Ever since COVID-19 struck the world, online courses have been on a steady rise.
But despite the fact it has been two years since the pandemic ended, the digital education sector shows no sign of slowing down.
According to Forbes, the e-learning market will grow by around 20% for the next six years or so.
If you want to tap into this growing industry, creating an educational website is a great starting point.
For those without any coding skill whatsoever, this might sound like a complex task.
But thanks to platforms like WordPress, website development is now accessible to anyone, regardless of their background.
Why Use WordPress for Educational Websites?
You might think of WordPress as a mere blogging tool.
But in reality, it’s much more than that.
It’s true that WordPress started as a platform mainly for bloggers.
However, over the last decade, it has grown into a versatile content management system.
Whether it’s a simple portfolio or a complex e-commerce platform, you can use WordPress to create any type of website.
The best part? Building a WordPress website requires no coding at all, thanks to features like:
- Professional themes: Get access to a vast library of free themes that caters to various educational websites. You can easily customize the layouts, colors, and fonts to match your institution’s branding.
- Powerful plugins: There are thousands of plugins to enhance your website’s functionality. Discussion forums, online quizzes, gamification elements, and membership plugins can all be integrated seamlessly to promote active learning and community building.
- Rich content support: WordPress allows you to effortlessly publish various content formats like text, images, videos, audio files, and even embed resources from external platforms. This flexibility caters to diverse learning styles and keeps students engaged.
How to Build an Educational Website Using WordPress
Despite all the simplicity WordPress offers, you still need the help of professional WordPress development services to create a great looking and fast-performing site.
However, if you insist on doing it yourself to cut down the cost of WordPress site development, follow these best practices:
1. Define Your Goals
Before anything else, first you’ll need to define your goals for creating an educational site.
Ask yourself the following questions:
- What type of education will you offer? Is it a live webinar or a recorded online course?
- Who is your target audience? For example: fresh graduates seeking a career switch.
- What are your key performance indicators (KPIs) for success? For example: increased enrollment or improved learning outcomes.
Document the answers in a business plan.
This will help you stay on track throughout the whole process.
2. Choose a Reliable Hosting Provider
WordPress is an open-source platform, so it’s completely free to use and install.
That said, unless you want to host the server on your own computer, which is expensive and complex, you need a third-party hosting service.
Select a hosting provider with a good reputation, security features, and scalability to handle website traffic.
Costs can vary depending on storage, bandwidth, and features, ranging from $3 – $20 per month.
3. Pick an Engaging Theme
Once you’ve signed up for a web host, follow the given instructions to install and set up WordPress.
From the control panel, you should be able to access the WordPress dashboard.
From there, go to Themes → Add New Theme and choose the perfect design for your site.
WordPress offers a vast library of free themes specifically designed for educational websites, like LMS Education Courses.
This free theme is a great option for those starting out or with a limited budget.
It offers a clean and professional design with features like course listings, instructor profiles, and built-in compatibility with popular LMS plugins.
4. Install LMS Plugins
Learning Management System (LMS) plugins transform your WordPress website into a powerful platform for delivering online courses, managing student enrollment, and tracking learning progress.
Popular LMS plugins for WordPress include LearnDash, LifterLMS, Tutor LMS, and Sensei LMS.
Each offers unique features, pricing models, and levels of complexity.
Consider factors like your budget, desired features, and ease of use when making your choice.
5. Promote Your Site
And that’s it! Your educational site is now ready for launch.
After publishing your site, all there’s left to do now is to promote it:
- Share your site on social media: Let your friends, family, and followers know about your new endeavor in the education sector.
- Publish content consistently: People say content is king, and that’s true. By publishing how-to tutorials and informational articles around educational topics, customers will see your site as an expert in the e-learning industry.
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Conclusion
Whether you want to market your tutoring services or build an online course platform like Udemy, creating a WordPress site is a great choice.
However, WordPress development requires several steps that aren’t exactly beginner friendly.
So, if you have no technical know-how, why don’t you hire a WordPress development agency like Intelivita to save you from the headache?
This way, you can focus solely on teaching and providing the best lesson materials for students.
