How to create online courses that will be popular?

Today we would like to touch on such a topic as creating a website for online courses . Online learning is becoming more and more in demand - at least see how popular the courses offered by the Netology are! We do not plan to open America at all, we just want to share an interesting article about one of the tools that we are just beginning to use in our daily activities of a company preparing for passing tests in English.

Below is an adapted translation of the article by Sharon Harley Hall on how to use the CoursesPress plugin to create an optimized website for online courses. So let's go.

A few years ago, Copyblogger author Brian Clark said that "teaching can be earned." From now on, it seems that everyone is trying to sell their knowledge through membership on the site or an online course, or both. One of the platforms they use for this is WordPress.
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In principle, this makes sense - after all, WordPress is one of the most frequently used content management systems (CMS), with the help of it, millions of sites and about half of the most famous blogs have been created. Since many people have already launched sites using WordPress, naturally, they want to perform other tasks using this platform.

However, this is not what the software was originally designed for. So it’s no wonder people are constantly coming up with new ways to make WordPress sites suitable for teaching courses. A number of options have already been developed, with the help of which the platform is being used more and more actively for educational purposes.

Introduction to CoursePress



One of the latest options is the CoursePress plugin, which is designed to turn your WordPress website into an online learning platform or learning management system. It includes everything that is needed for creating courses, paying for them, grading, etc. It also includes payment systems, the ability to download video and audio files, the ability to discuss issues of interest, etc.

CoursePress integrates with most WordPress themes and is embedded in the theme itself. The plugin is available in the free and paid version, with a limit of two courses and fewer payment options available in the free version.

Of course, if you are going to develop and sell an online course, you need to think in advance about optimizing site conversion. This will help you attract more participants and help you reach your maximum, both financially and in your ability to outperform your competitors. Let's take the CoursePress plugin and see how you can lay the foundation for an optimized learning site from the beginning.

1. User Experience

Developers recommend thinking about course structure in advance. CoursePress allows you to create courses consisting of several units. There may be several pages on the site with numerous elements inside each unit. At this stage, you should consider user experience as a key element in optimizing conversion. In particular, let's look at how users can navigate through the course.



MOOCNews assumes that if you pay attention to this, you can reduce the amount of time you spend on changing course elements. Meanwhile, the educational site Udacity recommends testing user experience to find out what your site visitors really want. Do this either before you start working on the course or after you have already started the course and realized what can be improved to increase the conversion rate.



2. Content Optimization

When creating a new course using CoursePress, start by writing a general review. This is one of the first elements that potential participants will pay attention to when deciding whether to take your course. That is why it makes sense to spend time optimizing content.

Even if your course passes live, you can post a review of the course on the landing page and conduct split-testing of two different text options to see which version is more suitable for your target audience.

Do the same with the heading of the course - this will help you to significantly increase the conversion rate and get more clicks. At the same time, do not forget about SEO!



CoursePress also allows you to create a course description. This is not the same as its more detailed review; This is also a rather voluminous text that will help you sell your course more effectively.

Stunning headlines and subtitles, attractive images will demonstrate the features and benefits of your course to potential students. The goal is to let users know what to expect from your course. Again, if you test several descriptions, you can understand which option contributes to the highest conversion rate possible.

For example, in our company, according to the test results, the following was the most effective option for course description:



Use this principle when creating separate sections of the course - tell about their key points, prompting users to click on the desired link or subscribe.

Use your skills to increase the number of clicks on your site and motivate users to sign up for your course.

3. Images and videos

Online video attracts conversion like a magnet. Faces, voices, movements, and body language attract people's attention; In addition, video is a great way to answer questions from users. With CoursePress, you can use video in two ways: as part of the content of your course, and also as an element to help sell your course.

In addition, pay attention to the images - they help increase the conversion, helping to build the relationship between you and the course participants.

4. Email Marketing

Email is still one of the best ways to keep in touch with your audience. CoursePress allows you to send various customizable messages to already registered students of the course. You can use best email marketing practices to build relationships with users:

• personalization;
• Subject letters that interest users;
• motivating calls to action.

The closer your relationship with the students of the course, the more likely they will not interrupt their subscription and may be interested in and register for your next course.

5. eCommerce

If you want to sell your course to a large number of people, you need to engage in eCommerce optimization. Among other things, you need to optimize and pay attention to the issues of usability basket and checkout page. CoursePress integrates with MarketPress, which allows you to provide a wide range of payment systems and currencies, in addition, you will have the opportunity to offer discounts!

Test it!

After you have developed and published your course, conduct regular tests to see what works well and what needs to be changed. Try to look at your landing page and courses from a client's point of view - is the user experience good enough? The good news is that CoursePress is a WordPress plugin, so it’s not difficult to make any improvements that will increase conversion.

Successes!

Translated by Vyacheslav Davidenko, founder of MBA Consult