6 Things You Need to Know Before Choosing a WordPress LMS Plugin (Besides Pricing and Features)

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Choosing a WordPress LMS plugin that looks perfect on paper, only to discover it's a nightmare to use or doesn’t play well with your other tools, can be frustrating. 

Price and features are just the tip of the iceberg. 

To make a smart choice, you need to look beyond the immediately obvious and consider factors like compatibility, user experience, and scalability. 

This post will uncover these often overlooked aspects, helping you make a decision that truly supports your needs and ensures a smooth, successful implementation.

1. Compatibility and Integration

When choosing a WordPress LMS plugin, compatibility with your existing systems is crucial. 

A plugin that seamlessly integrates with your current tools can save you time, reduce headaches, and ensure a smoother workflow. This is where WishList Member shines.

WishList Member boasts over 80 inbuilt integrations, covering a wide range of tools and platforms. 

Features to look out for when Choosing a WordPress LMS Plugin

This means you can connect it effortlessly with your current systems, enhancing your LMS capabilities without the hassle of technical difficulties. 

Additionally, the WishList Member team supports these integrations, providing you with peace of mind and reliable support.

Moreover, WishList Member connects with Zapier and Uncanny Automator, opening the door to thousands more apps and popular platforms. 

This flexibility makes it one of the most adaptable LMS options available, ensuring that your LMS can grow and evolve alongside your needs.

2. User Experience (UX) is Key

You want to choose an LMS Plugin that will make your site powerful, intuitive, and enjoyable to use. 

Here’s how WishList Member excels in providing a top-notch UX:

  1. Allows One Tap Social Media Login: With WishList Member, you can offer your members to option to log in via Google, Facebook, Twitter, and WordPress, making access quick and easy. 
  1. Supports Gamification: WishList Member supports gamification features like points, badges, and leaderboards. These add-ons reward users for completing lessons, modules, or quizzes, and for engaging with site content, boosting motivation and retention.
LMS Gamification Quizzes
  1. Mobile Friendly and Responsive: WishList Member ensures all your content is fully responsive, making it accessible and functional on any device, from desktops to smartphones.

By focusing on these UX-enhancing features, WishList Member ensures an engaging, user-friendly experience for both administrators and learners.

Learn more about WishList Member’s powerful UX features

3. Scalability

As your educational platform or corporate training program grows, scalability becomes a critical factor. 

You need an LMS that can expand alongside your increasing user base and diverse course offerings without compromising performance. 

Scalability ensures that your LMS can handle more users, content, and functionalities as your needs evolve.

WishList Member is designed with scalability in mind.

One of its standout features is the ability to create unlimited courses using its Courses add-on

This means you can continuously expand your course library without worrying about hitting any limits. 

Whether you're adding new training modules for employees or expanding your online education platform, WishList Member can grow with you.

In addition to unlimited courses, WishList Member’s robust architecture supports a large number of users, ensuring smooth performance even as your user base expands.

This makes it an ideal choice for small to medium-sized educational institutions and corporate trainers who anticipate growth.

With WishList Member, you can confidently scale your LMS to meet the demands of your growing audience.

4. Good Support and Thorough Documentation

Good documentation is the backbone of any reliable LMS plugin. Comprehensive and clear documentation empowers users to configure and manage their LMS independently, reducing the need to frequently contact support. 

This self-sufficiency saves time and boosts confidence in using the platform. A well-documented LMS should offer detailed guides, how-to articles, and troubleshooting tips that cater to both beginners and advanced users.

However, there will be times when you need extra help or encounter a niche issue that requires expert guidance. 

In these instances, having access to an excellent customer support team is invaluable. A responsive and knowledgeable support team can provide timely solutions, ensuring that your LMS runs smoothly and efficiently.

WishList Member excels in both these areas. It offers extensive support documentation that covers a wide range of topics, from initial setup to advanced configurations. 

You can find detailed guides, video tutorials, and FAQs on the support page, ensuring you have all the resources you need at your fingertips.

When it comes to customer support, WishList Member goes above and beyond. Their support team is known for being responsive, helpful, and knowledgeable. 

Here’s what some customers have to say:

“I want to thank you. I tried to do the membership site using WishList Member myself and found it was too much for me to handle, but because of the list you provided of WishList Member Certified web designers, my site is up and going”​

“Customer support has been very helpful and responsive, and they update regularly – often incorporating customers’ concerns/questions into the next update. Overall, excellent and easy-to-use membership site software”​ 

With WishList Member, you get the best of both worlds: extensive documentation that empowers you to manage the LMS independently and top-notch support for those times when you need a helping hand.

5. LMS Plugin Customization Options

Customization is a vital aspect of any LMS plugin, allowing you to design the platform to your preference and to meet your specific needs, providing a unique, dynamic learning experience. 

However, not all LMS plugins offer the same level of flexibility, and some may come with constraints that limit your ability to fully customize your courses and content.

WishList Member stands out in its ability to manage and meet diverse customization needs effectively. 

Here’s how it does it:

  1. Gutenberg Block Integration: WishList Member leverages WordPress Gutenberg blocks for its Courses add-on. This means you can easily insert WordPress’s wide range of blocks directly into your lessons. Whether you want to add multimedia content, interactive elements, or rich text formatting, Gutenberg blocks provide you with the tools to create engaging and dynamic course content. This integration allows for a seamless and intuitive customization process, enabling you to enhance the learning experience without needing advanced technical skills.
  2. Mergecodes and Shortcodes: Another powerful customization feature of WishList Member is its use of mergecodes and shortcodes. These tools allow you to insert personalized information directly into your content. For example, you can use mergecodes to display a student's name within a lesson, creating a more personalized and engaging experience. This level of customization helps in making your courses feel more tailored to individual learners, enhancing their overall experience.
  1. Responsive Design and Layout Options: WishList Member’s responsive design ensures that your customized content looks great on any device. Additionally, you have the flexibility to adjust layouts and design elements to fit your brand’s aesthetic, ensuring a cohesive and professional appearance across all your materials.

By offering these customization options, WishList Member empowers you to create a unique and effective LMS that perfectly aligns with your goals and the needs of your learners. This flexibility enhances the user experience and allows you to continuously innovate and improve your offerings.

6. Regular Updates and Future Proofing

Frequent updates and future planning are essential for any LMS plugin. Regular updates ensure that your LMS remains secure, compatible with the latest WordPress versions, and equipped with new features to enhance functionality and user experience.

Future-proofing your LMS means selecting one that meets your current needs and evolves to support your long-term goals.

WishList Member excels in this area, with a dedicated team constantly working to bring highly requested features and expand its functionality. 

Here are a few reasons why frequent updates and future-proofing are crucial, and how WishList Member meets these needs:

  1. Regular updates are vital for maintaining the security of your LMS. They patch vulnerabilities and protect against new threats, ensuring that your content and user data remain safe. WishList Member’s commitment to frequent updates means that you can trust your LMS to stay secure.
  1. The LMS landscape is continually evolving, with new trends and technologies emerging regularly. By choosing a plugin that frequently adds new features, you ensure that your LMS stays competitive and capable of meeting the changing needs of your users. WishList Member’s team actively listens to user feedback and incorporates highly requested features, ensuring that the plugin remains cutting-edge.
  1. Planning for the future means selecting a plugin that meets your current requirements and has the potential to grow and adapt. WishList Member’s ongoing development and commitment to expanding its functionality ensure that it will continue to meet your needs as your LMS evolves.

By prioritizing frequent updates and future-proofing, WishList Member ensures that your LMS remains a reliable, secure, and cutting-edge solution, ready to meet both present and future challenges.

Conclusion

Choosing a WordPress LMS plugin involves much more than comparing prices and features. 

As we've seen in this article, crucial considerations like compatibility, user experience, scalability, support, customization options, and regular updates all play significant roles in ensuring your LMS meets your needs and supports your growth.

WishList Member stands out in all these areas. With its integration capabilities, exceptional user experience, unlimited scalability, comprehensive support and documentation, extensive customization options, and a commitment to continuous improvement, WishList Member is a great support system for anyone looking to implement a powerful and flexible LMS.

Explore WishList Member today and see how it can meet and exceed your LMS needs, helping you create a dynamic and effective learning platform.

What other things do you consider when choosing an WordPress LMS plugin? Let us know in the comment section below.

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"We’ve tried a couple of other membership tools that were part of packages that we’d invested in. But nothing can compare to WishList Member. I know that there’s a lot of cool stuff out there that people have been building over the years. But when it comes to customization, if you use WordPress, you can’t touch this. Obviously, I’m super biased, but we’ve made millions of dollars because of this product."
Tristan Truscott
Satori Method
I have moved [WishList Member] into my top list of options for people. The new WishList Member packs a punch! And the price for WishList Member makes it a fantastic offer.
Chris Lema
LiquidWeb
WishList Member integrates with the tools I use TODAY. And they’re so eager to integrate with tools that are coming out. It’s amazing how they do it actually. If I was going to be buying a membership plugin, today… for me, I would go with WishList Member.
Adam Preiser
WPCrafter