HELP on building an LMS WordPress website

[caracaltaca]

Building an LMS WordPress website – Choosing the right tools

The first thing was to make a research about LMS Themes on ThemeForest
(please feel free to propose another one I missed).

THEME	LINK	AUTHOR	SALES	CREATED	LIFE /m	ELEMENTOR	LMS	PRICE
Academia	https://themeforest.net/item/academia-responsive-education-theme-for-wordpress/14869670	ThemeXpert	889​	2016-03-04	100	Elementor	LP, BP	59
Coursector	https://themeforest.net/item/coursector-lms-education-wordpress/24553720	ThemeGoods	290​	2019-09-12	21,5	Elementor	LP, BP	59
Edubin	https://themeforest.net/item/edubin-education-lms-wordpress-theme/24037792	PixelCurve	510​	2019-09-18	21	Elementor	LD, LP, TU	49
Eduma	https://themeforest.net/item/education-wordpress-theme-education-wp/14058034	ThimPress	24256​	2015-12-22	114	Both	LP, BP	69
Edumodo	https://themeforest.net/item/edumodo-allinone-lms-education-theme-for-wordpress/20973202	ThemeXpert	981​	2018-02-16	28,5	Elementor	LD, LP, SEN	59
IvyPrep	https://themeforest.net/item/ivy-school-education-university-wordpress-theme/22773871	ThimPress	1111​	2018-11-09	20	Both	LP, BP	64
LMS WordPress	https://themeforest.net/item/lms-learning-management-system-education-lms-wordpress-theme/7867581	DesignThemes	5125​	2014-09-03	75	VisualComp.	BP, OC	59
Masterstudy	https://themeforest.net/item/masterstudy-education-center-wordpress-theme/12170274	StylemixThemes	8466​	2015-07-24	120	VisualComp.	BP, OC	69
MaxCoach	https://themeforest.net/item/maxcoach-online-courses-education-wp-theme/26051639	ThemeMove	651​	2020-03-26	3	Elementor	LP	59
Talemy	https://themeforest.net/item/talemy-lms-education-wordpress-theme/23064542	Theme-Spirit	422​	2019-04-06	27	Elementor	LD, BP	59
Turitor	https://themeforest.net/item/turitor-education-wordpress-theme/25282972	TrippleS	438​	2020-01-10	5,5	Elementor	LD, LP, TU	35
WPLMS	https://themeforest.net/item/wplms-learning-management-system/6780226	VibeThemes	23950​	2014-02-18	68	VisualComp.	BP, OC	75

where
BP BuddyPress
TU Toutor LMS
LD LearnDash
LP LearnPress
SEN Sensei
OC Other, Custom


What things need to be considered (random order):
1. Total Sales
2. Price
3. Life: months, that this theme is supported
4. Fresh theme (design)
5. LMS platform used
6. BuddyPress supported
7. Elementor, VisualComposer

THEME	SALES​		THEME	PRICE		THEME	LIFE /months		THEME	NEWEST
Eduma	24256​		WPLMS	75		Masterstudy	120,0		MaxCoach	2020-03-26
WPLMS	23950​		Eduma	69		Eduma	114,0		Turitor	2020-01-10
Masterstudy	8466​		Masterstudy	69		Academia	100,0		Edubin	2019-09-18
LMS WordPress	5125​		IvyPrep	64		LMS WordPress	75,0		Coursector	2019-09-12
IvyPrep	1111​		MaxCoach	59		WPLMS	68,0		Talemy	2019-04-06
Edumodo	981​		Coursector	59		Edumodo	28,5		IvyPrep	2018-11-09
Academia	889​		Talemy	59		Talemy	27,0		Edumodo	2018-02-16
MaxCoach	651​		Edumodo	59		Coursector	21,5		Academia	2016-03-04
Edubin	510​		Academia	59		Edubin	21,0		Eduma	2015-12-22
Turitor	438​		LMS WordPress	59		IvyPrep	20,0		Masterstudy	2015-07-24
Talemy	422​		Edubin	49		Turitor	5,5		LMS WordPress	2014-09-03
Coursector	290​		Turitor	35		MaxCoach	3,0		WPLMS	2014-02-18

LearnDash support	LearnPress support	BuddyPress support
Edubin	Academia	Academia
Edumodo	Coursector	Eduma
Talemy	Edubin	IvyPrep
Turitor	Eduma	LMS WordPress
	Edumodo	Masterstudy
	IvyPrep	Talemy
	MaxCoach	WPLMS
	Turitor	LP, BP
		LP, BP

Based on these and concerning my needs/prefers, EDUMA is the first in (my) list. But....

Issues that still need input (random order):
a. Usability
b. Expandability
c. Design
d. Best platform used (LearnPress or LearnDash, etc)
e. Future support and updates
f. Compatibilities/Incompatibilities
g. Theme Builder (Elementor or VC)

My personal demands/needs
I can only be sure for one. I need Elementor for sure!
And, yes, I would prefer to use a custom design/theme to support the chosen LMS platform.
But as this will be my first step to the Edu-World, a Theme might help a lot...
Concerning the LMS platform, I see more things (plugins, tutorials etc)
in the market about LearnDash –and more serious too, but I don't have any real experience.


I know that you can judge correctly something only if you install and be experienced with this.
But in order to earn valuable time and efforts, I need everyone's experience!

So, I am trying to gather input and comments from "real users". I will be happy to have your comments.
Thanks in advance

 

[jackdas]

I'm leaning towards LearnDash for the fact that it's WP based. But if it's a large instance check out moodle or blackboard. Both have been around the block!

 

[caracaltaca]

Thanks @jackdas but I need a WP based solution.

BuddyBoss was not included in my previous post, and as I see there is a full compatibility/integration with LearnDash. Modern look, well coded, but I am afraid it needs much more hosting power (not so suitable for shared hosting....). Did anybody checked this solution?

 

[JacobOpiyo]

eSmarts - Education & LMS Theme can you find this too

 

[jackdas]

Thanks @jackdas but I need a WP based solution.

BuddyBoss was not included in my previous post, and as I see there is a full compatibility/integration with LearnDash. Modern look, well coded, but I am afraid it needs much more hosting power (not so suitable for shared hosting....). Did anybody checked this solution?

Go with a cheap VPS mate. I've tested BuddyBoss + LearnDash on namecheap shared hosting. Works OK.

 

[caracaltaca]

Go with a cheap VPS mate. I've tested BuddyBoss + LearnDash on namecheap shared hosting. Works OK.

I am really happy to see people like you @jackdas into Babiato!
I realize that except the resources dance, we could really help each other, sharing –at least– our experience in using this kind of stuff... I will keep informing you about my tries on LMS world id needed
Now, I am going to start and already have installed LearnDash, Astra (free), Elementor and the Academy Template from Astra (free).

The only reason I didn't decide as first step the BuddyBoss/LearnDash was the hosting and that for the time, I don't need these social community facilities. This combination looked to me as the most professional and complete! Far away from the competition and –this concerns me a lot– with the best backend/fronted aesthetic results.

But for the reason I need this LMS installation, I want to achieve the lightest build. That's why I am avoiding a readymade theme with a questionable future (even if Talemy was quite good-looking).

Anyway, this will be my next step for sure...

Btw, I have a shared hosting account on SiteGround. Do you believe that this will be enough for BuddyBoss?

 

[gokurdera]

I used Eduma to create the first academy.
It has everything I need and I haven't noticed any errors that can't be repaired easily.
In addition, if you don't know something, there is a lot of material on the internet that helps.

 

[Saciyer]

The best choice would be Learndash+Astra. I have purchased and used Eduma, no doubt it looks good but, the code is loose. Issues with loading time. Whereas learndash has better rock-solid codes with very few bugs. Another thing is to select VPS hosting with more than 2GB RAM. LMS sites are resource-driven.

 

[jackdas]

I am really happy to see people like you @jackdas into Babiato!
I realize that except the resources dance, we could really help each other, sharing –at least– our experience in using this kind of stuff... I will keep informing you about my tries on LMS world id needed
Now, I am going to start and already have installed LearnDash, Astra (free), Elementor and the Academy Template from Astra (free).

The only reason I didn't decide as first step the BuddyBoss/LearnDash was the hosting and that for the time, I don't need these social community facilities. This combination looked to me as the most professional and complete! Far away from the competition and –this concerns me a lot– with the best backend/fronted aesthetic results.

But for the reason I need this LMS installation, I want to achieve the lightest build. That's why I am avoiding a readymade theme with a questionable future (even if Talemy was quite good-looking).

Anyway, this will be my next step for sure...

Btw, I have a shared hosting account on SiteGround. Do you believe that this will be enough for BuddyBoss?

The image cracked me up!
I've used SiteGround before. Works OK for the tests as long as they are light.
Astra+ LearnDash is a popular choice. Check out some tutorials on YT on the same.
Divi + LearnDash is also something you can consider. Both available here on Babiato!
PM me if you're stuck or need anything on the LMS build. I certainly don't know everything but can help when free.

 

[caracaltaca]

The image cracked me up!
I've used SiteGround before. Works OK for the tests as long as they are light.
Astra+ LearnDash is a popular choice. Check out some tutorials on YT on the same.
Divi + LearnDash is also something you can consider. Both available here on Babiato!
PM me if you're stuck or need anything on the LMS build. I certainly don't know everything but can help when free.

THANKSSSSSSSSSS for your concern...!!!!

It was much much easier than I could ever imagine! Everything is working like charm and with some uncanny addons and DesignerUpdate, I realize that I simply have a "tool", a thousand times more customizable than almost every other paid theme from the previous list. Also, already connected through use-your-drive plugin so to be able to have file sharing and embeds in lessons. Today I will install the events-calendar plugin, and ...finito!

Really happy til now! The only doubt is the hosting, as I will need at least a 150-200 simultaneous connections in the near future... For sure, I will need an upgrade.

The last thing --but not urgent-- is to see what to do with webinars.
I would be extremely happy if I could take advantage of your experience in this.

Thx again @jackdas !!!!

 

[caracaltaca]

The best choice would be Learndash+Astra. I have purchased and used Eduma, no doubt it looks good but, the code is loose. Issues with loading time. Whereas learndash has better rock-solid codes with very few bugs. Another thing is to select VPS hosting with more than 2GB RAM. LMS sites are resource-driven.

Thanks to you also @Saciyer

 

[jackdas]

THANKSSSSSSSSSS for your concern...!!!!

It was much much easier than I could ever imagine! Everything is working like charm and with some uncanny addons and DesignerUpdate, I realize that I simply have a "tool", a thousand times more customizable than almost every other paid theme from the previous list. Also, already connected through use-your-drive plugin so to be able to have file sharing and embeds in lessons. Today I will install the events-calendar plugin, and ...finito!

Really happy til now! The only doubt is the hosting, as I will need at least a 150-200 simultaneous connections in the near future... For sure, I will need an upgrade.

The last thing --but not urgent-- is to see what to do with webinars.
I would be extremely happy if I could take advantage of your experience in this.

Thx again @jackdas !!!!

For webinars, go with zoom. https://marketplace.zoom.us/apps/SWwsJ3lHTZOxvtSW_0ELag

There are options here as well

Search Results for “zoom” | WordPress.org

wordpress.org

Go with a VPS, choose a location closest to where you're deploying.

If you get stuck let me know! Happy to help.

 

[zen123]

Thanks Bro for giving some valuable points on LMS. @caracaltaca

 

[slvrsteele]

The last thing --but not urgent-- is to see what to do with webinars.

I did use WPLMS for some kind of school management with multiple classes and for live solution I chose self hosted BigBlueButton.
I do suggest you to use self hosted solution (if you're offering paid classes and webinars) cause of privacy and recordings (if you want to have them for sale at a later time). Jitsi Meet and BigBlueButton are 2 of open source apps that you can use and they can be scaled up to your needs. With self-hosted app you can bypass the time limits and participants number / webinar and you can charge (or not) accordingly.

One of the advantages of BBB over others is that it have a whiteboard and option to upload document/images/presentation and actually present them without needing to share screen which can be slow and blurry sometimes.

Here are 2 screenshots from one of the meetings with 90+ members and 80+ webcams (image is blurred at some parts for some obvious reasons) one with the meeting itself and one with server load (dedicated server Intel Xeon E3-1245V2, 32Gb RAM, 6TB HDD for as low as 35 Euro/month)

 

[jackdas]

I did use WPLMS for some kind of school management with multiple classes and for live solution I chose self hosted BigBlueButton.
I do suggest you to use self hosted solution (if you're offering paid classes and webinars) cause of privacy and recordings (if you want to have them for sale at a later time). Jitsi Meet and BigBlueButton are 2 of open source apps that you can use and they can be scaled up to your needs. With self-hosted app you can bypass the time limits and participants number / webinar and you can charge (or not) accordingly.

One of the advantages of BBB over others is that it have a whiteboard and option to upload document/images/presentation and actually present them without needing to share screen which can be slow and blurry sometimes.

Here are 2 screenshots from one of the meetings with 90+ members and 80+ webcams (image is blurred at some parts for some obvious reasons) one with the meeting itself and one with server load (dedicated server Intel Xeon E3-1245V2, 32Gb RAM, 6TB HDD for as low as 35 Euro/month)

Pretty cool implementation of BBB!

 

[WhiteFluffyPuppy]

Hello @caracaltaca - It's been about three years since you made this thread, and I wanted to know it went with your LMS project. How many students did you sign up, and how many videos did you upload?
I want to build an LMS, and one concern for me is the hosting, specifically bandwidth.
I checked Vimeo, but they have a cap of 2TB/mo. If a video is 1GB and I have 40 videos - that's already 40GB, which means if 50 people each watch that 40 GB of videos - there goes my 2TB. Am I right in my calculations?

@slvrsteele - How has been your use of WPLMS since then? Are you still using it, or have you switched? How many people were you providing your videos to?

@jackdas suggested VPS, but I don't know if that solves the bandwidth issue above. What if I had 100,000 subscribers? How does one solve that good problem?

Anyway, everyone's input is appreciated. Currently, the top scripts include Eduma, WPLMS, and Academy.

Thank you all in advance for your comments.

 

[destino]

Building an LMS WordPress website – Choosing the right tools

The first thing was to make a research about LMS Themes on ThemeForest
(please feel free to propose another one I missed).

THEME	LINK	AUTHOR	SALES	CREATED	LIFE /m	ELEMENTOR	LMS	PRICE
Academia	https://themeforest.net/item/academia-responsive-education-theme-for-wordpress/14869670	ThemeXpert	889​	2016-03-04	100	Elementor	LP, BP	59
Coursector	https://themeforest.net/item/coursector-lms-education-wordpress/24553720	ThemeGoods	290​	2019-09-12	21,5	Elementor	LP, BP	59
Edubin	https://themeforest.net/item/edubin-education-lms-wordpress-theme/24037792	PixelCurve	510​	2019-09-18	21	Elementor	LD, LP, TU	49
Eduma	https://themeforest.net/item/education-wordpress-theme-education-wp/14058034	ThimPress	24256​	2015-12-22	114	Both	LP, BP	69
Edumodo	https://themeforest.net/item/edumodo-allinone-lms-education-theme-for-wordpress/20973202	ThemeXpert	981​	2018-02-16	28,5	Elementor	LD, LP, SEN	59
IvyPrep	https://themeforest.net/item/ivy-school-education-university-wordpress-theme/22773871	ThimPress	1111​	2018-11-09	20	Both	LP, BP	64
LMS WordPress	https://themeforest.net/item/lms-learning-management-system-education-lms-wordpress-theme/7867581	DesignThemes	5125​	2014-09-03	75	VisualComp.	BP, OC	59
Masterstudy	https://themeforest.net/item/masterstudy-education-center-wordpress-theme/12170274	StylemixThemes	8466​	2015-07-24	120	VisualComp.	BP, OC	69
MaxCoach	https://themeforest.net/item/maxcoach-online-courses-education-wp-theme/26051639	ThemeMove	651​	2020-03-26	3	Elementor	LP	59
Talemy	https://themeforest.net/item/talemy-lms-education-wordpress-theme/23064542	Theme-Spirit	422​	2019-04-06	27	Elementor	LD, BP	59
Turitor	https://themeforest.net/item/turitor-education-wordpress-theme/25282972	TrippleS	438​	2020-01-10	5,5	Elementor	LD, LP, TU	35
WPLMS	https://themeforest.net/item/wplms-learning-management-system/6780226	VibeThemes	23950​	2014-02-18	68	VisualComp.	BP, OC	75

where
BP BuddyPress
TU Toutor LMS
LD LearnDash
LP LearnPress
SEN Sensei
OC Other, Custom


What things need to be considered (random order):
1. Total Sales
2. Price
3. Life: months, that this theme is supported
4. Fresh theme (design)
5. LMS platform used
6. BuddyPress supported
7. Elementor, VisualComposer

THEME	SALES​		THEME	PRICE		THEME	LIFE /months		THEME	NEWEST
Eduma	24256​		WPLMS	75		Masterstudy	120,0		MaxCoach	2020-03-26
WPLMS	23950​		Eduma	69		Eduma	114,0		Turitor	2020-01-10
Masterstudy	8466​		Masterstudy	69		Academia	100,0		Edubin	2019-09-18
LMS WordPress	5125​		IvyPrep	64		LMS WordPress	75,0		Coursector	2019-09-12
IvyPrep	1111​		MaxCoach	59		WPLMS	68,0		Talemy	2019-04-06
Edumodo	981​		Coursector	59		Edumodo	28,5		IvyPrep	2018-11-09
Academia	889​		Talemy	59		Talemy	27,0		Edumodo	2018-02-16
MaxCoach	651​		Edumodo	59		Coursector	21,5		Academia	2016-03-04
Edubin	510​		Academia	59		Edubin	21,0		Eduma	2015-12-22
Turitor	438​		LMS WordPress	59		IvyPrep	20,0		Masterstudy	2015-07-24
Talemy	422​		Edubin	49		Turitor	5,5		LMS WordPress	2014-09-03
Coursector	290​		Turitor	35		MaxCoach	3,0		WPLMS	2014-02-18

LearnDash support	LearnPress support	BuddyPress support
Edubin	Academia	Academia
Edumodo	Coursector	Eduma
Talemy	Edubin	IvyPrep
Turitor	Eduma	LMS WordPress
	Edumodo	Masterstudy
	IvyPrep	Talemy
	MaxCoach	WPLMS
	Turitor	LP, BP
		LP, BP

Based on these and concerning my needs/prefers, EDUMA is the first in (my) list. But....

Issues that still need input (random order):
a. Usability
b. Expandability
c. Design
d. Best platform used (LearnPress or LearnDash, etc)
e. Future support and updates
f. Compatibilities/Incompatibilities
g. Theme Builder (Elementor or VC)

My personal demands/needs
I can only be sure for one. I need Elementor for sure!
And, yes, I would prefer to use a custom design/theme to support the chosen LMS platform.
But as this will be my first step to the Edu-World, a Theme might help a lot...
Concerning the LMS platform, I see more things (plugins, tutorials etc)
in the market about LearnDash –and more serious too, but I don't have any real experience.


I know that you can judge correctly something only if you install and be experienced with this.
But in order to earn valuable time and efforts, I need everyone's experience!

So, I am trying to gather input and comments from "real users". I will be happy to have your comments.
Thanks in advance

To be MaxCoach and Turitor are my bet. Coursector is good too.

They are sleek and follows modern designs pattern