The 6 Factors You Must Consider BEFORE Selecting Your Online Course Platform

Did you know there are over 50 course platforms out there that could host your online course? CRAZY right!

Any wonder course creators get stuck from launching their courses due to tech confusion and overwhelm.

How are you meant to confidently pick the best one for you?

I fully get it!

I know how frustrating and daunting it can be, particularly when you’re worried about selecting the wrong platform for your course.

And the reality is every business is different.

What works for one business, may not necessarily work for another.

We’ve helped client’s setup their online courses across a variety of different platforms over the years.

Because everyone’s needs were different.

And that’s the same for you and your online course.

There 6 considerations that we recommend you review BEFORE you select or setup your online course platform software.

Let’s briefly cover them off here.

6 Considerations BEFORE You Select Your Online Course Platform

1. What You Need

What key features do you need your online platform to offer? For example, do you want to be able to release new content automatically weekly, do you need to be able to host video content, do you need the course hosted on a mobile app, create course certificates, ability for users to interact with each other, host an online community, do you want the ability to update the branding, do you want to be able host unlimited courses, discussion forums and the list goes on. But it’s not just the physical delivery of your course through an online platform that you need to think about. What else do you need to be able to sell and deliver your online course? There is a wide range of possible features you may want from your online learning platform. Check out our free Online Course Tech Simplified Guide here to find out about the high-level functions you need from your course tech stack and how they fit together.

2. Your Current Tech Stack

What is the current tech stack that you’re using in your business to interact with your clients, sell online and deliver content? Are you using any technology/software that performs the functions that you need to sell and deliver your online course? Or, have you already paid or are paying for a tool that you should consider? Now, just because you’re currently using/paying for something, does not mean you should continue. You need to go back to what do you need your systems to do, then evaluate against your current tech stack to see if it’s the best option to deliver what you need against the other options out there.

3. Your Technical Knowledge & Experience

If you plan on being able to setup or manage your online course software yourself, or have a member of your team do it, it’s important to understand their technical skills, knowledge and experience. Also, you need to understand the complexity of the system/s that you are choosing as well. If you’re using an easy-to-use system, then there may be less training and more internal adoption for your team to manage it themselves. If the solution/setup is more complex, you will need to rely more on external providers, or you’ll need to invest more in training your team, or hiring skilled talent to help support your course setup and maintenance.

4. Course Validation

Understanding your course numbers, past successes, and your plans, will provide valuable insights into selecting your online course platform. If you’re launching your first individual course, with a small list and no proven track record yet, then you may wish to consider a simpler and more cost-effective all-in-one platform. However, if you’ve had a track record of multiple course launches and a big list/following, then you may wish to consider more options to deliver upon a more sophisticated experience for your course participants and backend management.

5. Timing

How soon do you need to get your online course up and running? This will also heavily depend on the tech stack that you choose. If you want all the bells and whistles, custom branding and look and feel, then this will potentially take more time to setup. Versus just wanting a solid solution with some branding and standard course look and feel, then this could be launched sooner. What’s your deadline for launching? Once you know this, then work back to understand how long you have to build out your course platform and associated tech.

6. Budget

There are three components that make up your online course budget. This includes your budget for setup, budget for maintenance and ongoing costs for course related software. In terms of the budget for setup and maintenance, you might decide to do it yourself. That’s fine, but be mindful about the internal cost of time, wages and opportunity cost if you, as the business owner are going to be doing any of this yourself. Depending on the solution you choose the learning curve to setup and maintain your online learning platform might be high if it’s a more complex or multi system setup. The final budget consideration is for the software for hosting your online course. Be careful about free/low-cost tools, as they might sound good in theory with affordable pricing, but may not do everything that you need, or talk with the other systems that you need to sell and deliver your online course.

Selecting The BEST Online Course Tech Stack For You

This summary covers the 6 factors you need to consider when selecting your online course platform. It is just the tip of the iceberg when selecting the best online course for you and your online course. We need more online course creators like you running successful online businesses, reaching more students and getting your expertise out there. Please don’t get stuck here and delay or worse not launch your course. It’s time for your brilliance to be out into the world! If you’re not yet clear on what you need your course tech to do as a starting point, please request a copy of our free Online Course Tech Simplified guide. Hope that helps!