How to make an online educational website

Gone are the days when studying a course of your choice under top-notched management was considered a big task. With the introduction of online learning platforms, learning a new skill in the comfort of our homes has become a reality. The online learning industry has become one of the most profitable businesses worldwide and has shown massive growth over the last decade.

Did you know that, before the pandemic, Research and Markets forecasted the online education market to grow to a whopping $350 Billion by 2025? Once the rise from the pandemic gets considered, the number will show a steep growth. Teachers and tutors across the globe have used these websites to their fullest and have successfully managed to earn massive profits.

If you are looking for an opportunity to transcend your knowledge via these online platforms but are confused about starting, this article is for you. This article will explain how to make an online educational website like Udemy, Skillshare, etc.

What is an online educational/e-learning website?

Before diving into the details of how to create an online educational website, let us dwell a little on the basics and understand these websites.

In simple words, an online learning website is a portal loaded with educational content ranging from science to designing, Mathematics to creative arts, etc. These sites stand filled with video materials recorded by expert tutors of specific fields. Some websites prefer putting pre-recorded videos of the tutor, while others prefer going old-school and host live online teaching sessions.

Websites like Udemy opt for the pre-recorded sessions, while other websites like Unacademy prefer the live class system.

Why You Should Start an online education Business

The internet gets swarmed with new online educational websites regularly, but only a few of them can make it to the top league and become famous. The first and foremost step for creating an online learning website is to have a unique idea. Your website must provide something special and valuable to the audience to stand out from the rest.

According to the data released by CBS Insights, 42% of startups fail because their product fails to solve a real problem. Before learning how to create an online teaching website, you must decide what your E-learning website will provide to the consumers. For example, Udemy was one of the first e-learning platforms to introduce the feature of adding on-demand courses, and this helped the company to gain an edge over other regular e-learning websites.

Take inspiration from top e-learning websites like Udemy.

When we talk about online learning platforms, Udemy is one of the names that pop up first in our minds. Founded in 2010, the company has managed to skyrocket its sales rate and has successfully managed to be an e-learning giant in the market. As of now, Udemy has over 50 million enrolled students and has earned a valuation of a massive $2 billion.

Udemy is one of the world’s biggest online learning platforms, with over 150,000 different courses specially designed for students and working professionals. Highly qualified subject matter experts teach these courses through interactive videos, slides, text, or other resources as per the requirement of the syllabus. Along with the best quality education, Udemy also promises a wide range of variety in its courses. These courses are well divided into genres including, Arts and crafts, Designing, Business, IT, Software, and many more.

The courses on the platform can be accessed by consumers (students) with a laptop, desktop, and any smartphone. This feature eliminates the distance barrier and allows students to enroll and finish their respective courses whenever and wherever they please.

Working of Udemy

• Udemy charges no fee to create or host courses on its platforms. It attracts trainers from all across the globe to come and host courses on the website. As more and more trainers gather, Udemy receives a high variety of topics and genres that are unique and profitable. Thus, giving it an edge over other online learning platforms.
• With the launch of the Udemy for Business program, Udemy started making bigger and long-term sales. Thus, evolving its old model into a subscription-based revenue model.
• Udemy is great when it comes to promotion. Most of the courses on the platform are heavily discounted throughout the year. It allows the company to reach a bigger crowd and turn them into potential customers.

Choose a business model for maximum output

A business model is an effective roadmap created by a company to capture maximum profits. It helps the company to track the products and services that your business plans to sell, target audience, target market, and anticipated expenses.

One of the main motives of any business is to gain maximum profits; a unique idea alone won’t be enough to provide the profits that you expect. Choosing the right business model will ensure that your E-learning business idea gives maximum returns. Deciding the suitable business model can prove to be talismanic for creating an online learning website. Here we will discuss the two most popular business models for E-learning businesses.

• The Night School business model

The night school model is a fantastic option to choose if you want to sell and provide one-off access to a course. Here a one-time fee is paid during the beginning of the selected curriculum. In the night school model, the students have to follow a fixed curriculum. They are not allowed to skim through different chapters at their will. The students must follow the proper chronology. The courses in the Night school model end with a test or quiz to show the user’s proficiency.

The night school model is great if you want to earn a massive amount of money in a single go, as the entire fee gets paid in one installment. This model can be well-suited for new businesses. It allows a company to know and record the audience’s reaction and feedback. Companies like Udemy often use this business model.

• Academy Business Model

The Academy business model allows you to create a comprehensive school where your courses can provide an overall knowledge on a subject to help the student master it. Like Netflix, this model works on a fee system paid on a recurring subscription basis. Unlike the Night School business model, this allows the students to access any content at any time. This business model includes community features like coaching calls, live Q&A, Facebook groups, etc.

The Academy business model is ideal for health and fitness tutors as it allows them to share up-to-date guidance with the clients. In comparison to the previous model, the Academy business model ensures high customer retention. The money flow might not be massive as the Night school model, but it is steady and periodic. Fitness brands like Cult.fit use this business model.

The core features to implement

In learning how to start an online education website, you must decide what core features you want to implement on your website. In this segment, we will mention the features that you must include in your website to maximize your chances of becoming a top player in the market.

• Appealing Sign-up Page

The Admission Gateway is like the main entrance to your website. It allows the tutors and students to subscribe and reach you. Make sure that the signing up process is hassle-free and is least complicated. Trying to make it more sophisticated will only harm your chances of making a sale. Also, try to make the registration process as small as possible because it reduces any confusion.

• Detailed tutor profile

To sell a course online, you must highlight its key features. The tutor profile is one such crucial feature to consider. Almost every student wants to know about the instructor before signing up for a course. Even the tutor wants to showcase their skills and experience to attract more and more students. Make sure you put up a detailed tutor page including the particular instructor’s background, reviews, social media links, etc.

• Admin and Tutor Panel

As an admin, you must have a clear overview of what is happening on your website. A dedicated panel will allow you to access information on the number of tutors available, active courses, top courses, total students enrolled, etc.

The tutors can also have a separate panel to know about the total number of students in the course, the doubt from students, etc.

• Interactive and appealing web design

Your website should be designed to provide a clean user experience and should look visually appealing at the same time. The designing details should not be too complicated for the user to understand. Also, it shouldn’t be too simple to make the website look visually bland.

• Flexibility in language and currency

If you plan to take your e-learning platform to the international level, you must add multiple languages and currency options to your website. This addition will ensure hassle-free transactions and also attract more people from across the globe. Adding various payment gateway options will also add to the hassle-free transaction experience.

Strategize UI/UX design

The UI/UX design is a significant deciding factor behind the success of your E-learning website. The UI/UX design captures the complete experience of a user on your website.

UI/UX design is not only limited to aesthetics, and it covers the behaviors and attitudes of the client while surfing through your online learning website. Below are a few steps that should be kept in mind to ace the UI/UX design aspect.

• Before jumping into the designing part, have a plan of action. Remember to design your website according to the convenience of the person who will be learning (student).
• Never assume that a user knows what you know. While designing the website, be under the impression that the user knows absolutely nothing about using the interface. As the creator, something that may seem obvious to you might be completely unknown to your user.
• Navigation is one of the important factors to consider while designing a website. The designer must ensure that the navigation is consistent throughout the entire website. If the next button is on the right-hand corner on the first page, keep it there. If a pop-up box for a wrong answer is red, don’t make the next one pink or another color. Being consistent will help you to gain the trust of the user.

Technology and tools you’ll need

Companies and platforms like Udemy use a special set of tools and technologies to help their platform perform smoothly without causing any hassle to the users. In this section we will discuss a few of them in detail

Technologies used to create an online learning website.

When it comes to opening a website, you have to incorporate a solid technological infrastructure. In simple words, a technological infrastructure is a list of all the technical services used to build and run your application. It is also commonly known as the Tech Stack. In the infographic below are the technologies that can help you create an online learning website.

Tools used in a online learning website

Once the above points are in place, a few tools will help give your website the boost it requires to start big. In this segment, we will discuss a few of these points in detail.

• Video conferencing tool

Having a video conference tool is a must when handling an online learning website. This tool becomes indispensable when you aspire to host live classes on your website. Using video conference tools like zoom allows you to record a live class and re access it later.

• Email marketing software

Drafting an email for every client of yours can be a painstaking task, especially in the earlier days when you are hustling to get your e-learning website going. In such times email marketing software can be an excellent tool to help your business communicate seamlessly with clients. Softwares like Mailchimp, Convertkit, etc., are some of the most popular email marketing software.

• API and Plugins

During the creation of an e-learning website, a lot of complex connections and custom works are involved. An API integration tool is a set of protocols that helps you to solve these complex operations. It makes your job easier and saves a lot of manual effort. Similarly, plugins are ready-made portions of code that help to enhance your website with high-performing features.

Creating an online learning website from scratch might sound like an uphill task, but it will bear the best results if you keep working along with the mentioned points. Also, make sure that you seek assistance from reliable turnkey tutoring software, which will make the building process much easier.

Now that we have shared the secret mantra to create an online learning website, it’s time for you to go ahead and make your name in the world of online learning.