Education has always been and will be the most important thing that humans need to learn, grow, and evolve. With so many developments in technology, the traditional educational system is slowly being outgrown. The cost of a quality college education is going up day by day and a lot of people are looking for alternatives where they can get a high-quality education at low costs. This is the exact reason why entrepreneurs create a website like Udemy which is doing so well in the market.
When it comes to online learning, we don’t necessarily need to study traditional subjects. The best thing about learning websites is the fact that people can learn almost anything they want to from there. From basic math to programming, exam centric studies to life skills, pottery making to cooking, one can learn all they want to that too by sitting at home.
Seeing the success and growing popularity of e-learning websites, entrepreneurs are investing more and more towards developing e-learning platforms. Entrepreneurs, with the help of trusted web development companies, are turning their dreams of creating an e-learning website into reality.
So let us get a better idea of how to create a website like Udemy and what goes in the making!
Defining your niche
Once you’ve decided to build an e-learning platform you need to choose the type of courses that will be present there. You can choose to cover a wide range of subjects or you can also provide industry-specific education. Focusing on some particular areas may be good for your website as the content will be better in quality and will serve the students specifically. You can choose to provide courses on anything like computers and technology, personal development, writing and content creation, social Sciences, business and entrepreneurship, etcetera. This is the first step that you need to take when you create a website like Udemy as the kind of content you offer will determine what kind of success the business will be achieving.
Choosing the monetization strategy before creating an e-learning website like Udemy
Choosing the business model and the monetization strategy is a very important step that needs to be done in the beginning as this will determine how you will earn money through your e-learning portal and what features you need to inculcate to run things smoothly.
The following are the kinds of business models generally chosen while creating e-learning websites like Udemy.
Paid Certificates
In this case, besides the course costs the users pay for certificates that are verified by a trusted platform and are accepted in various places. This can be done by creating tie-ups with various educational organizations and universities and providing the learners with certificates which will ensure a continuous channel of revenue coming in. Students are generally attracted to paid certificate courses as they feel it has better value.
Subscription Based
In this model, the users buy paid subscriptions to the website on a monthly or yearly basis. Once they have subscribed they have unlimited access to the website and all of its courses. This is a very cost-efficient method for the students as they need to pay considerably a low amount of money to access a lot of information that is available on the website.
Corporate Collaborations
Most major organizations these days train their employees through a centralized platform which they can access whenever they want to according to their needs. Learning portals can collaborate with such organizations and introduce specific courses that are related to their operations. In this way, the website can be used by the employees of the organization to learn the various skills the company needs them to. This is a great way to generate a considerable amount of revenue for your e-learning website as well.
Paid Courses
One of the most widely chosen courses by the students are the paid courses. This is also great for any e-learning website as you can earn a considerable amount of revenue from this. In this model whenever a student purchases a paid course a part of it goes to the instructor who uploaded the course and the rest goes to the website owner.
Affiliate Model
You can choose to integrate links for various books and equipment in your courses which the students might require to progress in the course. In such cases when the users follow the links and make purchases from those websites, your e-learning website will also gain some revenue from them which is always good for business.
Features to be implemented while building an e-learning website like Udemy
There are some core features that need to be implemented while you create a website like Udemy which will ultimately determine the success of the website. Choosing and implementing the right features carefully is a very important task while creating any e-learning website.
There are namely 3 main sections that need to be created apart from the admin panel to run the courses smoothly and systematically generate revenue.
Admin Panel
The admin panel is what gives you control over your e-learning website. You can monitor and control the courses being uploaded and manage the revenues generated. The admin panel gives you statistical reports as well about which courses are doing good and so on. These insights can be used tactfully to improve the business. You will also be able to view the feedback and recommendations which are very useful to make necessary changes to make your website more popular.
Being the admin you will have total control over everything that’s going on your website. Feedback and responses can be used to eliminate courses that aren’t in that much demand and so on. Making the admin panel interactive is a key part as it makes managing your website a lot easier. You will be able to add and delete courses and even blacklist students who are violating the terms and conditions of using the website.
Common Features
The common features are features that will be used by anyone using the website be it the students or the instructors on your platform.
1. Account Creation
This feature is required by both the students and instructors to create their account on the website and personalize their experience on the platform. It is a very necessary feature as it helps the users to manage the various courses they join and upload and also helps the students to learn without any difficulties.
2. Profile management
Profile management is another important feature that needs to be inculcated in the e-learning platform. Users who create a profile with the appropriate information can use the profile management feature to manage the details and make modifications to them as well as manage the certificates they receive and follow various instructors. Having a seamless profile management feature can be really good for business.
3. Customer support
Just like any other business, customer support is also a very important part when you create a website like Udemy. The customer support feature will help the users to get help whenever they experience any kind of problem with the website like accessing the account or uploading a course. 24/7 customer support will make your platform user friendly and attract more users.
Student Profile Features
The important features that the students would require to make their experience more user-friendly need to be inculcated in the platform.
1. Search, category, and filtering
The students need a feature that can help them to sort out and find the courses they are looking for on the website from amongst so many courses. For this search, categorize and the filtering feature is essential. The search bar will help the users to look for specific courses using the appropriate keywords. The category feature will allow the users to sort the courses based on subjects, prices, expertise level, and with the help of the filtering feature, the students will be able to filter through the various categories and choose the correct course for themselves.
2. Recommendations
Recommendations are an important feature that will show the users relevant courses related to the ones they have already enrolled for. This helps them to discover more courses and enhance their skill set.
3. Easy and multiple payment options
There need to be easy payment options and multiple payment gateways so that the users can pay using whatever mode they prefer securely without having to worry about their details being leaked.
4. Features for the Instructor’s profile
Important profile features for the instructors need to be provided as well so that they can upload and manage the courses and content regularly without any hiccups.
5. Course creation and updates
The most important feature is the ability to create courses and update them. The instructors should be able to create courses based on their expertise and update the content from time to time so that the students can benefit the most. Using this feature they will be able to manage their content and make necessary changes whenever they need to.
6. Dashboard:
The dashboard is the place or the feature which will help the instructors to keep a track of the courses which they have uploaded on the profile, get to know the number of students who have enrolled for the courses, and also the amount of revenue that has been generated along with an overall insight of their activities on the learning website.
Admin and Instructor Features
1. Admin Panel
The admin panel is the place where the admin can manage the content as well as the users. It gives the admin total control over the content that will be published and also produces statistical reports to give a better idea of how the website is doing. The admin can add students to the blacklist, add new content, and assign user roles as well. This is the place from which you will be managing your e-learning website and making changes to improve the service and generate higher revenues.
2. Common Features
The common features are features that will be used by anyone using the website be it the students or the instructors on your platform.
3. Account Creation
This feature is required by both the students and instructors to create their account on the website and personalize their experience on the platform. It is a very necessary feature as it helps the users to manage the various courses they join and upload and also helps the students to learn without any difficulties.
4. Profile management
Profile management is another important feature that needs to be inculcated in the e-learning platform. Users who create a profile with the appropriate information can use the profile management feature to manage the details and make modifications to them as well as manage the certificates they receive and follow various instructors. Having a seamless profile management feature can be really good for business.
5. Customer support
Just like any other business, customer support is also a very important part of e-learning platforms. The customer support feature will help the users to get help whenever they experience any kind of problem with the website like accessing the account or uploading a course. 24/7 customer support will make your platform user friendly and attract more users.
6. Strategizing the user interface design
The design of your website is going to determine the success you’re going to achieve. The website needs to be efficient and easy to use which will motivate the users to carry on using it and to refer it to new people as well. The design should be simple and consistent as it evokes a sense of trust among the users. The visual design should be unique and engaging which will make using it fun and interesting. The design elements should be chosen carefully so that it does not affect the loading times and the navigation as longer loading times can lead to the loss of students or users.
Once all of this is done the only thing that remains is for the developers to use the proper technology and create a website like Udemy according to the inputs you have provided. Various tech stacks can be used for different requirements while developing an e-learning website like Udemy. Along with the basic tech stack, many add ons and plugins or 3rd party tools are often required for additional functionalities on the website.
Wrapping Up
So if you are planning to create a website like Udemy that is not only going to be beneficial for you but also for thousands of users, get in touch with trusted web development companies who can guide you better through the entire process and deliver an e-learning website with great earning potential.
