Since the brief called for both a well optimized marketing website and a user-friendly, easy to manage online learning platform, we decided to integrate both platforms into one WordPress website using the LearnDash LMS (Learning Management System) plugin for WordPress. This turned out to be a good decision over using Moodle for the LMS, as the result is a seamless integration between the two primary functions of the website, a consistent look and feel across both platforms, and the simplicity of only having one admin area to manage.
Since the students need to be able to purchase the courses directly on the website, we added e-Commerce functionality using the popular WooCommerce plugin for WordPress, which we then integrated with the LearnDash LMS. This integration enables students to purchase a course online and automatically be enrolled in the course once payment is received. Course progress is tracked in their account and on their profiles, and badges and certificates are awarded on completion of each course.
The course material was provided by the client, from which we produced engaging online courses that include videos, manual and template downloads, quizzes and the ability to upload projects to the platform.
We baked SEO best practices into the design and development process from the ground up, and we added a blog to help their SEO and content marketing efforts. The blog will also be used to share useful information and tips with students and the general public, and we may add a forum at a later stage for users to share information with each other. We also built an event calendar into the system to track scheduled webinars and events, and they will be making use of our online survey tool to gather valuable feedback about their courses and grow their email subscriber list.
Furthermore, PropAcademy has engaged us to provide ongoing maintenance, support, SEO and internet marketing services to ensure they reach their goal of becoming the dominant player in South African market.
