eLearning platform development that starts from a working LMS
We build your custom eLearning platform on our own LMS, with the full source code on your server if you want it, or from scratch when your product does not look like courses and lessons. This page is about building the platform, not producing course content.
- 8+ yearsOf WordPress and LMS work: building, fixing and migrating learning platforms before we built our own.
- Our LMS as your baseWe built and sell LMS Advisor, so your platform can start from working features instead of an empty repository.
- Source code on your serverOn a platform built on LMS Advisor, you can have the full source code on your own server with a one-time license option and no subscription. Exact license terms are set in your quote.
- Own staff, no freelancersA dedicated project manager, direct access to your developer, and your project kept confidential under NDA.
Get a free quote
Free consultation. We reply within one business day, and an NDA is available before you share details.
eLearning platforms we build
With us, eLearning platform development can start from LMS Advisor, the LMS we built and sell. The common parts already work, so the project is about what makes your product different. Where our platform stops, the card says so.
Online academy or course-selling site
Your brand on a platform with course authoring, interactive video, drip schedules, learning paths and certificates that anyone can check on a public verification page. Learners buy in your WooCommerce store and arrive in their courses already signed in.
B2B training platform for client companies
Organizations, branches, groups, roles and manager views give each client company its own place in the structure, and SAML single sign-on and SCIM provisioning are in the platform. Seat limits, per-client rules and sign-in through each client's own identity provider are scoped per project.
Certification and exam-prep platform
A standalone exam center with its own candidate portal, a question bank and 13 question types, so candidates do not need a course enrollment. Proctoring is native and set per exam, proctored exams are taken on a computer, and a person judges the evidence.
Mobile learning apps for iOS and Android
A branded build of our Flutter app with offline video, audio and document lessons, or a custom mobile learning app designed around your product. Branded apps are published under your own Apple and Google developer accounts.
Payments and store integration
Platforms built on LMS Advisor sell through a WooCommerce store with token sign-in, so checkout, coupons and subscriptions live in the store and not in the LMS. A from-scratch build can have its own checkout, scoped in the quote.
AI tutor and course drafting
A branded AI tutor with your name and avatar that answers in the context of the course, plus drafting tools for courses, lessons and exam questions. It runs on your own Anthropic or OpenAI API key, drafts are never published automatically, and you can switch it off.
Migration from a course platform or plugin
We move courses, quizzes and users from a hosted course platform or a WordPress LMS plugin, and LMS Advisor imports LearnDash, LifterLMS and Tutor LMS courses. How much learner history comes along depends on what the old platform exports, so we run test imports on a staging site and reconcile the counts before cutover.
Integrations and live classes
A REST API and webhooks for enrollment, completion and certificate events let us connect the platform to your CRM, billing or reporting tools as custom work, because there is no ready-made CRM connector. Live classes run through Zoom or Google Meet.
Tell us what you want to build
Share the goal and the deadline. We will come back with an approach, a timeline and a clear estimate, free of charge.
Why hire a team that ships its own LMS
Working parts, not an empty repository
Authoring, interactive video, exams, certificates and reporting already run in LMS Advisor. Starting from them is usually faster than writing them again, so more of the work goes into the features only you have.
Code you can hold
On a platform built on LMS Advisor, you can have the full source code on your own server with a one-time license option and no subscription. Exact license terms are set in the quote. In a from-scratch build, you own the code we write.
Standards named precisely
SCORM 1.2 and 2004, xAPI, cmi5, and LTI 1.3 as a tool provider with grade passback. We also say what is missing: the built-in xAPI record store keeps statements but is not a reporting tool you can query, and our platform cannot launch other vendors' LTI tools.
Exam security already built
Webcam snapshots, face monitoring, fullscreen lockdown, tab-switch logging and ID photo capture are set per exam, with an evidence trail for reviews and disputes. The software flags and a person decides.
Limits stated before you sign
No built-in checkout, no content library, no security or accessibility certifications, and multi-tenant features that are early and limited. You hear this in the first call, along with the cases where a hosted course platform is the better buy.
One team you can reach
Our own staff, no freelancers. You get a dedicated project manager, direct access to your developer, and updates by email, Slack or a project dashboard, with a report at each milestone.
From first call to launch
Free consultation
We ask how you sell, who your learners are, how they sign in and whether client companies need their own space. It is free, it comes before any commitment, and what you tell us stays confidential under NDA.
Route and written quote
We recommend a route: a hosted platform or plugin, a build on LMS Advisor, or a from-scratch build. The quote fixes the scope, the milestones, the license terms and any accessibility or security baseline you name.
Design and build in milestones
We design and build on a staging site, keep the code in Git and demo the work at each milestone. You get regular updates, milestone reports and direct access to the developer doing the work.
Migration, testing and app submission
We move your courses and users, test your SCORM packages, sign-in and store purchases, and submit branded apps through your own Apple and Google accounts. Store review decides the approval date, so we do not promise one.
Launch and next features
A platform built on LMS Advisor goes live in our cloud or on your own server, and you get documentation at handover. Features you want after launch are scoped and quoted as further milestones.
Work we are asked to do
A training company that outgrew its hosted course platform
It sells courses to individuals and now signs companies that want their own manager views, single sign-on and completion reports. We build on LMS Advisor: organizations and branches for each client company, a WooCommerce store for public sales, and migration of the existing courses and users. Sign-in through each client's own identity provider is scoped in the quote.
An association launching a certification
Members study online, sit a proctored exam on a computer and receive a certificate that employers can check on a public verification page. The exam center and proctoring are already built. Expiry dates on exam certificates are not, so renewal rules become a scoped custom feature.
A publisher turning its titles into exam prep
Question pools with difficulty levels and negative marking become timed practice exams, and video, audio and document lessons download for offline study in a branded app. Practice exams without proctoring run in the app. Purchases stay in the publisher's WooCommerce store, because the app has no in-app purchases.
A founder whose product is not a course catalog
A tutoring marketplace or a daily practice app has a core loop of matching, practice or feedback, not sections and lessons. Bending an LMS into that shape would usually cost more than it saves, so we design and build it from scratch, with custom iOS and Android apps if the product lives on phones.
Tools and integrations
Pick the route that fits
What eLearning platform development covers
eLearning platform development is the design and build of the software a learning business runs on: the branded site, the course player, sign-in, selling, exams, certificates, reporting and mobile apps. We are an eLearning platform development company that also sells its own LMS, LMS Advisor. We usually recommend starting from it, so read our view with that in mind.
This page is for people building a learning product, such as an online academy, a B2B training product, an exam-prep platform or a mobile learning app. To train your own staff instead, see our LMS development services and the custom LMS development guide, though ready-made LMS software is often enough.
Platform, not course content
Searches for "custom eLearning" mix two different jobs. One is producing courses: scripts, videos, animations. The other is building the place where courses live and get sold. We do the second.
We do not produce course content as a service and have no content library. Your authors get course authoring tools instead: a module builder, interactive video, a recording studio and AI drafting that is never published automatically.
Which route fits your eLearning business
There are four routes: a hosted course platform, a WordPress LMS plugin, a build on LMS Advisor or a from-scratch build. The first two need no custom development.
| What to compare | Hosted course platform | WordPress LMS plugin | Built on LMS Advisor | From-scratch build |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you get on day one | A finished product with course pages, checkout and hosting. | Courses, lessons and quizzes inside a WordPress site you run. | Working authoring, exams with proctoring, certificates, standards, single sign-on and apps. We add your features and branding. | Nothing until the first milestone ships. |
| Who holds the code and data | The vendor owns the platform. Check what you can export. | You run the site and hold the database. | Full source code on your own server with a one-time license option and no subscription, or our cloud. Self-hosted, the database sits on your server. | You own the code we write and choose where it runs. |
| Selling and payments | Usually built in, on the vendor's terms. | WooCommerce or a membership plugin handles payments, subscriptions and coupons. | Through a WooCommerce store with token sign-in. No built-in checkout, coupons or subscriptions. | Whatever you specify, scoped in the quote. |
| Mobile apps | Varies by vendor. | Usually responsive web, with an app as a separate project. | Native iOS and Android apps with offline lessons. A branded build is a paid add-on. | Custom mobile learning apps designed for your product. |
| Best fit | One brand selling video courses to individuals. | A small course site with simple quizzes. | A learning business that needs exams, client organizations, standards or the code on its own server. | A product that does not look like courses and lessons. |
If the hosted course platform column fits, read our comparisons with Kajabi and Thinkific before you pay a developer. If the WordPress plugin column fits, see LMS Advisor vs LearnDash and our WordPress LMS development services.
Decisions that shape the scope
Seven answers decide most of it.
- How you sell. One-time purchases, subscriptions, seats sold to companies, or free courses with a paid exam. On the LMS Advisor platform, selling runs through WooCommerce, and the mobile app has no in-app purchases.
- Who your learners are and how they sign in. Consumers expect a password, a one-time code, Google sign-in or a passkey. Client companies ask for SAML single sign-on and SCIM, a standard for creating and deactivating accounts automatically. SAML sign-in is not available inside the mobile app.
- Whether client companies need their own space. Organizations, branches, groups and manager views exist. Multi-tenant features are early and limited, so separate brands with their own catalogs and admins are scoped per project, and we run no white-label reseller program.
- Video delivery and storage. Video is a running cost that grows with your audience. Decide where the files live and whether streams sit behind a login.
- Standards you need. SCORM matters if you import packaged courses, and LTI 1.3 if a client launches your courses from its own LMS. cmi5 is the newer option, which ADL describes as an instantiation of xAPI. If you author everything inside the platform, you may need none of the standards we support.
- Exams and credentials. Practice quizzes are light work. Certification exams with native proctoring, taken on a computer, are more scope.
- Mobile and offline. Our iOS and Android apps save video, audio and document lessons for offline use. Apple's App Store Review Guideline 4.2.6 says apps created from a commercialized template will be rejected unless the provider of the app's content submits them directly. So a branded app goes out under your own Apple and Google developer accounts, and nobody can promise an approval date.
What drives the cost of eLearning platform development
The cost depends mainly on the route, the custom features, how you sell, mobile apps, integrations and migration, and any accessibility or security baseline you name. We publish no prices, and every quote follows a free consultation.
- The route. Starting from a working platform is usually faster than starting from an empty repository.
- Custom features, and how far they sit from courses, lessons and exams.
- Selling and mobile. A custom checkout, separate brands and a custom mobile app each add real work. A WooCommerce store and a branded build of our app are the shorter paths.
- Integrations and migration: how many systems, and the state of the old data.
- Baselines you name. If you need WCAG 2.2 at level AA or a security standard such as OWASP ASVS, say so at the start so it is scoped and tested. LMS Advisor itself claims no WCAG conformance and holds no security certification.
- Running costs after launch: hosting, video delivery, and the yearly care plan for a branded app.
What you get at the end
On a platform built on LMS Advisor, you can have the full source code on your own server with a one-time license option and no subscription, with exact license terms set in the quote. In a from-scratch build, you own the code we write.
Courses export and import between installs. If you might move a whole platform between our cloud and your own server later, ask us before you sign.
When not to build an eLearning platform
Do not build a custom eLearning platform if you are one brand selling video courses, need only a small WordPress course site, have not yet proven demand, or only train your own employees.
- Video courses for individuals. A hosted course platform is usually cheaper and goes live sooner.
- A small course site on WordPress. A WordPress LMS plugin fits.
- No sales yet. Prove the demand on a hosted tool first, then move.
- Staff training only. Buy an LMS.
Build when exams, client organizations, standards, mobile learners or holding the code decide whether the business works. Not sure which side you are on? Ask for a free quote. We will tell you, even when the answer is not us.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a custom eLearning platform cost?
How long does it take to build an eLearning platform?
Should we build a platform or use a hosted course platform?
Do we need native mobile apps, or is a responsive website enough?
Can the platform support multiple organizations or brands?
Can you support SCORM, xAPI and cmi5?
Who owns the code and the data?
Do you create the course content?
Get a quote for your eLearning platform
Tell us how you sell, who your learners are and what your current platform cannot do. We reply with a route, a scope and a written quote. The consultation is free and confidential under NDA.
- Reply within one business day
- NDA before you share details
- Full source code, terms in your quote