Ditching WooCommerce? Selling Your LearnDash Courses the Easy Way!
So, you’ve built amazing online courses with LearnDash – congratulations! Now you’re ready to start selling them. But what if you *don’t* want to use WooCommerce? Maybe it feels too complex, or you’re looking for a simpler, more streamlined approach. Good news! You absolutely can sell your LearnDash courses without WooCommerce. This guide will show you how, in a way that’s easy to understand, even if you’re a complete beginner.
Think of it this way: WooCommerce is like building a whole shopping mall *just* to sell a few of your amazing LearnDash courses. Sometimes, that’s overkill.
Why Ditch WooCommerce (Sometimes)?
Before diving into alternatives, let’s quickly look at why you might *not* want to use WooCommerce in the first place:
- Complexity: WooCommerce can be a beast to set up and manage, especially for beginners. There are lots of settings, plugins, and configurations.
- Cost: While the core WooCommerce plugin is free, you often need to buy extensions for things like subscriptions, advanced pricing, and better payment gateways.
- Speed & Performance: All those extra plugins and features can slow down your website. A faster website means a better user experience and improved SEO.
- Focus: WooCommerce is a general-purpose e-commerce platform. If you *only* sell courses, it might feel like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
- Super simple: Requires almost no setup.
- Free: Uses your existing PayPal account.
- Good for testing: Ideal for testing the waters before committing to a more complex solution.
- Limited payment options: Only supports PayPal.
- No recurring subscriptions: You can only sell courses for a one-time fee.
- Basic reporting: Limited sales data and analytics.
- Not very professional: The PayPal button look can be pretty basic.
- Membership levels: Create different membership tiers with access to different courses.
- Subscription options: Offer recurring subscriptions for continuous learning.
- Coupons and discounts: Attract new students with special offers.
- Payment gateways: Supports multiple payment gateways, including Stripe and PayPal.
- Drip content: Release course content over time to keep students engaged.
- Robust Reporting: detailed sales and user data.
- Powerful features: More advanced than the built-in LearnDash solution.
- Flexible: Easily manage memberships, subscriptions, and pricing.
- Great integration: Works seamlessly with LearnDash.
- Professional look: More professional than using PayPal buttons.
- Paid plugin: Requires a MemberPress license.
- Steeper learning curve: More complex than the built-in solution.
- High-converting checkout: Optimized for sales.
- Advanced features: Supports upsells, order bumps, and other sales-boosting tactics.
- Flexible payment options: Multiple payment gateways.
- Lifetime deal option (sometimes): Occasionally offers a one-time payment option.
- Paid platform: Requires a ThriveCart license.
- Integration complexity: Requires some technical knowledge to integrate with LearnDash.
- Limited membership features: Not primarily a membership platform.
- One-click checkout
- Order Bumps & Upsells
- A/B testing checkout pages
- Subscriptions
- Free plugin!
- Easier to set up then WooCommerce
- Modern Checkout Design
- No page reloads
- Lacks some advanced features compared to WooCommerce.
- Still evolving and improving
Option 1: The LearnDash Built-in Solution (Simple but Limited)
Believe it or not, LearnDash *does* have a basic built-in system for selling courses. It’s very simple, using PayPal buttons. While it lacks the advanced Explore this article on How To Add Model Number In Woocommerce features of WooCommerce, it’s a great starting point if you’re just getting started and want the absolute simplest route.
How it works:
1. Navigate to your LearnDash Course: Go to LearnDash > Courses and edit the course you want to sell.
2. Set Access Mode: Scroll down to the “Settings” tab.
3. Set Pricing: Set the “Access Mode” to “Closed”. You’ll then see options to set a price and enter your PayPal email address.
That’s it! LearnDash will generate a “Buy Now” button that links to PayPal.
Pros:
Cons:
Example:
Imagine you’re selling a beginner’s guitar course for $50. You could use this method to get started quickly and see if there’s demand for your course.
Option 2: MemberPress – Powerful Membership Site Solution
MemberPress is a popular WordPress membership plugin that integrates seamlessly with LearnDash. It provides a robust platform for selling courses with features like:
How it works:
1. Install and activate MemberPress.
2. Create Membership Levels: Define the courses or groups of courses each membership grants access to.
3. Link Memberships to LearnDash: Assign courses to specific MemberPress memberships.
4. Set up Payment Gateways: Connect your Stripe or PayPal account.
5. Create Pricing Pages: Design attractive pages where users can purchase memberships.
Pros:
Cons:
Example:
Let’s say you have three LearnDash courses: Beginner Guitar, Intermediate Guitar, and Advanced Guitar. You could create three MemberPress membership levels, each granting access to the corresponding course. You could also offer a “Pro” membership that grants access to *all* courses, for a higher monthly fee.
Option 3: ThriveCart – A Specialized Checkout Platform
ThriveCart is a dedicated shopping cart platform that integrates with various platforms, including LearnDash. While not *directly* Discover insights on How To Remove Woocommerce Cart Icon integrated with LearnDash like MemberPress, it offers a powerful checkout experience and advanced features. It also handles VAT and other taxes easily.
How it works:
1. Sign up for ThriveCart.
2. Create a Product: Define your LearnDash course as a product in ThriveCart.
3. Set Pricing: Set the price for your course and configure payment options.
4. Integration via Webhooks/Zapier: Use ThriveCart’s integration capabilities (webhooks or Zapier) to automatically enroll students in your LearnDash course upon purchase. This involves a little more technical setup.
Pros:
Cons:
Example:
Imagine you’re running a promotion for your LearnDash course. You could use ThriveCart to create a special checkout page with an order bump (e.g., offering a related eBook for a discounted price) and an upsell (e.g., offering a coaching package). Upon purchase, ThriveCart, using Zapier, would trigger LearnDash to enroll the user in the purchased course.
Option 4: SureCart – Free WooCommerce alternative
SureCart is a newer option that’s getting a lot of attention as a possible free alternative to WooCommerce. It offers a cleaner checkout experience and is designed to be easier to set up. While still evolving, it’s rapidly adding features. It boasts features like:
The key is, you’re able to bypass the entire WooCommerce e-commerce bloat.
How it works:
1. Install and activate SureCart.
2. Create a Product: Define your LearnDash course as a product.
3. Set Pricing: Set the price and configure the payment options.
4. Setup automations: Use the webhooks to enroll users in the course after the successful purchase.
Pros:
Cons:
Example:
You have a LearnDash course on social media marketing. Using SureCart you could create a streamlined checkout experience offering an ‘order bump’ of a checklist or PDF guide that enhances the original course. Once purchased, the webhook would automatically enroll the student in the correct LearnDash course.
Choosing the Right Option: A Quick Guide
| Solution | Ease of Use | Features | Cost | Best For |
| —————— | ———– | ————– | ———– | ————————————————- |
| LearnDash Built-in | Very Easy | Very Basic | Free | Quick testing, very simple courses |
| MemberPress | Moderate | Advanced | Paid | Membership sites, subscriptions, drip content |
| ThriveCart | Moderate | Sales Focused | Paid | Maximizing sales, upsells, order bumps |
| SureCart | Moderate | Growing | FREE | Those not wanting to use WooCommerce |
Key Takeaway:
You *don’t* have to be tied to WooCommerce to sell your LearnDash courses. Each option has its own strengths and weaknesses. Consider your budget, technical expertise, and the complexity of your course offerings when making your decision. Start small, test the waters, and gradually scale up as your course business grows. Good luck!
