The Learning Management System LMS plugins are a great way to create and manage curriculum and teaching materials due to the great virtual learning environment that allows students to choose their preferred courses, attempt quizzes, and submit assignments.
In the case of a WordPress-powered virtual learning platform, the effectiveness of LMS is highly dependent on the LMS plugin that powers the solution. The plugin adds LMS-related functionalities to the WordPress website so that you can create and manage courses directly from the WordPress dashboard.
In this article, I will take you through the best WordPress LMS plugins that you can use to create your own virtual classroom and e-learning platform.
Features to Look in a WordPress LMS Plugins
Before I dive into the collection of LMS plugins, let’s take a look at the factors you should consider before finalizing your project. While almost all LMS plugins provide a similar feature set, each good WordPress LMS plugin comes with the following key features.
Course Creation LMS Plugins
The LMS plugin should enable you to easily create courses and structure them the way you want them. It is better if the plugin comes with pre-made course templates that do a lot of work for you and let you live them within hours.
Content Restriction
It is important that you restrict courses for students so they don’t progress to the next milestone without completing the prerequisites. A good WP LMS plugin simplifies content restriction according to several conditions.
Quizzes
Talking of restricting content, quizzes, and assignments is a great way to restrict students from proceeding to the next course milestones. LMS lets you create quizzes and set passing criteria for each quiz.
Progress Tracking
It is essential for teachers to monitor the progress of individual students where they need help or where they are doing better than others.
Assignment Submission
The assignment is a great way to gauge whether students understood the course content. An ideal WordPress LMS plugin has a streamlined assignment submission option with an appropriate deadline setting.
Email Automation
LMS plugins also send you test results and assignment grades via automated email. This saves a lot of time if you have multiple batches running at the same time.
What Are the Best LMS Plugins for WordPress?
Now that you know what to look for for a WordPress LMS plugin, let’s go through our list of LMS plugins that you can use to set up a virtual classroom.
1. LearnDash LMS Plugins – Starts from $199/Year
LearnDash is arguably the best WordPress online course plugin that comes with features capable of running your virtual classroom smoothly. This plugin is used by many reputed educational institutions and popular bloggers such as WP Elevation which regularly provide free and paid courses.
This WordPress LMS plugin comes with its own “focus mode” which is a distraction-free learning environment to help students focus on content and absorb key takeaways.
Key Plugin Features
LearnDash retains the top position including industry-standard features:
Powerful Course Builder
LearnDash comes with a drag-and-drop course builder that makes it super easy for instructors to create online courses. You can reuse existing content and spin a course within hours instead of days.
Quizzes
The plugin enables you to create quizzes for your courses, where you can choose many different types of questions, including multiple-choice, single answers, and filling in the blanks. You can also set a timer for the questions included in the quiz.
Drip Feed Content
With LearnDash, you have the option to release all course materials or individual chapters at once. You can also set the time period that these chapters will be available to students.
Grade Books
You can create a grade book for students that automatically sync with all the quizzes and assignments. This means that you will not have to feed data manually and automate the grading process.
Certificates
Once your students have completed a course, you can reward them with certificates created within the plugin. You can design and upload the design of your certificates and fill them with dynamic data.
2. LifterLMS Plugins – Starts from $99/year
LifterLMS is another popular WP LMS plugin that is highly intuitive and comes with a long list of amazing features. The plugin is ideal for beginners who want to create online courses or membership websites with private training videos.
LifterLMS caters to a variety of industries including training and fitness, marketing and leadership, tech enthusiasts and coders, arts and musicians, and many more. Like LearnDash, LifterLMS is also used by big names in the industry including WP101 and Nick Usborne.
Key Plugin Features:
As mentioned before, LifterLMS comes with powerful features such as:
Course builder LMS Plugins
Like LearnDash, LifterLMS comes with a drag and drop course builder that simplifies course creation. This feature is good for all users as they can accelerate course creation and delivery without any major blockers.
Student dashboard
The dashboard allows both learners and teachers to track progress and stay organized and on-track. The dashboard provides a simplified view of grades, assignments, and deadlines.
Lesson Downloads
You can provide downloadable material related to your courses and additional reading material and worksheets. In addition, you can provide audiotapes of your courses that students can easily download from your website.
Areas of Discussion
These dedicated areas allow students and teachers to discuss various key points of the lesson. You can create a discussion area in the comments section of the syllabus or you can create a separate forum for students.
Form Integration
You can easily integrate forms on your website which will help you gather feedback on the courses. These forms will also help you to take assignments from your students.
3. Good LMS Plugins
Good LMS is a simple WordPress LMS solution available at just $ 32 on CodeCanyon, one of the more affordable options compared to other premium plugins on this list. Being affordable does not mean that it compromises on features and functionalities.
The plugin comes with a great list of features that you will find useful when setting up your virtual class.
Membership and Sub Quizzes
You can make a sub-section of a particular syllabus that you want to present and also make a sub quiz of that section.
Coupon Code
You can create coupon codes for your courses where you can offer discounts on your popular courses.
Certificate
The plugin lets you create custom certificates for students who have completed a course.
Commission Rate
Good LMS enables you to set commission rates for various instructors who are teaching in your virtual classrooms.
Course Rating
The rating feature lets learners rate your courses which you can later display on your website to gain the confidence of new students.
4. LearnPress LMS Plugins
Unlike the above two WordPress online course plugins, LearnPress is completely free. The plugin is one of the simplest solutions for your LMS needs. The fact that it is free does not mean that it is any less effective than other WordPress LMS plugins – in fact, it is the best.
Of course, there are premium add-ons that you will have to purchase for additional features, but the originals are completely free. The plugin has more than 80,000 active installs on the WordPress repository with a 4.5-star rating making it a highly reliable LMS plugin.
Key LMS Plugins Features
Seamless Integration LMS Plugins
The plugin integrates with WooCommerce and other eCommerce extensions so that you can easily sell your courses to the public.
Communication
LearnPress also integrates with BuddyPress so that you can communicate to your students through your platform.
Create a Course
This free WordPress LMS plugin comes with an excellent course builder that provides a quick and easy way to develop a course with all the options you need.
Students Wishlist LMS Plugins
Students can make their wish list on their website in the future as per their wish. This is a part of the free add on feature lists that you can download from the WordPress repo.
Announcements LMS Plugins
You can announce deadlines through new courses or announcement deadlines. This is a part of the premium add-on that needs to be purchased from the ThimPress website.
5. WP Courseware LMS Plugins
WP Courseware is another best addition to this list of WordPress LMS plugins. The plugin is developed by Fly Plugins, which is behind for amazing products such as S3 Media Maestro and Churnly WP. WP Courseware may not be as popular as LearnDash or Lifter LMS but it is certainly as effective.
The plugin’s reliability can be judged by the fact that it is used by over 21,000 customers. It is one of the oldest LMS options on the market making them highly experienced in the field.
Here are some of its features:
Integrations LMS Plugins
WP Courseware integrates with many membership plugins and eCommerce plugins so that you can sell courses to your members.
Instructor Role
The plugin allows you to assign the “Instructor” role to any WP user. This feature is highly valuable for teams working from a single virtual classroom.
Drip Content
This WordPress online course plugin lets you release content slowly based on the timeline of students.
Video Content
This plugin is compatible with all video hosting solutions including YouTube, Wistia, and Vimeo.
6. Sensei LMS Plugins
Sensei is not a separate WP LMS plugin, but an extension of the WooCommerce plugin. If you have a WooCommerce store and want to sell courses on it too, Sensei is the ideal plugin for you.
You just need to install Sensei from the official WooCommerce website and activate it on your online store. Then, you can add the syllabus, just take the quiz from the WordPress dashboard.
Here are some of its amazing features:
No Coding Required LMS Plugins
Using this WordPress plugin, you can easily set up your LMS without the help of a developer. The plugin basically works with all WordPress themes.
Quizzes
You can create quizzes and tests related to your syllabus using Sensei and also set a timer on each quiz.
Analytics
You can track the number of students who have registered for a particular course and also keep an eye on grading and course completion.
Developed By Automattic
Ottomatic is the company behind WordPress and WooCommerce and also behind Sensei making it a highly reliable LMS extension.
Seamless Integration
Sensei seamlessly integrates with your WordPress website without any mess or hassle. You can install the plugin and you’re good to go.
7. MasterStudy LMS Plugins
MasterStudy LMS is another free WordPress LMS plugin that comes with stunning features that make it a strong competitor to any premium plugin. The plugin is created by StyleMix Themes, a popular WordPress theme developer group.
The plugin is one of the new entrants in the market, but it is growing at a rapid pace and already has more than 7000 active installs.
Here are its features:
Easy to Install LMS Plugins
The plugin is almost plug-and-play where you download the plugin from the official WordPress repo, install it on your site and your LMS is ready.
Integrations
The plugin integrates easily with PayPal and Stripe so that you can easily get paid for your courses.
Quizzes
You can set different types of quizzes using this plugin and also set a timer to make them even more challenging.
Message Board
Sensei allows you to set up a message board that allows students to ask their instructors questions related to various lectures.
Last word!
The article covers the top 7 WordPress LMS plugins along with their features and their pricing. It is obvious that some are better than others but this does not mean that you go for the best plugin without checking the rest. You should carefully evaluate your requirements before choosing an LMS plugin for your online courses.
If you have used any other WordPress LMS plugin that is not described in this list, feel free to let me know in the comments section.
Also Read,
- Tutor LMS WordPress Plugin
- WooCommerce Subscriptions Plugins
- WordPress Client Portals
- How To Reset WordPress Website
- How to Disable Emojis in WordPress
Small request, if this article has proved helpful for you, then don’t forget to share it!
