There is no shortage of WordPress LMS plugins such as Tutor LMS, LearnDash, and LearnPress that offer amazing features for building dynamic eLearning platforms. However, one platform gaining traction and popularity is Academy LMS.
In the next 10 minutes or so, we will take a closer look at its features and pricing, and share in detail what you can get out of using it. When we’re done, you’ll have a pretty good idea of how to create a fully functional LMS website using Academy LMS and the ever-important (but often underestimated) role of hosting in making it run smoothly.
Quick tip: to make the reading of this article more interactive, we suggest you give the demo version a try and experiment with its multiple features as we go through the paces.
Here are all the points we will be covering in our Academy LMS review:
- How to install and set up Academy LMS
- How to use the frontend course builder and the backend analytics
- How to create quizzes, assignments, and exams using Drip Content Builder
- Pros and cons of Academy LMS
- Quick comparison of Academy LMS with other platforms
Before we start, we need to quickly sort out a couple of things first.
Why Academy LMS?
Academy LMS is a new entrant in the highly competitive world of LMS plugins that doesn’t disappoint in terms of price and performance. Compared with other plugins that cost around $199 per year for a single-site license, Academy LMS provides the same features at only $119.
In our humble opinion, this is the most economical option to get started with your course website right away.
What Do You Need To Build A Great LMS?
To get the most out of your LMS, you need a few things:
- Reliable web host provider
- Reputable LMS such as Academy LMS
- Responsive WordPress theme that suits your needs
The great thing about WordPress is that you don’t have to code anything to create an LMS, as the plugins offer everything for a beginner to get started.
For hosting, you want to go with cloud, such as Rapyd Cloud’s managed WordPress hosting, where you get 24/7 proactive security, integrated CDN, and resources that scale as you grow.
Who is Academy LMS Best For?
Let’s start this Academy LMS review with what it is particularly well-suited for:
- Solopreneurs and small businesses looking to create and sell online courses with minimal technical expertise.
- Educators and trainers who want a user-friendly platform to deliver their educational content.
- Businesses incorporating training programs such as employee onboarding or customer education.
- Anyone prioritizing marketing and sales with an option to monetize with multiple payment gateways via WooCommerce.
Academy LMS Key Features At A Glance
Let’s take a quick look at the main features of this platform and how you can use them to create engaging online learning experiences:
- Sandbox environment – Test the platform without downloading or installing it on your server. The official website allows you to try the demo version, which is a great way to check if it is suitable for your needs before making a purchase.
- Frontend Course Creation – Create courses just the way you like via an easy-to-use user interface.
- Drip Content – Schedule when the course content is released to the students.
- Course Progress and Tracking – Let the students track their progress as they enroll in any course.
- Awards and Certificates – With a Certificate Builder, instructors can craft customized certificates for students who successfully complete their courses.
- Quiz Builder – Create quizzes and assignments that become a part of the student’s progress for each course.
- Live Classes – Provide live sessions through Google Meet integration.
- Course Monetization Options With Payment Gateway Integration – Monetize your work by integrating multiple payment gateways such as Stripe and PayPal.
Sandbox environment
Since you’re likely not ready to purchase a license at this point, you can leverage the live demo option to create new classes and quizzes and test the platform’s frontend and backend. To use the sandbox environment, go to the Academy LMS website and click Try Admin Demo.
The default username and password is “demo”. Once you log in, you will see the following screen with a dashboard that shows the number of enrolled courses, completed courses, total students, total lessons, total quizzes, and other options. In other words, this is where you get all the important statistics for courses.
To access the backend, click Dashboard by hovering the mouse on the ALMS Testing tab.
This will take you to the WP Admin area. Here you can see further statistics in more detail.
Frontend Course Creation
Not everyone using WordPress is tech-savvy. Academy LMS understands this limitation and provides a front-end course creation feature that is easy to use for anyone with basic WordPress knowledge.
You can quickly create new courses by going to Academy LMS > Courses > All Courses > Add New Course. Add your Course Title and Course Description.
You can also set your course to Free, Paid, or Public. Once you are done with the setup, click Publish to launch the course on your website.
Quiz Builder and Assessment Functionalities
What’s the point of using an LMS if it doesn’t come with a built-in quiz builder? Academy LMS’s quiz creator allows you to design unlimited quizzes of varying lengths, difficulties, and question types. To create quizzes, simply click Quizzes > Add New Quiz.
In a new pop-up window, there will be three steps for quiz creation. First, add the Quiz Title and Description. Click Save & Continue.
In the next step, click on Add Questions+.
Add the Question Title and select the Question Type from the drop-down list.
You can select from True/False, Single Choice, Multiple Choice, Short Answer, and Image Answer. In our case, we chose the Single Choice option, which requires the student to decide on the right answer for the question.
Once you are done, click on Add Question. In the third step, you will be shown the quiz settings. You can choose to hide or enable the question number, quiz time, time limit, and Quiz Feedback Mode. Once done with all the changes, click Finish.
To access a course from the student’s point of view, open up the course in a new window and click Start Course.
Integration with WooCommerce for Monetization
Just like with every WordPress-based LMS, you can easily integrate WooCommerce with Academy LMS to enable monetization features. You can set a price for your courses and sell them by enabling payment gateways such as Stripe and Paypal. To do this, head over to Settings > Payments, then turn on WooCommerce next to Select eCommerce Engine.
Content Drip and Scheduling Options
As a course creator, you need to have complete freedom on how you want the content to be published for the enrolled students. You can either make all the lessons and quizzes available if someone signs up for your course or schedule it with drip content.
The latter is an excellent option to make sure that students only reach a certain part of the course when they have completed specific prerequisites. To enable this feature, access course settings through the Course Edit option and then scroll down where you can see the following options:
Under the Content Drip Types, you can specify how you want to schedule your content:
- Schedule course content according to the date – Specify an exact date.
- Content Accessible after X days from enrollment – Specify the number of days after enrollment when lesson plans start becoming accessible.
- Course content available sequentially – Once the previous lesson plan is completed, the next one gets automatically visible.
- Course content available after completing prerequisites – Specify prerequisites to access content.
- Content accessible after x days from topic completed – Specify the number of days for content to be available once a topic is completed.
These options allow you to fully customize how you schedule and publish the course content.
Certificate Creation and Gamification Elements
Did you know that you can assign certificates at the end of course completion for each student? Not only that, but you can change the look and feel of certificates by scrolling down under each Course through the main WP Dashboard until you get to the following:
Click Change Certificate.
In a new pop-up window, you can select a certificate style you like the most and then customize it accordingly.
Value for Money
We have to talk about the price tag, even for a little bit.
One of the strongest aspects of Academy LMS is that it offers a good balance of features and affordability. Its pricing is competitive, considering the scope of marketing and sales tools it brings into the mix.
For just $119, you can get started with a 1-site license. The WooCommerce integration adds significant value for those already using or planning to use WooCommerce for e-commerce. So, if you’re not looking to splash out big bucks but still get the features you need, Academy LMS will be more than a fine choice.
Benefits and Limitations of Academy LMS
Just like with every other LMS, there are good and bad things about Academy LMS that you need to consider before buying its license.
Pros
- One of the most economical options for anyone starting as a course creator
- Lightweight and user-friendly interface
- Frontend course creator and quiz builder
- Ability to duplicate courses and quizzes to save time
- Optimized for faster load times
- Automatic and manual enrollments
- Ability to create unlimited courses with multiple instructors
- Course difficulty indicators assist students in deciding the right one based on their needs
- Seamless integration with Zoom for live classes and WooCommerce for payments
Cons
- Free version has limited support and functionalities
- Tutor LMS has additional types of questions such as Matching Types that Academy LMS doesn’t offer
- Limited options as compared to other LMS platforms
How Rapyd Cloud Helps Get the Most Out of Your LMS
Running a dynamic LMS website using Academy LMS (or any other similar plugin) demands a powerful and reliable hosting environment to keep everything running like clockwork. Rapyd Cloud’s best managed WordPress hosting is ideally suited for this task for several reasons, including:
Blazing-Fast Speeds
With its dynamic content and user interactions, Academy LMS tends to get resource-intensive. This will be more apparent as your audience grows.
Rapyd Cloud’s optimized infrastructure, including SSD storage and advanced caching mechanisms, ensures lightning-fast loading times, providing an engaging learning experience for your students. This is crucial for reducing bounce rates and improving student satisfaction.
Integrated CDN
Serving course content including videos and large files tends to consume a lot of bandwidth. Rapyd Cloud’s integrated Content Delivery Network (CDN) distributes your content across a global network of servers, resulting in fast delivery to students regardless of their locations.
Guaranteed Uptime
Uptime is paramount for educational platforms where consistent access is a must. Rapyd Cloud’s team of WordPress experts proactively monitors your site leading to maximum uptime. We handle the technical complexities, allowing you to focus solely on creating and delivering valuable content.
Great Fit for Dynamic Websites
LMS platforms are dynamic by nature, constantly generating and updating content based on user interactions. Rapyd Cloud’s infrastructure is designed to handle such websites, providing the stability and performance needed for a seamless LMS experience.
By hosting your Academy LMS platform on Rapyd Cloud, you can be confident that your courses will be accessible, fast, and reliable, providing an optimal learning environment for your students.
Alternatives and Short Comparisons
- LearnDash: Powerful WordPress LMS plugin with advanced features like drip-fed content and gamification, but requires more technical knowledge to manage effectively.
- Tutor LMS: User-friendly and feature-rich LMS plugin that offers a good balance between ease of use and functionality.
- LifterLMS: Comprehensive LMS plugin that focuses on memberships and community building. It offers robust membership features, content protection, and integrations with popular membership plugins.
Sell Your Expertise With This All-in-One WordPress LMS Plugin
If you’re just starting your LMS adventure (so to speak), we recommend going with Academy LMS to build and monetize online courses. While the plugin may have some limitations in advanced features compared to more complex platforms, its overall ease of use, wallet-friendly price, and focus on course sales make it a choice you won’t regret.
We hope this Academy LMS review was helpful and do let us know if you have any questions about it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Academy LMS, and how does it work?
Academy LMS is a platform for creating, managing, and selling online courses. Instructors upload content, organize lessons, and deliver them to students who can track progress and earn certificates. It’s a web-based system accessed through any browser.
Is Academy LMS free to use?
Yes. Academy LMS has a free version but with limited features and options. Start with the free version to get a feel of the platform, then opt for one of the paid plans to get the most out of this platform.
How does Academy LMS compare to Tutor LMS?
Academy LMS is more affordable than Tutor LMS but the latter offers better customization options. The best choice depends on your specific needs.
Can I integrate Academy LMS with WooCommerce?
Yes. Academy LMS integrates with WooCommerce, allowing you to use its e-commerce features for course sales, payments, and discounts.
Does Academy LMS support multiple instructors?
It does, allowing different individuals to create and manage their own courses within the platform.
What kind of support does Academy LMS offer?
Academy LMS provides support through documentation, email, live chat, and community forums.
Does Rapyd Cloud Offer Specialized Academy LMS Hosting?
Yes, Rapyd Cloud offers specialized LMS hosting services. It offers Academy LMS hosting, Tutor LMS Hosting, just to name a few.
