Most people prefer an online course because of its affordability and convenience. This is why the demand for online courses has been increasing. Some prominent platforms like Udemy, Coursera, and Simplilearn offer online courses in different categories. Numerous institutes are offering online courses. If you are also looking to create a website for online courses, WordPress is the only option for quick launching. WordPress offers some themes that offer features for creating, managing, and selling online courses. LearnPress plugin is a tool that helps educators launch an online course website.
In this article, you will learn about the LearnPress plugin.
LearnPress is a free WordPress plugin to help users create, manage, and sell online courses. You can think of it as a toolkit that turns your WordPress website into a learning platform. Whether you want to build a small online class or a full-scale educational website, LearnPress can do the job well.
The plugin has features that make it easier for instructors to build and organize courses. With LearnPress, you can create lessons, quizzes, and assignments and bundle them into a structured course. It also supports payments, allowing you to sell courses directly from your website.
Key Features of the LearnPress Plugin
Let’s understand some key features that make LearnPress stand out from other LMS plugins.
- Course Builder: LearnPress has a drag-and-drop course builder that makes creating and organizing your courses easy. You don’t need to know coding. You can add lessons, quizzes, and other course materials with a few clicks.
- Quizzes and Assessments: One of the best ways to test students’ understanding is through quizzes. LearnPress lets you add quizzes to your courses. You can also set multiple-choice questions, short-answer questions, and more.
- Lesson Management: The plugin allows you to create and manage lessons and organize them in modules for a more structured learning experience.
- Course Management: The course management feature allows you to categorize your courses. You can easily add new courses, manage existing ones, or update course content.
- Payment Integration: LearnPress integrates with several payment gateways, including PayPal, Stripe, and WooCommerce. This feature makes it easy to sell your courses and collect payments from your learners.
- User Management: LearnPress helps you manage your students. You can track their progress, view their quiz scores, and even award certificates upon course completion.
- Multilingual Support: LearnPress supports multiple languages, allowing you to offer courses to students worldwide.
- Add-Ons for Extra Features: While the core plugin is free, LearnPress offers premium add-ons that extend its functionality. You can add features like course reviews, content dripping (releasing content over time), and more.
How to Install LearnPress
Installing LearnPress is as simple as adding any other WordPress plugin. Follow the below points to install LearnPress in a minute.
Log in to Your WordPress Dashboard: You must log in to your WordPress website to access the dashboard.
- Go to Plugins > Add New
- Search for LearnPress in the search bar.
- Install and Activate
Once activated, LearnPress adds a new menu to your WordPress dashboard. This is where you can start building your courses.
Creating Your First Course with LearnPress
Now that LearnPress is installed let’s walk through creating a course. You don’t need to be an expert to do this because it’s a drag-and-drop plugin that allows you to create the course in minutes. It works very well with some themes like Coursemax.
- Navigate to LearnPress > Courses: You’ll see a new LearnPress option in your dashboard. Click on “Courses.”
- Add a New Course: Click the “Add New” button on the Courses page.
- Fill in the Course Details: You’ll need to provide a title, description, and featured image for your course. The description should be clear and informative so potential students know what to expect.
- Add Lessons and Quizzes: Below the course description, you can add lessons and quizzes. You can upload video, audio, or written content for each lesson.
- Set Pricing: If you plan to sell your course, you can set the price in the “Course Settings” section. You can choose between free, one-time payment, or recurring payments.
- Publish Your Course: Once everything is ready, click “Publish” to make your course live.
Selling Courses with LearnPress
One of the reasons why many website owners use LearnPress is the ability to sell courses. You can quickly turn your website into a marketplace for online learning.
To sell courses, you’ll need to integrate a payment gateway. As mentioned earlier, LearnPress supports PayPal, Stripe, and WooCommerce, making it convenient to receive payments globally. Some country-based payment gateways work with local governments to ensure minimum transaction fees. Let’s understand how to set up PayPal as a payment gateway.
Here’s how you can set up PayPal:
- Go to LearnPress Settings: Click LearnPress > Settings in your WordPress dashboard.
- Click on Payments: Go to the “Payments” tab.
- Enable PayPal: Turn on PayPal by toggling the switch, then click “Configure.”
- Enter Your PayPal Information: Fill in your email and any other required information.
- Save Changes: Don’t forget to click “Save” to apply the changes.
Now, when anyone purchases a course, they can pay through PayPal.
Who Can Benefit from LearnPress?
LearnPress is designed for anyone who wants to teach or offer courses online. If you want some courses, you can create a website to offer them instead of choosing a Udemy and Coursera-like marketplace. Here are some examples of who might benefit from this plugin:
- Educators: Teachers or schools can use LearnPress to create online classes. Whether teaching math, science, or art, you can design courses that fit your curriculum.
- Business Owners: Many businesses use LearnPress to create employee training programs. If you run a company, you can build courses to train your staff in various skills.
- Coaches: Life coaches, fitness trainers, or other professionals who offer coaching services can use LearnPress to offer online lessons and courses.
- Content Creators: If you’re a blogger or YouTuber, you can create courses to share your knowledge with your audience. LearnPress provides a platform where you can monetize your content.
Free vs. Paid Add-ons
While LearnPress is free, there are premium add-ons that enhance its functionality. The free version offers all the essential features necessary to create and manage courses. However, if you want more advanced features, the paid add-ons can help.
Some popular paid add-ons include:
- Content Drip: This feature allows you to release course content over time instead of all at once.
- Certificates: You can create custom certificates automatically awarded to students when they complete a course.
- WooCommerce Integration: This add-on allows you to use WooCommerce to sell courses.
- Membership Integration: You can integrate LearnPress with membership plugins to create a subscription-based course site.
Why Choose LearnPress Over Other LMS Plugins?
LearnPress offers many advantages that make it an excellent choice for course creators. It is considered the best in the industry for selling online courses.
- Ease of Use: LearnPress requires no technical knowledge. Its drag-and-drop course builder and simple interface make it easy for beginners.
- Affordability: LearnPress is free to use, and even the premium add-ons are relatively affordable compared to other LMS plugins.
- Flexibility: Whether you’re building a small course or a fully online school, LearnPress can grow with you. You can start small and add features as you need them.
- Customizable: WordPress themes and plugins allow you to customize your learning platform to match your brand and style.
Conclusion
LearnPress is an excellent tool for creating and selling courses online. It offers a user-friendly interface, essential features like quizzes and assessments, and integrations with payment gateways to help you monetize your content. Whether you’re a teacher, business owner, or coach, LearnPress can help you build a successful online learning platform. The good thing about this platform is it works without any expertise. You can easily manage the course dashboard.