The internet allows us to be connected with people all over the world, which is why it’s become a brilliant platform for people to host online educational courses and teach students in different countries, time zones, and cultures.
This is primarily done by using a Learning Management System (LMS), a software application that helps you manage and deliver online courses, hosting the course content and allowing you to track how it’s engaged with.
There are countless different LMS’s out there, but LearnDash is one of the most popular and trusted. Allowing you to easily create courses, lessons, quizzes, and more, LearnDash works through WordPress.
However, who uses LearnDash? Online educators are often worried that they won’t have the technological know-how to use an LMS, but is that true?
The simple answer is no! Anybody can use LearnDash, whether you’re a developer with lots of experience in such software or somebody with little experience in using such online tools.
The only requirement to use LearnDash is that you have a WordPress account because it only works through WordPress websites.
There are lots more to learn about who can use LearnDash, and we’ve got all the answers in our guide below!
We’re going to explain the types of people that use LearnDash, what they use it for, what less technologically-advanced people can do to help them use it better, and much more. Read on!
What Is LearnDash?
Before we go in-depth into who can use LearnDash, and the many reasons why they would choose to use this particular LMS, it’s worth explaining just what LearnDash actually is.
LearnDash is one of the most popular Learning Management Systems, but it’s one that only works through WordPress.
By installing it with WordPress, where it exists as a plugin, users are able to transform their websites into online educational platforms, delivering paid courses to students all around the world.
LearnDash makes it easy for you to host and create lessons, collect payments from students, and even track the progress of your students in some cases.
It allows you to create a course, make loads of lessons to go with it, and even add quizzes that will help to test what the students are taking in and what they need to go back and read over again.
Additionally, LearnDash allows you to group lessons into sections and topics, making it easier and clearer for your students to understand what they’re learning.
The LMS actually modifies WordPress itself, changing the way you can use and edit the platform. You’ll be given new menu items, new widgets, new database tables, custom types of posts, and much more.
It would be difficult, if not impossible, to host a paid online educational course on WordPress without the use of an LMS, and LearnDash gives you plenty of easy-to-use features to help you do it.
Who Can Use LearnDash?
Anybody can use LearnDash, which is one of the reasons that it’s such a popular software application. You don’t need to be a developer or a technological expert to use its tools, though that will of course help you and make it even easier to use.
Instead, you can be a technological novice and still get something out of LearnDash – although you may need a little assistance here and there.
Thankfully, that assistance comes in the form of a different subscription package, or the presence of customer support, and we’ll go into both of those later.
The only requirement for using LearnDash is that you have a WordPress account because LearnDash is specifically a WordPress plugin. It only works with and through WordPress and will help to give you educational WordPress websites.
Does it cost anything to make a WordPress account? Thankfully, no! This is very useful, because LearnDash has its own subscription fees, and you wouldn’t want to be paying for two different platforms just to use LearnDash. There are even LearnDash free trials you can try!
Anybody can make a WordPress account and use WordPress.
With that being said, the best WordPress websites will cost money to host, so you’ll likely still end up having to pay something for hosting the site itself.
However, it’s well worth the money, and you’ll also be making money from your students – so it pays for itself!
How Can Technological Novices Use LearnDash?
Many online educators are hesitant to use an LMS because they believe they’ll need to be experienced with technology in order to get to grips with it – thankfully, though, this is not the case.
Anybody can use LearnDash. However, it’s obviously going to be easier and quicker for those who do have a little more experience, and as a result, there are a few different things that technological novices can do to make their LearnDash experience smoother and simpler. (Check out ‘How To Integrate Zoom With Your LearnDash LMS?‘)
Hire A Developer To Help You
First off, somebody with little technological experience can hire a developer to help walk them through the first steps of using LearnDash, assisting them in setting up their website and delivering their course.
Understandably, not everyone will want to spend money on hiring a developer to help them.
After all, you’re already paying for LearnDash, so the idea of paying to LEARN how to use LearnDash might make some hesitate. However, look at it this way: it’s an investment.
Many people will use LearnDash as a stream of income because students pay for the courses. As a result, investing some money into paying a developer to help you set up LearnDash properly will pay for itself in the long term when you start collecting money from your online students.
On top of that, the developer will help make your course the best it can be, customizing it so that it looks and runs exactly as you want. When students are looking for courses online, there are going to be plenty of choices.
A great way to stand out from the crowd and get their custom is to have one course that’s sleek and appealing – and a developer can help get you there!
There are loads of developers out there who can help you, and LearnDash even has a group where you can get in touch with some, as well as learn plenty of tips and tricks.
Use The LearnDash Support Team
If you have a valid LearnDash subscription license, then you can make use of the LearnDash support team.
We’re making this distinction because anybody with an expired LearnDash license will still actually be able to use LearnDash, but they’ll lose access to updates and the support team.
The LearnDash support team exists to help you, so it’s always worth contacting them and having them guide you through working with LearnDash. Whatever you’re struggling with, or would like to learn more about, simply get in touch with support. (See ‘Does LearnDash Have An API?‘)
Learn Yourself
It’s always a good idea to learn by playing around with the thing at hand. When you get LearnDash, browsing around its features and seeing what each of them do is a great way for you to get to grips with the system. The more you do, the more you’ll understand! Get insights from our LearnDash Platform Review.
Of course, you can also look up LearnDash tutorials on the internet and study videos that show you how to do key features. Your confidence and know-how will grow with each one!
Use LearnDash Cloud
Finally, those with little technological experience can always go for the LearnDash Cloud subscription package, rather than the typical LearnDash LMS subscription.
What’s the difference? Well, the LearnDash LMS plugins will provide you with all the LearnDash features for a WordPress site, but you’ll need to create the site yourself.
On the other hand, LearnDash Cloud gives you the WordPress site already, allowing you to get started in just minutes.
You’ll have all the features ready for you to use, and there will be just a few simple Wizards to help you through setting the site up, with an Onboarding Wizard and a Design Wizard walking you through these key initial parts.
On top of that, you’ll have plenty of beautiful templates to use that will make your courses look visually appealing, attracting potential students.
LearnDash Cloud is a great shortcut for those who want some help setting up their new LearnDash-enabled website, providing you with many of the key stuff right out of the box.
Additionally, it even includes the ProPanel add-on, which LearnDash LMS users would have to pay for themselves usually.
ProPanel is a very useful feature that helps you track the progress of your students in greater depth.
It allows you to track pending essays and assignments, see how many students and courses you have, track real-time activity on each course and lesson, and understand student progress in easy-to-read charts.
Tracking progress is a key part of education. It’s important for a teacher to know how their students are doing because it ensures great success and that no students are falling behind.
If a student is succeeding at some parts of a course, but falling behind on others, then it’s important to recognize that so that the teacher can help them with the bits they’re not understanding. As a result, ProPanel is a tool that will make your online teaching more effective and successful!
Why Is LearnDash A Great Pick For Developers?
On the other hand, if you’re a developer or you’ve got plenty of technological experience with other apps and LMS, then LearnDash is still a great choice of platform for you.
Why? Well, LearnDash offers a lot more flexibility than the variety of hosted LMS platforms out there, offering a far better and more secure way to deliver online educational content to students around the world.
This is for a variety of reasons. For one, hosted LMSs offer a lot less control than something like LearnDash does.
For example, a platform like Thinkific or Teachable will allow you to set up and deliver courses, but the LMS has limits in its features that simply aren’t there with LearnDash.
When you want to do something outside of those limits, you won’t be able to, and so you have to deliver courses in the style that the platform allows. LearnDash gives you the freedom and flexibility that helps you deliver exactly the course you wanted to.
Additionally, hosted LMSs typically have extra costs. With LearnDash, you pay for your subscription,