You have the knowledge. You have a WordPress site, or you are about to. What stands between you and a published course is not talent, it is a sequence of small decisions this guide makes for you.
📑 Table of Contents
- Step 1: Install the LMS and run setup (5 minutes)
- Step 2: Sketch the curriculum before touching the builder (paper, 15 minutes)
- Step 3: Build the skeleton in the Course Builder (10 minutes)
- Step 4: Fill lessons, one content type at a time
- Step 5: Add one quiz that matters (10 minutes)
- Step 6: Price it (5 minutes)
- Step 7: Publish, then walk through it as a student
- What “done” looks like
We will go from nothing to a published, sellable course using Learnomy (the LMS we build at Wbcom Designs). The steps translate to any capable LMS, but we will be concrete rather than generic: real screens, real settings. Total hands-on time, excluding writing your actual content: under an hour.
Step 1: Install the LMS and run setup (5 minutes)
Install Learnomy, run the setup wizard, pick the preset that matches your goal (free courses, paid, membership). The wizard creates every page and route for you; the 5-minute setup guide covers this stage in detail, including renaming “Course” to whatever your niche calls it.
Step 2: Sketch the curriculum before touching the builder (paper, 15 minutes)
The single best predictor of a finished course is a curriculum outlined before the software opens. The structure you are filling in:
- Course → the promise (“React Fundamentals: Build Your First 3 Apps”)
- Sections → milestones (“Getting Started”, “Your First App”)
- Lessons → one sitting each, 5 to 15 minutes
- Topics → optional sub-steps inside big lessons
Rule of thumb: if a lesson outline has “and” in its title, split it.
Step 3: Build the skeleton in the Course Builder (10 minutes)
Open the Course Builder: a drag-and-drop tree of your whole curriculum on one screen. Add sections, add lesson stubs inside each, and reorder by dragging until the flow feels right. Do not write content here yet; skeleton first, flesh later. Momentum matters more than polish at this stage.
Step 4: Fill lessons, one content type at a time
Each lesson opens in its own editor with a content type: text, video, audio, PDF, embed, live session, downloadable file, or protected file. Practical patterns:
- Video lessons: paste the URL from YouTube (unlisted), Vimeo, or your host
- Text lessons: the editor handles formatted content, images, and code snippets
- Resources: attach worksheets as lesson downloads; they are served through protected routes, so only enrolled students reach them
- Set each lesson’s duration so the course page can honestly display total course length
Step 5: Add one quiz that matters (10 minutes)
Resist quizzing every lesson. One end-of-section knowledge check plus one final does more than ten trivia stops. Create the quiz, pick Graded mode, pull questions from your question bank or write a few multiple-choice items, set a passing score. Deeper exam machinery (timers, proctoring, layouts) lives in the serious exams guide when you need it.
Step 6: Price it (5 minutes)
In course settings, pick the pricing model: free, one-time, subscription, members-only, or invite-only. Set the price, connect Stripe or PayPal if you have not yet (full selling walkthrough here), and write the short description that appears on your catalog card.
Add a certificate while you are here: pick a template, and completion certificates issue automatically, verifiable ones, with QR codes.
Step 7: Publish, then walk through it as a student
Hit publish; the course appears in your catalog instantly. Now the step most creators skip: enroll a test account and take your own course. Check the lesson flow, the quiz pass, and the certificate. Ten minutes of student-mode catches what no checklist does.
What “done” looks like
A published course page with a working enroll button, 2+ sections of lessons, one graded quiz, a certificate on completion, and you having finished it once as a student. Ship that, share the link, and improve from real feedback; version two is built from analytics, not guesses.
FAQ
How long does it take to create an online course in WordPress?
The platform work is under an hour with a modern LMS. Content is the real timeline: most creators need 2 to 6 weeks of writing and recording for a solid first course.
Do I need to know code to build a course site?
No. Setup wizard, drag-and-drop builder, and pricing settings are all no-code in Learnomy.
Should every lesson have a quiz?
No. One check per section plus a final beats constant quizzing; over-testing measurably increases drop-off.
Can I host course videos on YouTube?
Yes, unlisted YouTube or Vimeo embeds are the common pattern. For protected, non-shareable video, use a host with signed URLs.