Many professional online course creators now make a lot of money from their hobbies. If you are passionate about a subject or a topic like the blockchain, video games, NFTs, and cryptocurrency, then you can easily make an online course. If you are going to be creating online courses to sell, then you need to know how to choose the right platform for this.
You can find numerous platforms that you can use when hosting your courses online. While these platforms all have very similar features, choosing between them can be a lot more difficult. This is why it is very important to compare online course platforms before you take the plunge. Looking to create your online course, there are key considerations that you will have to make.
Choosing an online course platform: Key Considerations to make
Great course for the students
Your users are very important when it comes to choosing the right course platform. This set of users needs to like the general course experience and your website. Because if this is not the case, you may never get to hear from them again. The best way to do this is to make your online course more interactive and engaging. If your online course is highly engaging, then there is a higher chance that your students will enjoy the full session. In addition, they will also be satisfied with the learning outcomes of each course. To give each student the best experience, your online course needs to have the following features:
- Quizzes: These tend to challenge your students and increase their confidence to continue with your course. The use of quizzes helps motivate students to continue with your online course.
- Assignments: You can also use assignments as a way to give each student feedback on their learning progress.
- Certificates: Any online course platform with certificate courses is very appealing to any prospective student. Before buying a course, a student may check if there are certificates awarded after the program.
- Student discussions: There must be student discussions as this allows the students to engage with each other. This way, the students will not easily feel isolated.
- An adaptable course player: One best way to increase the general experience is to ensure that the course is optimized for several devices. Students should be able to access the courses using a phone, a tablet, or a desktop.
Effective marketing features
Another key consideration to make when choosing the right platform for your course is its marketing features. It is important to choose a platform that has effective marketing features. This way, you know that you can have access to your target demographics. Even the best free online course platforms have some of the best marketing features. You want to make sure that your online course platform has marketing tools such as:
- Email marketing: With email marketing, you can easily reach your target audience and promote your online course. This form of marketing usually involves collecting the names and emails of each student.
- Facebook ads: Facebook ads are very important when having to re-target your customers. This marketing tool helps you to re-target your web visitors who are yet to buy your online course.
- It is also important to consider a platform that comes with flexible payment plans as well as different business models such as team enterprise plans, lifetime plans, subscriptions, and course bundles. This way, you have enough options for different service subscribers.
User-friendly course builder
Another key consideration to make while choosing an online course platform is usability. It is important to choose a platform that has enough flexibility when it comes to creating lessons, uploading content, and receiving payments. In the marketplace, it is not rare to find platforms that are very cumbersome and difficult to use. Before you choose what platform to go with, you should ask yourself the following questions:
- Is this platform responsive and user-friendly?
- How much time will it take me to understand this platform?
- How easily can I brand my school online without any design or coding skills?
External integration: The best online course platform should be compatible with third-party solutions. This way, you can easily facilitate the creation of your online course. The platform should be able to work with applications like Convertkit, Slack, Zoom, Mailchimp, and so many more. If your platform is compatible with familiar tools, you can easily create a much more comprehensive program. Therefore, before you choose a platform for your online course. It should be flexible enough to be integrated with third-party applications. These third-party solutions help course creators add new tools and features to their websites. Your website will not work alone and will need other third-party solutions for effective results.
Affordable price packages: When choosing the right platform for your online course, you need to think about its affordability. For beginners, they can begin by looking for the best free online course platforms. This is because, at this early stage, you are just starting and may be working with a limited budget. While you may not find free online course platforms, you will certainly need something very cheap. When choosing the right course platform to use, it can be misleading to rely on the price of the package alone. To start your online school, some features will come in handy. As a guide, you may want to check the features of each plan and if they are comparable to these examples:
- An intuitive and user-friendly course builder
- Assignments and Quizzes
- Students discussions
- Certificates
- Third-party integration
- Affiliate marketing
- Certificates
- Importation of existing students
- Availability of several pricing options
A great support system: Finally, before you make up your mind on the right platform to use, it should come with a great support system. Support from the platform should be available through live chat or email. While creating your course content, somewhere along the way, there could be challenges. This is why you need a platform with a terrific support system.