“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” The quote is attributed to Nelson Mandela, a former South-African president. 

The words continue to be as relevant now as they were back then. If anything, one could argue that in the digital era, education is making a bigger impact than some people might have predicted. 

Learning online has become a necessity because of the pandemic. Students cannot attend classes at school. Instead, they need to stay at home and watch teachers on Zoom or other video chat platforms.

Of course, it is not just school students who benefit from the option to learn on the internet. The self-improvement market is growing as well. The educational process plays a prominent role in modern worker life as well. 

With the help of online education, people can improve their skills or even change careers by learning a new craft. Besides, the contemporary job market needs smart and innovative workers who can ensure that businesses stay ahead of their competition. 

Another thing to note is that some people would be unwilling to join a workplace that fails to provide learning and development opportunities. 

AccessPerks carried out a survey asking employees what policies they would like to see at their workplace. For about two-thirds of respondents, learning and development were at the top of the policy list.

In other words, both businesses and employees need eLearning tools. And where there is demand, there will be supply.

One of the biggest reasons behind the rise of eLearning is the plethora of available online courses. And these courses would be unavailable without tools to create them.

Are you looking to use your educational background, develop online courses, and promote them to get a source of income? Or maybe you have a business and would like to create a training program for current and future employees?

Regardless of the circumstances, you can take advantage of the available online course creation platforms. Since there are so many different options, let’s cover some solid platforms that should accommodate your needs. You are bound to pick one out of these five platforms.

Platforms

#1 – LearnWorlds

LearnWorlds is one of the most solid platforms around. If you are looking to improve learning efficiency and guarantee satisfaction throughout the entire process, then this should be your choice. Some of the outstanding features of the software include:

• A synchronized transcript that increases the engagement from the viewers. This transcript is extracted from the video automatically, making it easier to access and navigate.
• Interactions without post-production. Be it overlays, titles, pointers, or questions; you can add these elements in the video while creating the course rather than spending time on the post-production.
• Hosting. There is no need to look for a third-party hosting provider since LearnWorlds provides the hosting.
• Analytics. You can discover how students are interacting with your videos, which helps you make adjustments in the future when necessary.

The platform also offers a powerful video player that comes with the option to take notes and add highlights while you are watching the video.

Whether you are an individual, a business, or even an educational institution that needs an online school, you will not go wrong by picking LearnWorlds.

The starter plan costs 30 dollars a month and has all the basic features. A Pro Trainer plan is 84 dollars per month and comes with extra features. If you want, you could also book a demo for a custom plan – another benefit that the platform has in store.

#2 – Thinkific

Thinkific has more than 50 thousand content creators using the platform. It is one of the most optimal choices for those looking to develop their education empire. 

The tool excels in powerful customization. In addition, it uses the drag-and-drop model, meaning that it is not that difficult to develop an excellent online course or a membership site. 

Other outstanding features that one can find on Thinkific are:

• Multimedia course content support that includes videos, quizzes, surveys, downloads, Google Docs.
• Tracking and progression system to keep students motivated.
• Automated check-ins and reminder emails.
• Secure cloud hosting and daily backups.
• Automatic updates to ensure that users do not miss the latest features.

Thankfully, the platform offers its core set feature set for free. If you have some doubts, you can test Thinkific yourself and see whether the tool meets your expectations. 

If the starter pack persuades you to stick to Thinkific, you can pick from the three available upgraded plans. The basic course creation plan costs 39 dollars per month, the Pro version is 79 dollars, and the Premier costs 399 dollars per month.

There is also a 30-day money-back guarantee for those who may want to go back on their purchase in case the course creation does not work out.

#3 – Kajabi

Kajabi is another worthy mention among reliable online course creation platforms. They offer a 14-day free trial to those who want to test the software. 24/7 support is also ready to answer any potential questions that customers might have.

Kajabi has its University – a series of detailed training videos to help users master the platform’s powerful tools. There are three different Kajabi plans you can choose from:

Basic: The current price for the basic plan is 149 dollars. You receive 3 products, 3 pipelines, unlimited landing pages, and marketing emails, 10 thousand available contacts and one-thousand members, one website, one admin user, access to Kajabi university, chat support, and prepared templates.

Growth: The differences between this and the basic plan are that you have the option of 15 products and pipelines, 25K contacts and 10K active members, 10 admin users, advanced customization, access to the affiliate program, and the option to remove Kajabi branding. The Growth plan costs 199 dollars per month.

Pro: The Pro version is 399 dollars per month, but it gives you 100 thousand available contacts, 20 thousand active members, 3 websites, and 25 admin users. The number difference is significant, but the question is whether you need so much. If you do, and you believe that you can utilize it, the Pro version is worth your money.

#4 – Kartra

Those who are set on running a digital production business that offers more than just online courses should go for Kartra. The software has pretty much everything to develop a professional and feature-rich platform. 

The no-code model means that there is no need to hire a professional coder who would start the project from scratch. Just look at the feature list:

• An intuitive checkout to sell products and services.
• Next-gen email platform that automates marketing campaigns.
• Sales-driving funnels.
• Video-hosting to store your courses.
• System to track and capture leads.
• Help desk for customers.
• Calendar to book and manage appointments.

One thing to note about Kartra’s courses is that you will need to focus on video content. Well, rather not focus, but it is recommended to create videos since the platform is a bit lacking in student management and assessment capabilities. 

Thankfully, the available features more than make up for what is missing from the course creation standpoint, still making Kartra a solid option. Besides, given how effective video content is for both marketing and education, it should not be that much of an issue, right?

#5 – TalentLMS

The last platform on the list is TalentLMS. One thing worth noting about this specific platform is that it is cloud-based, which is not that common when talking about online course development. The feature list is quite impressive:

• Blended learning
• Course authoring
• Mobile optimization
• Email configuration
• Registration forms
• Progression-tracking system
• Reliable customer support
• Security, including a bug bounty program and strong password policies

Simplicity, sophistication, and affordability are also the right adjectives to describe TalentLMS. With the help of the tool, you can create interactive educational content and share it with your employees or students. In addition to eLearning capabilities, the software goes beyond education. E-commerce selling, web conferencing, and analytics are also part of the package.

As expected, there is a plethora of available plans ranging from 59 to 479 dollars per month, each coming with its set of features, available course numbers, and a number of users who can join.

You also have the option to get started for free, thanks to TalentLMS’s free plan that allows up to 5 users and 10 available courses. 

The learning curve is pretty much non-existent, and an intuitive and minimalistic user interface makes it easy and pleasant to use the software for both content creators and students.

What Comes Next?

Now that you have a list of some great online course creation platforms, you should be able to pick one for yourself. The question is, “what comes after?”

Having the tools to create and share educational content is only the beginning. In addition to picking the right content development software, you will also need to work hard on creating the best educational material. 

If the courses lack quality, you will have a hard time utilizing them. Employees you want to teach about productivity, teamwork, or communication will not stay engaged and miss crucial training program moments.

A similar thing can be said about instances when you have the intent to sell courses to potentially interested learners. If these courses fail to meet the expectations of people, the odds are that you will be receiving negative feedback instead of selling your content.

Keep that in mind and combine both the available features these platforms offer and your hard work to create the best educational courses you can.