considerations are important for you to know, as well.</p>



<h2>1. Have a comprehensive discussion with your clients about their requirements.</h2>



<p>No project can be successful without a full needs analysis—and it’s very hard to be too thorough. Many clients don’t know what they don’t know, and it’s your job as the developer to ask the right questions to get all the details you need to understand what the project will entail. These might include:</p>



<ul><li><strong>Who are the target users of the learning program?</strong> Is our client teaching <a href="https://www.learndash.com/key-principles-of-adult-learning/">adult learners</a> or children? Industry professionals as part of a training or certification program, or hobbyists learning a new skill for pleasure? Adults and children will have different <a href="https://www.learndash.com/using-learndash-with-parents-of-k-12-learners/">user access and monitoring requirements</a>. Companies paying for a certification program may have industry-specific needs that don’t exist for hobbyists. Learn as much as you can about your end user so that you know what the requirements of your platform are.</li></ul>



<ul><li><strong>What features does your client really need?</strong> Sometimes a client hears about a feature and wants it as part of their course but doesn’t have a good grasp for how much work it will take to develop it. (Do they need a membership feature, and if so, how advanced does it need to be?) Or maybe what your client needs is mission critical, but implementing it will affect the architecture of the website (setting up a multilingual site, for instance). Get a full feature list from the start so you can be prepared.</li></ul>



<ul><li><strong>What plugins does your client really need?</strong> Some clients install a lot of plugins on their site without realizing that they’re conflicting, redundant, and slowing the site down. Other plugins perform critical features, or can solve a functionality problem that would have taken months and thousands of dollars to custom code. As a developer, you can guide your clients toward the right solutions.</li></ul>



<h2>2. Set expectations with yourself and your client about scope of work and a realistic timeline.</h2>



<p>Once you understand what your client is looking for, it falls to you to pull together an estimate for the work to be done. LMS projects can be as simple as installing LearnDash on a site and adding a few custom configurations—the kind that you can turn around in a week. Or, they can be &nbsp;six months of work with a multi-lingual ecommerce solution and social sharing. Both of these can be successful projects, but only if you’ve set the right expectations with your client first.</p>



<ul><li><strong>Read the project requirements thoroughly so that you understand the scope.</strong> You don’t want to miss a critical request that adds huge amounts of time to your project at the last minute.</li></ul>



<ul><li><strong>Double check your numbers when you deliver a quote.</strong> If you calculate your estimate poorly, you could find yourself losing money trying to deliver on your promises, or else risk disappointing your client. On the other hand, if you over-bid because you’re over-delivering on plugins and features, you could lose a client who just wants a simpler option.</li></ul>



<ul><li><strong>Beware of blue sky thinking when setting a delivery timeline.</strong> We all want to think that projects will go smoothly and we’ll get everything wrapped and competed in record time. But things rarely go to plan, and it’s important to factor in buffer time to account for any speed bumps along the way.</li></ul>



<h2>As you add complexity to your LMS project, the scope can expand rapidly.</h2>



<p>One of the reasons we advocate for educators to build their online courses on WordPress is that we know that many learning projects are about so much more than the LMS. Sure, sometimes a project is just a simple course—at first. But more often than not, it’s an LMS project, and also an ecommerce project, a membership project, and a social media project. And if it doesn’t start that way, many educators want the option to grow in that direction in the future.</p>



<p>This is why it’s so essential not only to understand what your clients need, but also to set them on the best path for success. A self-hosted solution on a flexible platform like WordPress is just the way to get the off on the right foot.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com/delivering-a-successful-lms-project-with-james-tryon/">Delivering a Successful LMS Project with James Tryon</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com">LearnDash</a>.</p>
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:9;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:76:"
		
		
					
		
		
		
				
		
		

					
										
					
					
			
		
		
			";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:5:{s:0:"";a:7:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:51:"9 WordPress Security Plugins to Protect Your Course";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:78:"https://www.learndash.com/9-wordpress-security-plugins-to-protect-your-course/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:87:"https://www.learndash.com/9-wordpress-security-plugins-to-protect-your-course/#comments";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 13 May 2021 01:22:27 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"category";a:2:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:9:"LearnDash";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}i:1;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:9:"WordPress";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:34:"https://www.learndash.com/?p=28715";s:7:"attribs";a:1:{s:0:"";a:1:{s:11:"isPermaLink";s:5:"false";}}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:372:"<p>You need to protect your website and your learners from online security threats. These plugins can help.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com/9-wordpress-security-plugins-to-protect-your-course/">9 WordPress Security Plugins to Protect Your Course</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com">LearnDash</a>.</p>
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:16:"Mikelya Fournier";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:40:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:10227:"
<h2>You need to protect your website and your learners from online security threats. These plugins can help.</h2>



<p>As an online course creator, <a href="https://www.learndash.com/worried-about-course-security-start-with-your-website/">protecting your website</a> from online threats should be a priority for your business. Online security threats come in many forms. They can be a hacker trying to lock you out of your website in order to hold it hostage. They can be malware scripts that cause spam advertisements to appear on the front end of your site. Or they can be programs that intercept data in order to the steal password and login information of your learners.</p>



<p>While most hacks won’t destroy your business, they can disrupt the delivery of your course and damage your credibility. No one wants their learning experience to be disrupted by spam pop up ads, or to have their email and password compromised because of bad security. And unfortunately, hacks are more common than many website owners realize.</p>



<p><strong>According to </strong><a href="https://www.getastra.com/blog/cms/hacking-statistics/"><strong>hacking statistics</strong></a><strong> published by Astra in 2020:</strong></p>



<ul><li>64% of companies&nbsp;admit to experiencing cyberattacks.</li><li>Over&nbsp;40% attacks&nbsp;target small- and medium-sized businesses.</li><li>73% cyberattacks&nbsp;are carried out for economic reasons.</li></ul>



<p>In other words, your online course is a potential target, and you should take precautions to safeguard your business and the <a href="https://www.learndash.com/gdpr/">digital privacy</a> of your learners. Fortunately, there are any number of plugins designed WordPress to help protect your course.</p>



<p>The following are some of the best-reviewed security plugins for WordPress, although remember that you usually only need one to protect your site. Two plugins performing the same function might conflict with each other, but you shouldn’t have any problems combining a plugin that specializes in firewall and malware detection with one that specializes in password controls.</p>



<h3>1. Sucuri</h3>



<p>If your site has been hacked, Securi’s post-hack virus removal tools are some of the best around. They can scan your site, identify tampered files, and harden your security against future attacks.</p>



<p>The free <a href="https://sucuri.net/wordpress-security-plugin/">Sucuri WordPress Plugin</a> offers a number of features from malware scanning to email alerts that are perfect for course creators who are just getting started. However, some features, such as their firewall integration or more frequent security scans, are only available on paid plans. These additional safeguards may be worth investing in as your course grows.</p>



<p><strong>Key Features:</strong></p>



<ul><li>Cleaning up your site after a hack</li><li>Malware scanning</li><li>Firewall protection</li><li>DDoS attack mitigation</li><li>Brute force attack protection</li></ul>



<h3>2. iThemes Pro</h3>



<p>One of the best-known names in WordPress security, <a href="https://ithemes.com/security/">iThemes Pro</a> is a comprehensive plugin with a feature set that can handle most of your security needs in one place. While it doesn’t have the post-hack services of Sucuri, it does have excellent security monitoring tools, including a security dashboard.</p>



<p>Another feature that isn’t often offered is their “away mode,” which lets you lock down your WordPress dashboard for specific time periods, preventing anyone from making changes while you’re gone. It also integrates with BackupBuddy for regular backups.</p>



<p><strong>Key Features:</strong></p>



<ul><li>Brute force attack prevention</li><li>Strong password enforcement</li><li>Two-factor authentication</li><li>Malware scanning</li><li>Scheduled database backups</li></ul>



<h3>3. All In One WP Security &amp; Firewall</h3>



<p>For users looking for a free security plugin, <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/all-in-one-wp-security-and-firewall/">All In One WP Security &amp; Firewall</a> not only offers a robust feature set, it’s also highly reviewed. While it requires more manual configuration for the user, the designers of this plugin have gone out of their way to make it easy to use and understand.</p>



<p><strong>Key Features:</strong></p>



<ul><li>Prevents identical login and display names</li><li>Strong password tool</li><li>Brute force attack prevention</li><li>File change scanning</li><li>Add reCAPTCHA to forms</li></ul>



<h3>4. Defender</h3>



<p>Defender offers both a <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/defender-security/">free</a> and a <a href="https://wpmudev.com/project/wp-defender/">pro</a> version of their plugin, both of which offer great value for the features they provide. The free version offers a firewall, as well as IP blocking that automatically detects and blocks bots, and also lets you shut out visitors from certain geo locations.</p>



<p>The pro version offers some additional features, such as scheduled security scans, backups, and website restoration, that are well worth the price.</p>



<p><strong>Key Features:</strong></p>



<ul><li>Two-factor authentication</li><li>Firewall and IP blocking</li><li>Login protection</li><li>Scheduled security scans (pro)</li><li>Change file restore and repair (pro)</li></ul>



<h3>5. VaultPress/Jetpack Security</h3>



<p>As an Automattic plugin, Jetpack is a well-known name in the WordPress community for helping to speed up WordPress websites. It recently acquired VaultPress, another familiar WordPress plugin, and now offers its backup services as part of the <a href="https://jetpack.com/features/security/">Jetpack Security</a> package. Taken together, these features cover a broad range of essential security services.</p>



<p><strong>Key Features:</strong></p>



<ul><li>Automatic updates</li><li>Spam blocking</li><li>Security scanning</li><li>Regular backups</li><li>Brute force attack protection</li></ul>



<h3>6. WordFence</h3>



<p>WordFence is best known for its <a href="https://www.wordfence.com/">firewall protection</a>, but it also offers a long list of other premium security features, including live traffic monitoring that includes IP addresses, origin, and time of day. It also offers a global dashboard, WordFence Central, that lets you monitor security across multiple sites at once.</p>



<p>Another useful feature is their leaked password protection, which checks administrator login information against password information from known data breaches. If your admin password is compromised, it will block your login and prompt you to set a new one.</p>



<p><strong>Key Features:</strong></p>



<ul><li>Firewall protection</li><li>Malware detection</li><li>IP blacklisting</li><li>Leaked password protection</li><li>Two-factor authentication</li></ul>



<h3>7. Malcare</h3>



<p>Malcare bills itself on its simplicity, with a fast stet-up and a one-click cleanup tool that can automatically remove malicious code. It also includes a firewall, plugin update management, and email alerts for any security breach. Malcare also offers a BlogVault add-on for regular backups, and a bulk update feature that makes it easier for you to keep up with the latest versions of plugins, themes, and even WordPress core.</p>



<p><strong>Key Features:</strong></p>



<ul><li>Malware detection</li><li>Firewall protection</li><li>Login protection</li><li>Automatic scans</li></ul>



<h3>8. Astra</h3>



<p>We mentioned some security statistics from Astra at the beginning of this article, so it’s about time we talked about their plugin. <a href="https://www.getastra.com/wordpress-firewall">Astra’s security plugin</a> is another feature rich solution that covers a lot of important bases.</p>



<p>Like Sucuri, they also offer post-hack services, however their plugin doesn’t have automatic backups or some of the login protection features (such as two-factor authentication or strong password enforcement) that other plugins offer.</p>



<p><strong>Key Features:</strong></p>



<ul><li>Firewall</li><li>Malware scanner</li><li>Security audit</li><li>Security dashboard</li></ul>



<h3>9. miniOrange’s Google Authenticator for WordPress</h3>



<p>If you’re looking for extra password protection, the <a href="https://plugins.miniorange.com/2-factor-authentication-for-wordpress">Google Authenticator for WordPress</a> plugin by miniOrange lets you fine-tune your configuration in impressive ways. It even offers integration with LearnDash login forms, if you want to add protection to learner accounts as well.</p>



<p>The main feature is their integration with Google Authenticator, which you can synchronize with your phone in order to receive a special login PIN that automatically updates every thirty seconds or so. You can also choose to login only with the authentication PIN (for passwordless logins), or to change password requirements based on device, time, and location.</p>



<p><strong>Key Features:</strong></p>



<ul><li>Two-factor authentication</li><li>Risk-based assessment</li><li>Passwordless authentication</li><li>LearnDash integration</li></ul>



<h3>Securing your website from most major online threats is easier than you think.</h3>



<p>Security is hard, but protecting yourself from the most common threats is not. The majority of cyberattacks are not targeted toward individual users, but rather are carried out by bots, combing the Internet looking for websites that have left their guard down. Just by using a security plugin and following some common sense guidelines about website security, you make yourself a harder target for the majority of cyberattacks.</p>



<p>Taking steps to secure your site is essential for your business, and for your learners. Don’t wait until your site is hacked to start looking for solutions.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com/9-wordpress-security-plugins-to-protect-your-course/">9 WordPress Security Plugins to Protect Your Course</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learndash.com">LearnDash</a>.</p>
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:36:"http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/";a:1:{s:10:"commentRss";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:83:"https://www.learndash.com/9-wordpress-security-plugins-to-protect-your-course/feed/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:38:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/";a:1:{s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1:"5";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}}}s:27:"http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom";a:1:{s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:0:"";s:7:"attribs";a:1:{s:0:"";a:3:{s:4:"href";s:50:"https://www.learndash.com/category/learndash/feed/";s:3:"rel";s:4:"self";s:4:"type";s:19:"application/rss+xml";}}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:44:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/";a:2:{s:12:"updatePeriod";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:9:"
	hourly	";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:15:"updateFrequency";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4:"
	1	";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}}}}}}}}s:4:"type";i:128;s:7:"headers";a:18:{s:4:"date";s:29:"Fri, 25 Mar 2022 15:36:27 GMT";s:12:"content-type";s:34:"application/rss+xml; charset=UTF-8";s:4:"link";s:156:"<https://www.learndash.com/wp-json/>; rel=https://api.w.org/, <https://www.learndash.com/wp-json/wp/v2/categories/179>; rel=alternate; type=application/json";s:17:"x-tec-api-version";s:2:"v1";s:14:"x-tec-api-root";s:50:"https://www.learndash.com/wp-json/tribe/events/v1/";s:16:"x-tec-api-origin";s:25:"https://www.learndash.com";s:15:"x-frame-options";s:10:"SAMEORIGIN";s:13:"last-modified";s:29:"Fri, 25 Mar 2022 14:55:09 GMT";s:4:"etag";s:34:""986a680b3330497eb49003cc4247e57c"";s:10:"x-hostname";s:35:"gpc080-node1.us-midwest-1.nxcli.net";s:11:"x-served-by";s:12:"gpc080-node1";s:3:"age";s:2:"59";s:15:"cf-cache-status";s:7:"DYNAMIC";s:9:"expect-ct";s:85:"max-age=604800, report-uri=https://report-uri.cloudflare.com/cdn-cgi/beacon/expect-ct";s:10:"set-cookie";s:254:"__cf_bm=RFDpED1wlIU3Ax7xQ.xQ_pDOlUslywaq1ohohEIzF08-1648222587-0-AfUtQvdlUciqlDG07nlZTfXJLQrBJClB+fcJKahUKVKR+Ec50M2Vre8k+Dmc2TGJcZOSya+vCdziM9/pfYw4pDg=; path=/; expires=Fri, 25-Mar-22 16:06:27 GMT; domain=.learndash.com; HttpOnly; Secure; SameSite=None";s:6:"server";s:10:"cloudflare";s:6:"cf-ray";s:20:"6f18b8e1dcfacac4-YYZ";s:7:"alt-svc";s:39:"h3=:443; ma=86400, h3-29=:443; ma=86400";}s:5:"build";s:14:"20220325153300";}