If you are selling online courses, no doubt you have seen hundreds of options for course platforms. Which platform should you choose?
The major factors that should influence your decision are
You
Your Student
1. Consider your needs:
Do you need webinar and live session capabilities?
Will you accept payment through the platform? If so, which payment processors do you want to use?
Will you need gamification elements like certificates of completion, badges and leaderboards?
Does the platform support private discussions?
Can you upload the content you will use in your course, like authoring tool export files, audio, video, PDF, etc?
Will the platform allow you to host your files directly on their site or will you need a third-party host?
Will your course platform integrate with your website?
How much are you willing to pay for your platform? Will you pay based on number of students or time?
Will you make frequent updates to your course?
Will your course include your business branding?
Do you want your platform to include landing pages?
Will you drip content (also known as adaptive release)?
Can you offer free courses?
What other features are you looking for?
2. Consider the needs of your students:
How many students will you have?
How long will students have access to your course(s)?
What types of course design features will help your students learn?
What types of course design features will help your students interact with you?
What types of course design features will help your students interact with each other?
What form will instruction take? Videos? Activities? Quizzes? Worksheets?
How will your students open and submit work?
Do you want discussions to happen on Facebook or within the course platform?
Do your students want drip content or would they prefer to have access to the course all at once?
How often will your students complete work in the course?
It can be overwhelming to think about ALL of the questions at once. Determine which features of a course platform are most right for you and then start researching!
If the thought of all of that research doesn't appeal to you, we have a handy-dandy guide to over 30 course platforms. The research has been done for you!
Over 30 popular platforms and the list is growing.
Compare features, view pricing, get direct links and know that we are not affiliated with any platform. This information is for you to decide what works best.
Need more than a guide? We offer affordable coaching to help you decide which platform is going to best meet your needs.