Creating a learning platform does not have to cost a fortune, as you’ll see in this LearnPress reviews. And the low cost should not compromise on quality.
LearnPress by ThimPress meets these criteria. It is free, has an interactive interface and its resemblance to WordPress makes it beginner-friendly.
Despite being beginner-friendly, it does not limit how much you can achieve. By purchasing premium addons and themes, you add to the plugin’s power and functionality.
LearnPress may not have the power of a premium LMS plugin or the ability to make a vast e-learning platform such as Udemy and Coursera.
But it is adequate for a startup e-learning platform. It makes administration of the education platform painless for those who have no skills in coding and or other expert skills needed in website building.
You have probably seen a negative review concerning their support system. But here’s the truth:
Having support staff on call comes at a cost. And if the developer is not making money from all he free downloads, where can they get the resources to hire a proper customer care team?
Let’s just say that LearnPress has delivered well on what they can and they do not make empty promises just to attract clients.
By purchasing a premium addon, you can make up for most of the plugin’s weaknesses. For instance, they have poor support for email marketing service providers.
Integrating the Paid Memberships Pro with your email system will resolve your problem.
Here’s a quick index to help you navigate this article:
LearnPress Review: In a Nutshell
Here is a summary of what you can expect from LearnPress
- Affordability
- A user-friendly interface
- Ease of use
- An integrated payment system
- Useful addons
- High flexibility
Let’s dig deeper and see the reasons why LearnPress is considered the best choice when building an e-learning website.
LearnPress Features and Benefits
1. Easy to Use
With LearnPress, you don’t have to hire a programmer or website creator to develop an interactive and user-friendly learning website.
Course creation and arranging lessons and quizzes using its drag and drop features are super easy. If you have other websites using the same plugin, you can import and export courses easily to your new site.
You don’t have to worry about navigating the learning management system. LearnPress has a dashboard that is similar to that of WordPress. Everything is easily manageable from the website’s backend.
And the setup wizard makes it easy to set up all the features you will need. Your students can automatically join your courses, or you could add them manually.
2. Affordable
The core LearnPress LMS plugin is free and it also comes with a free PayPal payment method.
In addition, you get some addons for free. Here are a few examples
- Wishlist – It allows your students to add some courses to a wishlist.
- Course review – This addon allows you to gain the public’s trust by adding reviews from other students regarding your course
- Prerequisite courses – It enables you to limit your students to pass specific courses before they can access other courses.
For the LearnPress premium addons, there is no subscription. Purchase is through a one-off payment, which makes it affordable.
You can easily add Content Drip, additional payment methods, GradeBook, LearnPress Paid Membership PRO, LearnPress commission addon and any other useful tool.
3. It is Easy on Your Website
The last thing you want is a slow-loading website that discourages your users from registering for your courses. The free core LearnPress LMS plugin is lightweight, but it is possible to expand it using extensions.
Theme and plugin compatibility is a common problem among website owners. LearnPress offers some WordPress themes that will ensure your site will not break from compatibility errors.
4. It Provides Flexibility
The fact that LearnPress is free does not limit your flexibility. You can set the most convenient payment policy for your students. It can be a one-off, or you could split it into monthly installments.
Besides using the incorporated PayPal option, you can also have WooCommerce to add more payment options such as MasterCard. You can add Stripe, 2Checkout and Authorize.Net as well. It’s up to you.
There is also the option for students to preview the courses before making payment. This acts as a way to advertise your content to visitors and attract more registrations.
Things You Might Not Like About the Free LearnPress
You will need to pay for some certification quiz options, but this is a low cost considering that you are getting the core LearnPress LMS plugin at zero cost.
If you are seeking a powerful LMS to build a large learning platform such as higher education, the free LearnPress may not be the right choice for you.
It lacks the power that you will find in other dedicated LMSs. But you can purchase a premium version for higher functionality.
Like most free plugins, the support for the free version of LearnPress is limited. You would have to upgrade to the premium version for better support.
However, this should not be a cause for worry. You can manage the plugin with little help.
LearnPress Pricing and Discount
There are three ways you can acquire the LearnPress Plugin.
1. Free Version
Getting the core LearnPress LMS plugin costs $0. You can create unlimited courses and add as many students and instructors as you need.
It comes with three basic quiz types and the Fill in the Blanks types of questions. It offers an automatic email system and the functionality to add your students’ results in a Student’s Course Result stored in each individual profile.
The free LearnPress plugin comes with free addons, regular updates and the flexibility to use any theme. It includes PayPal as a payment option and you can easily receive offline payments.
For any additional functionality you would want for your site, you need to download premium addons.
2. Theme Bundle
With the LearnPress Theme Bundle, you can build an advanced e-learning platform. It costs $49 to $69 and comes with a theme that you select. There are numerous additional addons such as WooCommerce, Stripe, 2Checkout and Authorize.Net.
In addition to the features provided by the free version, you can add a co-instructor, Content Drip is available. It allows you to sell multiple courses and course membership using Paid Membership Pro.
There is also the additional Sorting Choice type of questions, random quizzes and gamification functionality. Students can get certificates and can also check their results through GradeBook.
You get six months of free support and frequent updates.
3. Pro Bundle
Here you will get all the features of the free version and the Theme Bundle, plus additional functionality for a discounted price of $249 instead of the usual $499.
At this fair price, you can create three websites, manage your site from either front end or backend and give assignments to your students.
You also get the functionality for making Instructor email announcement.
Unlike the theme bundle where you make your theme selection when getting the Plugin, the LearPress Pro Bundle allows you to use any theme to build your site.
Who’s Actually Using LearnPress?
LearnPress WordPress LMS enables you to create courses easily, add multiple lessons and quizzes, add images and videos, as well as to create PowerPoint slideshows.
You can also gauge how your students are faring in their courses and make any adjustments needed. Due to these advantages, coupled with its affordability, LearnPress has over 10,000 active installs.
Let’s look at five examples of education websites using LearnPress
1. Summer in Oxford
2. Raffles International Institute
3. Reinhard College
4. Ethos Virtual School
5. The Welding Academy
Simple, user-friendly and with a beautiful design, these LearnPress LMS websites have another thing in common – they are all created with the Eduma Education WP theme.
How to Create Online Courses With LearnPress Plugin
1. Download the LearnPress Plugin
Get the free LearnPress Plugin from the ThimPress website. There are three ways to install it:
- WordPress Plugin Search
- WordPress Admin Plugin Upload
- Through FTP
WordPress Plugin Search
In your WordPress website, go to Dashboard and select Plugins. Hit Add New.
Search for LearnPress and select install now.
Next, activate LearnPress. Or go to Plugins, select Installed Plugins and click Activate.
WordPress Admin Plugin Upload
Go to the Dashboard on your WordPress website. Select Plugins and click Add New.
Instead of searching for it on WordPress, we will upload the LearnPress plugin you downloaded from the ThimPress website. So, click the Upload plugin button at the top of the page.
Select Browse to find the LearnPress.zip file on your computer.
Select Install Now and activate the plugin.
Using FTP
You will need to login to your FTP account.
Extract the folder with the file LearnPress.zip and upload it to the wp-content/plugins folder
Go to Dashboard, click on Installed Plugins and Activate.
2. Setting Up LearnPress
Once you activate your plugin, you will be redirected to the setup wizard.
Select Run Setup Wizard and follow the steps that follow. They will include
- Configuring your currency settings and the display of your prices
- Creating the static pages that you will need for your site. They include the Courses Page, Checkout Page, Profile Page and Become a Teacher. You can use or change the suggested names and click Create then Ok to save. Skip any page you feel is unnecessary.
- Enabling PayPal and adding your PayPal email address. For those with additional payment methods, you will need to set them up as well.
- Enabling the email system. You will need this to maintain constant communication with your students. Activate the checkbox next to Enable Emails.
- In the last step, you will get the option to Create New Course, Visit Your Site, Install a Sample Course, or Go Back to Dashboard. Click Install a Sample Course to see how the courses will appear to your visitors.
3. Creating Your First Course
You have probably worked with WordPress editor before and LearnPress is quite similar.
On the WordPress dashboard, go to LearnPress, select Courses and add a new course. Give a title to your course and a straightforward description.
Assign your new course to a category where you will add all the related training. Assign tags.
Break down your course into smaller sections, divided into lessons where the learning content will appear. The first lesson can be an introduction to the course. Describe each section briefly.
Start adding the lessons for each section by scrolling down to the curriculum section. You can click the Select Items button to connect quizzes.
In the Course Settings under the General tab, you can select the duration of your course and dictate how many students can be enrolled in the course.
The Assessment tab allows you to choose how to evaluate your students and the Pricing tab enables you to set a price for the course or add a sales price. In the Author section, state who will be teaching the course
The preview function allows your students to see what the course is about without purchasing it. Ensure that the text in the preview sells and entices the visitor to register.
4. Getting an Education or LMS WordPress Theme
Keep in mind that if you are not using the LearnPress Theme Bundle, you need to get a theme.
You can get a free LMS WordPress themes on the WordPress theme directory or premium themes on Themeforest.net. If you are working on a big project, a premium theme will be your best choice because it offers more functionality.
Your theme will determine how well you can format your website for improved user engagement.
LearnPress Review in Conclusion
We have given our impartial LearnPress Reviews and come to the conclusion that it is, without a doubt, the best from our top picks of free LMS plugins.
Although there is a weakness in the support sector, the plugin is easy to use and you may never need support. Besides, its strengths far outweigh this weakness.
LearnPress has adequate functionality to create an engaging e-learning platform. With a little research, you can install LearnPress, create your courses and start earning in no time.
What makes it stand out are:
- An integrated payment method
- Free plugins
- Beautiful design
- Affordability
- Flexibility
- Familiarity and ease of use
LearnPress allows you to build an interactive education platform where you can create multiple courses and add an unlimited number of students and instructors. Get WPCity‘s LearnPress now and feel the power!
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