How To Create a Paid Course in WordPress
Using WordPress Plugins To Make Money From Your Knowledge:
What plugins do you need:
LMS vs Membership
Quizzes and Exams
Tutorials
Badges and Levels
Discussions and feedback
And how to attract students and $$$
It's Easy To Get Confused By The Many Options.
Tens of LMS plugins and themes
Tens of membership plugins and even more themes
Hundreds of Education themes
Quiz plugins, forum plugins, tutorials
So, where do you get started?
LMS Plugin or Membership Plugin?
One of the most important decisions is how to structure your
course: by using a Learning Management System (LMS) or by using a
Membership Plugin.
LMS usually assume that you will want to charge once for
completing a course.
Membership plugins usually assume that your users will stay
longer and pay for monthly access.Which leads to different flow
(see next slide)
LMS vs Membership
Larger chart here
Completing a course is
one-time act.
At the end you can issue certificate
You can have quiz / exam
User pays once for the course
Then you can take them to next course
And things start again
Building a Membership (on the other hand) Means:
Users will stay longer time
Users will pay every month
You need to add content all the time or user loses interest
Or Mix Both:
Create courses and lessons
But charge for access monthly using a membership plugin
Get the best of both words
Some LMS Plugins to Consider
Because we are the developers Namaste! LMS it's natural to
recommend it. Namaste! LMS is free, connects to the best exam /
quiz plugin, gives super-high flexibility options, assignments,
gradebook, certificates - possibly everything you may need.Some
other LMS plugins worth a look are:WP Courseware - probably the
oldest LMS plugin, costs $67 - $137.
WooThemes Sensei - supported by the huge Woothemes network. In
case you use some of their other products, this might be the best
choice. $129 - $279.
WP TrainUp - our best competitors. Although not free, it's
modestly priced - 45. This is also the most developer-friendly
plugin along with Namaste! LMS.
Docebo is maybe the most feature rich but it's cloud-based.
There is a steep recurring monthly fee starting at $170.
Some of the plugins do all in one while others (like Namaste!
LMS) integrate with other WordPress plugins. Both approaches have
their advantages and disadvantages.
Membership Plugins to Consider
Try our Konnichiwa! Not only it's completely free, but it's
probably the quickest to get started.Also have a look at:Membership
by WPMU starts free and has fair priced pro version. Good choice
for a quick start.
Magic members is another easy one although it costs more.
S2Member is developer-friendly and big in functions. The prices
are also fair.
Paid Membership PRO starts with a free version, next one is $97.
This is a good and stable plugin.
Memberpress is probably the most feature-rich. It comes with
yearly fee however.
Meanwhile Don't Forget That
You need to create GREAT, INTERESTING, AND ENGAGING CONTENT!
Otherwise No Amount Of Plugins Will Help You
Add Some Quizzes
A course is nothing without good quiz or exam at the end (and
why only one).The Best Quiz Plugin Ever is WatuPRO, Period!But if
you choose LMS plugin for your course you may have to live with the
built-in quiz plugin
Only Namaste! LMS integrates with WatuPRO and even with the free
Watu
If you work with a Membership plugin you will be able to use any
quiz plugin
Add Some Tutorials
Don't forget to format your course like a tutorial
Use videos, graphics and charts
Use tutorial plugin like Daskal, Step-by-Step, or Instruct (all
are FREE)
Badges and Levels
Make your course interactive and more interesting by assigning
badges for completion and levels like Intermediate, Advanced,
Master, Jedi, Guru, and so on
Plugins for Badges and Levels
If you are really technical I recommend you to have a look at
BadgeOS. This plugin is SUPER POWERFUL (and also super
complicated).
Another great choice is WatuPRO Play except that it's not free
and requires WatuPRO as well.
You can also manually assign badges and levels but this will be
TEDIOUS
Discussion and Feedback
In the best case you'll want the users to communicate and give
you feedback!
To do this you will need some more PLUGINS!
Contact Form Plugin
There are many of these but in most cases the freeCONTACT FORM
7Will be good enough
@
Add a Forum Plugin
There are many forum plugins, but the best are:BBPress
Simple:Press
Vanilla Forums (Integration plugin)
Integrating the forum inside the protected course pages will be
easier if you have chosen to use a Membership plugin rather than
LMS plugin
Encourage Discussion!
Users will stay longer if they feel engaged.
Start Selling The Course
Drive traffic to the site
Keep members happy
Add content
Use affiliate program for more sales
Don't forget badges, certificates, and rewards
Put some content free to drive SEO traffic
Build slideshows like this to draw more interest
Conclusion!
Install LMS or membership plugin
Create payment plans or prices for courses, exams etc.
Create your content
Start selling
At the end, steps 3 and 4 are likely to cost you more in time
and/or money than step 1 and 2.
Thank You!
Thanks for watching this presentation. For a longer and more
detailed version check
here:http://namaste-lms.org/articles/create-paid-course.php
