When it comes to online education services, there are numerous platforms that people can engage with. However, some just remain ahead of the herd, offering something a little more in the way of accessibility, engagement, and content. One such platform is LearnDash, but what exactly is it, and what does it offer? Does LearnDash have an API? Check out our guide below!
What Is LearnDash?
Created by the well-known platform WordPress, LearnDash is a widely trusted learning management system utilized by universities, schools, colleges, and businesses all around the world. (See ‘LearnDash Review – Everything You Need to Know 2023.’)
Used both as a way of selling and delivering online courses, as well as for customers who wish to engage with online education, LearnDash is one of the most widely used platforms of this kind – and certainly has more industry use than other such websites.
What Is An API?
With regards to the computing industry, an API refers to ‘application programming interfaces’. These are used by developers to allow two or more computer programs to communicate with one another to create a more integrated, functioning online system.
While a ‘user interface’ connects a computer to the user themselves, an API connects separate computers or pieces of software to one another, allowing them to work fluidly in the background.
This is the difference with this kind of interface, as an API doesn’t require the input of anyone except the initial programmer – and is only designed to be beneficial to the computer user when they come to use the associated programs in tandem.
Does LearnDash Have An API?
When we talk about LearnDash, and whether or not it has an API, we can safely say that it does – as LearnDash itself is a separate tool that can be attached to WordPress to allow the seamless use of the two programs as one.
Once the latest version is installed, LearnDash is usable with regular WordPress sites, allowing those in control to establish their own online courses, or indeed for customers to interact with quizzes and courses on the owner’s site.
In essence, LearnDash sets the expected behavior from the API, and then the WordPress site itself implements these established rules actively.
What Other Integrations Do They Have?
There are also numerous integrated tools that users can use to cater their site to their chosen audience and to make it serve the purpose they intend to deliver. These include:
- The Events Calendar
- Restrict Content Pro Integration
- Stripe Integration – sell your courses using Stripe’s payment gateway
- WooCommerce Integration – a popular shopping cart software
- Solid Affiliate
- Weglot – AI-powered translation system for your course
- BuddyBoss – powerful tools to enhance the learning experience
- BuddyPress & BuddyBoss integration – activity streams, private messaging, and custom profiles
- Bento integration – email management, SMS, conversation, and touchpoint all in one place
- PowerBack for LearnDash – 50 modules to power up your website
- Private messaging for LearnDash – group and 1-1 messaging
- ThriveCart integration – sell courses, offer upsells and offer downsells
- ConvertKit Integration – create segmented email lists
- GamiPress Integration – award points and badges for course-related and non-course-related content
- MailChimp Integration – create segmented MailChimp email lists
- SamCart Integration – conversion-optimized shopping cart system
- EDD Integration – sell digital downloads via this shopping cart
- bbPress integration – associate with public and private forums
- ToolKit for LearnDash – adds 10 extra features
- BadgeOS integration – offers badges and points
- Gravity Forms integration – create custom registration forms
- Event Espresso integration – offer e-learning with live events
- MemberPress integration
- Paid Memberships pro-integration – free membership plug-in for paid courses
- Zapier integration – connect to over 300 3rd party applications
- 2Checkout integration – popular payment gateway
- Content Cloner – clone entire courses to save time
- Memberium integration – connects Keep (Infusionsoft) to course and lesson activity
- Notes for LearnDash – allows learners to take notes
- Course Creation for instructors – external instructors can create courses without admin rights
- Group registration – sell multiple course licenses at once
- Visual customizer – brand your courses and make them more unique to you
- Slack integration – adds the popular Slack work messaging app
- LearnDash Gradebook – manage and administer grades for students
How Is LearnDash Structured?
In terms of the structure of LearnDash, users and course runners can offer distinct, tiered systems that can cater to many different customer needs.
Courses
These are the top tier of LearnDash and represent the more in-depth, feature-length learning program that the software allows site owners to offer. This will often consist of more prolonged lesson frameworks and will be separated into distinct subsections that people can engage with in chunks.
Lessons
The next tier down is lessons, and these are assigned to courses to allow prospective students to engage with them on an individual basis. Lessons can also be separated into distinct ‘sections’, depending on their content, and the structure of the specific course as a whole.
Topics
Below lessons there are topics, and just as lessons are assigned to courses, topics are also assigned to the lessons themselves.
These allow people to engage with specific themes and topics, letting them cherry-pick the description information they need, or indeed the particular facet of a course they need to engage with – either for an online qualification, further training for work, or some other specific requirement.
Quizzes
The lowest tier is quizzes, and these are open to being assigned to courses, lessons, or topics – offering a much more accessible, low-key facet to the online learning experience that LearnDash and WordPress facilitate.
How Much Does LearnDash Cost?
When it comes to LearnDash itself, there are several different pricing plans in place – all of them corresponding to distinctly different course delivery tools.
LearnDash Cloud
This is the most fully integrated, intensive package, providing users with a fully developed website that is ready to go, aesthetically pleasing course templates for them to enhance, and plenty of customization tools to help people develop their specific brand of online education.
Over the calendar year, this package comes to $299 overall – however, there are monthly payment options available that break this down into a monthly payment of $24, making it much more accessible.
LearnDash LMS
This is a specifically designed learning management system plug-in ready to be installed on a pre-existing WordPress website – and as such is suited to those who have already established a site of their own, and presumably an associated following.
There are various packages available for this option, allowing users to install this on one site (if that is all they have) or across multiple sites should they need to.
As mentioned, this is more suited to established businesses and course providers, and this is reflected in the incrementally increasing price – beginning at $199 per year for one site, $399 per year for ten sites, and $799 per year for unlimited sites.
The latter of course would only be suitable for businesses – particularly those that have numerous irons in the fire and require a package that suits their needs.
ProPanel (Add-On)
There is also the ProPanel add-on, which can be added to any of the above package options. This allows site owners to monitor their student’s progress, essentially taking on the role of a more traditional tutor. Users can then also give feedback to their students, and assign them goals tailored to their individual progression and needs.
As the most limited product on LearnDash, the price is notably cheaper – coming in at around $49 a year for one site, $99 per year for ten sites, and $199 per year for unlimited sites.
What Other Resources Does LearnDash Have?
Luckily, there are also plenty of resources for prospective course runners – allowing them to get to grips with everything they need, as well as the actual nitty-gritty when it comes to the technology and the tools available.
Blogs
Firstly, there are numerous blogs – as one might expect from a WordPress property – instructing and advising users as to the ins and outs of the process, as well as any common queries that customers raise.
This could be Tools For Creating Impressive Certificates, Why You Should Drip Content Your Courses, or blogs focused on the importance and surge of the ‘creator economy’ – instructing users on the best way to make their mark in this burgeoning online market.
These are freely available online and do not require any registration, subscription, or financial commitment to access them.
Videos
There are also numerous videos available on LearnDash’s Youtube channel – showing step-by-step guides on how to use the software, and the best ways to achieve the look and feel you are looking for.
There are also numerous instructional videos regarding the best ways to improve your course delivery – namely the best way to make it accessible, inclusive, and most importantly, informative.
These are all freely available on Youtube, and as such do not require registration with the company, or indeed a financial commitment to view them.
Webinars
There are also numerous webinars throughout the year which can be great for those looking to brush up on their general skills, make new contacts, or find help with specific topics and queries.
These tend to be pretty regular throughout the yearly calendar and are a great way for prospective course runners to get to grips with the tasks they are undertaking.
However, these do require a registration with the company to be able to attend, and as such these are in fact more suited to those who intend to have an account (or who already have one).
What Are The Benefits Of LearnDash?
As you might imagine, there are numerous benefits to LearnDash that act as major selling points to businesses and learning institutions.
Outstanding Learner Experience
First and foremost, the learning experience provided by the platform is considered to be some of the best and most fully formulated on the market – allowing people to access specifically catered learning resources at the click of a button.
This is especially useful for those with niche studies or interests, or those who require specific qualifications pertaining to their jobs – such as food hygiene or other required paperwork.
Aimed At Course Creators
The tools and format is also expertly crafted for the needs of course creators – letting them create great content in a method that is easy and accessible to people of all skill levels.
This differs from other formats, wherein the tools do not feel as tried and tested – or indeed which might not be ergonomically designed to best enhance the creating and learning processes.
Easy eCommerce Solution
What’s more, the sheer ease of their online payment options means that it has never been simpler for course creators to sell their content online.
There is also a wide variety of integrated applications that creators can add as plug-ins – allowing them to blend their course seamlessly with existing payment gateways and applications they already use.
This is also one of the safest and most reliable course-providing platforms online, due to the versatility and number of options available for both course providers and students.
Wide Array Of Plug-Ins
Likewise, there are also numerous useful plug-ins and integrations with existing applications – allowing all manner of things like private messaging, grading tools, progress mon