Shopify is possibly the most recognizable name when it comes to eCommerce platforms, with over 1 Millions users.
Most people are using it to sell physical products and manage their online store.
But some people might also want to complement what they do and add an educational side of their business.
That’s when they might be interested in building and selling an online course or membership.
Let’s see how this could be done using Shopify.
Shopify Online Course Apps
Because there has been such a need for people to be able to create their online programs on the platform, several options have started to surface.
And as with a lot of things on Shopify, this is going to be addressed using an App.
That’s because there is no native online course builder in Shopify, as the platform isn’t really built for it.
You could try to hack it together by building different pages for each module, upload a video and call it done…
But that’s rarely going to be a great solution if you want to deliver a great learning experience.
So here are the top 3 online course apps you can use on Shopify.
#1 Tevello Courses
This is a basic but simple online course app that lets you build your curriculum in the backend of Shopify directly.
You can simply add your Modules and Lessons from there as well as your content.
Note that you will need a video host, whether that’s using YouTube or a paid service like Vimeo.
You can set up a Drip schedule for the release of your lessons and add downloadables.
Course progress is also saved so you can keep track of your student’s engagement.
Note Tevello also allows you to create a Community forum-like experience for your users to interact and connect directly in your course.
The biggest upside of the app is that it’s completely free!
#2 Courses Plus
The Courses Plus app has a lot more options but that also means additional cost.
You’ll get access to a more advanced course editor with different type of content: video, audio, SCORM
But also live lessons and Quizzes!
You can also create certificates of completion for your students to walk away with something to showcase.
There is a free plan with infinite student capacity but your courses will be limited to 5 lessons.
Otherwise you’ll have to upgrade to paying plans:
This also includes storage! Meaning that you can upload your videos directly to the platform (video limit is 1GB each).
This is a more advanced solution but should satisfy a lot of course creators using Shopify.
#3 Inflowkit
And the last app we recommend for hosting an online course in Shopify is Inflowkit.
This is suited to build both courses and memberships with a very straightforward builder.
The drag&drop feature will make it easy to build your lessons and add content directly from the back-end.
Lesson dripping is available as well as a certificate of completion.
You can of course follow the progression of each student individually to review their engagement.
Storage will also depend on your plan (starting at 5 GB on the free plan) - video hosting is supported from the Starter plan on.
Note that you’ll need to upgrade to the Basic plan if you want to avoid the transaction fee.
Another main reason to upgrade is to get access to more Themes and designs for your courses.
Alternatives To Shopify Courses
At this stage you might be wondering what else you can to add online programs to your offering.
What a lot of online courses creators end up doing is using a separate platform for that part of their business, and connect it to Shopify.
Using a specialist tool to host your programs will allow you to have a lot more options and not compromise on your vision.
Among the top online course platforms are: Kajabi, New Zenler, Kartra, Teachable, Thinkific,...
Here are a few things these can do that Shopify Apps can’t:
- Community and live videos
- Advanced quizzes and assignments
- Coaching and feedback
- Mobile app
- Automations
- Advanced course design
- AI transcription
- Affiliate programs
And a lot more!
The way any of these platforms would probably fit into your current Shopify website would be to send people directly there to checkout.
People will then get access to their product. You can customize everything so that the user experience is as smooth as possible switching from one platform to the other.
This also means most likely that payments will be handled on the online course platform (although you can integrate the same Stripe/Paypal account that you’re using on Shopify).
Pricing wise, this might also be a little more expensive than the Shopify apps, although you’ll get a lot more for your money.
Ultimately, whether using a Shopify online course App or a dedicated platform is better is up to your needs.
