A WordPress website for online courses that you own and control

Hosted platform or your own WordPress

Hosted course platforms, for example Teachable, Thinkific or Kajabi, bundle hosting, checkout and video, and you pay a monthly fee or a share of sales. They are quick to launch. WordPress with an LMS plugin takes longer to set up, but you control the design, the data, the price model and the exit.

Choose WordPress when you want custom page design, a blog and a course on one site, when you need unusual access rules such as cohorts or corporate seats, or when platform fees at your volume are a real cost. Choose a hosted platform when you want to launch a single course this month with minimal technical work.

Which LMS plugin for which kind of course

Plugin prices and features change, so check the vendors' sites. For the general cost picture of a WordPress build, see our WordPress website cost guide, and for search ideas see our online course SEO page.

Video, files and protecting your content

Video is the heaviest part of a course. Hosting it on your own WordPress server is a mistake: it is slow and costly. Use a video host built for the job, for example Vimeo, Wistia, Bunny Stream or Mux, and embed it with domain restrictions so lessons play only on your site. Downloadable files, such as workbooks, should sit in a protected area for logged-in students.

No protection is complete; a determined student can record a screen. The aim is to deter casual sharing: unique logins, limits on simultaneous sessions, watermarking where available and clear terms. Keep a refund policy that is honest and visible, since consumer law in many places gives buyers cancellation rights on digital content.

Selling: payments, pricing models and email

Courses sell as one-off purchases, payment plans, subscriptions, bundles and cohort enrollment with a start date. WooCommerce or the LMS's own checkout can take payments through Stripe or PayPal. Sales tax and VAT rules for digital products differ by country; the EU and UK apply VAT based on the buyer's location, and many US states tax digital goods. Confirm this with your accountant.

• A sales page per course with outcomes, curriculum, instructor, preview lesson and FAQ.
• Coupons, early-bird pricing and affiliate links where you want partners.
• Email automation after signup, at milestones and for abandoned checkouts, through a tool such as Mailchimp or ConvertKit.
• Drip content by day or by completion, and cohort start dates.
• Certificates of completion, with accurate wording about what they mean.

Do not promise results you cannot support. Income or job claims in course marketing draw regulator attention; the FTC has acted against inflated earnings claims.

Student experience and support

A student dashboard should show where they left off, what is next and how far they have come. Discussion spaces, Q and A, and live sessions add value; a community plugin or a link to an external space can serve. Support needs a clear route: a help page, a contact form and fast replies in the first week after purchase.

Accessibility matters: captions on video, transcripts, keyboard use and readable type help every learner and reduce legal risk. See our WCAG 2.2 checklist. Student data, including names, emails and progress, needs a privacy policy and care under GDPR or local law.

Process and price

We start with a call on your course model, audience and volume. Then we choose the plugin set, design the sales and learning pages, set up payments, email and video, test a full purchase and a full lesson, and launch. Work is remote, with calls in your hours. Upkeep is covered by website maintenance.

Projects start at $1,500 at $30 an hour. One course with a sales page and members area sits near the start. Cohorts, memberships, multiple instructors or custom assessments add hours. See the main WordPress development service page.