The post-COVID-19 era has witnessed rapid growth in the e-learning industry. A forecast by Forbes suggests an increase in the EdTech market size to $325 billion by 2025, up from $107 billion in 2015.
With the surge in demand for e-learning platform development, now is a perfect moment to explore details in creating platforms like Udemy or Coursera. As the e-learning landscape continues to thrive, ensuring high-quality educational content is essential to engage users. Even with modest initial investment, you can make a significant impact.
If you’ve ever wondered how to develop an educational platform like Udemy or Coursera, the current market boom presents the perfect opportunity. With over five years of expertise in EdTech, Geniusee stands out as a top provider of custom e-learning software solutions. In this article, let’s delve into the steps to craft an online learning platform.
Table of Contents
Cousera
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Founded in 2012 by Stanford University’s computer science professors Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller, Coursera has since evolved into a global learning platform. Today, it collaborates with over 108 universities and organizations spanning 24 countries, including nations like Canada, Japan, China, France, Great Britain, Denmark, and more.
Boasting 815 courses across 25 subject areas and available in 22 languages – including Ukrainian – Coursera is a prime destination for those keen on subjects such as STEM and data science. While its initial focus was on science, engineering, technology, and mathematics, the platform has since expanded, offering a vast range of courses across numerous disciplines.
One of Coursera’s unique features is its peer evaluation system, ensuring an unbiased academic assessment. Student-teacher interactions are facilitated via online forums and dedicated workgroups. As of October 2014, Coursera’s user base exceeded 9.9 million.
Udemy
Photo credits: https://geniusee.com/single-blog/how-to-create-e-learning-platform
Udemy stands as a global online learning platform catering to learners everywhere. Every year, over 15 million students worldwide engage in 65,000 diverse courses offered on Udemy. The platform hosts a vast array of subjects, from web technology and internet marketing to foreign languages, design, cosmetology, and psychology. One of its standout features is the availability of several free courses in each category.
However, for those looking for a more comprehensive learning experience and a potential career path, the platform offers premium paid courses as well. Udemy’s accessibility is further enhanced with dedicated mobile apps for both iOS and Android devices.
Courses on Udemy come in various formats – they can be short or extensive, budget-friendly or premium, with or without homework assessments. With such a wide range of options, finding the right course involves a simple search on Udemy’s website based on one’s profession, hobby, or desired skill.
Key Features of an E-Learning Platform
Before diving into the intricacies of developing an e-learning platform, it’s vital to understand the fundamental features your platform should have. Constructing such a platform typically involves three distinct user roles:
- An administrator tasked with overseeing the site and addressing issues;
- An instructor (whether a teacher or tutor) is responsible for curating courses and managing educational content;
- A student who engages in learning earns grades and eventually receives a certificate upon course completion.
To ensure a comprehensive and functional platform, consider integrating the following features:
Photo credits: https://geniusee.com/single-blog/how-to-create-e-learning-platform
Key Steps to Create an E-Learning Website
ANALYTICS
The first step to developing an e-learning platform requires a comprehensive understanding of your target audience and a thorough study of your competitors. It is very important for a website owner to understand the needs and problems of his audience in order to customize his website according to them for mutual benefit. It’s vital to address questions such as:
- Who is the target audience for the e-learning platform?
- What are the preferences of potential users?
- What information will be valuable and engaging for them?
- Which communication channels do they use?
Conduct a comprehensive evaluation of your direct competitors, study their strategies, and identify their strengths and weaknesses. Leverage these insights to your advantage. Clearly define your unique selling points and distinguishing features that will set you apart and present you favorably.
CREATION OF TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
This phase is of paramount importance, leaving no room for errors, as any missteps can potentially disrupt the entire project. The technical specifications (TK) outline the primary project requirements, functionalities, and operational methods. These specifications are formulated based on the analysis of the target audience, competitor research, project goals, and strategy. Key performance requirements include:
- Thoroughness: Every task assigned to a specialist must be detailed in the TK, even if it’s a routine part of the job. Each requirement and aspect of the work should be explicitly stated.
- Precision: Ambiguous or subjective language has no place in the technical specifications. It serves as a clear directive on what needs to be done, leaving no room for interpretation.
- Clarity: The language used should be comprehensible to specialists, eliminating the need for further clarification.
PROTOTYPING
For clarity, a prototype with a comprehensive layout and user-friendly navigation is developed. Pay special attention to navigation, as many websites neglect user-friendliness. Users should easily grasp how to navigate the platform upon their initial interaction with it. The designer’s primary focus is on ensuring the usability of the interface, positioning all elements on the page for easy discovery and use. Information blocks’ arrangement helps guide the user’s attention and showcases what they should or would like to see at a given moment.
EFFECTIVE User Experience / User Interface DESIGN
The UI/UX design of the e-learning website should be user-friendly and employ motivating colors that encourage learning, maintain focus, and avoid distractions (e.g., ads, other courses, pop-ups). When developing the design, consider the following principles:
- Hick’s Law: Minimize options to expedite decision-making.
- Miller’s Law: Organize information into manageable groups.
- Gestalt Theory: Leverage visual structure and patterns for information processing.
- Von Restorff Effect / Isolation Effect: Highlight important information or actions.
- Psychology of Colors: Use colors to evoke specific emotions and actions.
LAYOUT
Upon design completion, the layout is submitted for customer approval before proceeding to the adaptive layout. This involves converting design sketches into HTML, ensuring the site’s appearance adapts seamlessly to various browsers and devices (PC, tablet, smartphone, etc.). It’s essential to meticulously plan the design before HTML conversion to minimize post-production revisions.
PROGRAMMING
Programming is the phase where the designed elements are brought to life. The programmer codes all site attributes created by the designer and arranged by the layout designer using a specific programming language (e.g., PHP, Java, JavaScript, Python, or ASP.NET). In some cases, layout and programming may occur concurrently, depending on the project’s scale.
TESTING
Despite ongoing checks during each development stage to identify functionality issues, final testing remains imperative. It’s essential to uncover any defects, such as broken links, display inconsistencies, or malfunctioning pop-up windows, and promptly address them. Typically, the site is temporarily hosted for testing and review. Once all issues are resolved, the project, along with its files, is transferred to its permanent hosting location on the Internet. Post-migration, further testing is conducted to ensure seamless operation.
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
Upon delivering fully functional platforms like Udemy, specialists provide training on the administration panel and statistics collection services. The owner gains the ability to independently publish content, create pages, upload products, and collect data for behavioral analytics. If questions arise, the development team should be readily available for assistance. Similarly, in the event of post-launch errors, the technical support team will promptly address and resolve any issues.
The popularity of e-learning continues to surge each year, offering your website the potential for growth and the opportunity to reach a broader audience. Don’t let time slip away. If you have valuable knowledge to share, consider securing a domain, building an e-learning website, and sharing your expertise with the global community.
