E-learning platform - how to choose: An easy-to-understand guide to LMS

Online e-learning platforms can be very diverse and tailored to different needs. Learning Management Systems (LMS) are one type of these platforms that allow users to manage, distribute and report on online learning. However, with so many different types of LMSs available, choosing the right one can be challenging, as it depends on your needs and goals. In this article, we will explore the three main categories of LMSs and help you figure out which type is best suited for your purpose.

Table of contents

• Three general categories of LMS
• Consume the LMS
• School LMS
• Corporate LMS
• Free LMS - a fourth option?
• Use authoring tools to create content for your LMS
• Beware of 'dirty tricks' from LMS vendors: Don't use the built-in tool for e-learning content production
• How does a Corporate LMS typically work?
• Which LMS should you choose?
• Final thoughts

Three general categories of LMS

When choosing an LMS platform, it is important to understand which category of LMS you need. I have identified three broad categories of LMS, namely consumer LMS, academic LMS, and enterprise LMS. Each category has its own characteristics, functionalities, and purposes.

Consumer LMS platforms are designed for individual users or smaller organizations. They typically have limited functionality and are easy to use. Academic LMS platforms are more complex and can handle larger amounts of data. They are often designed for universities or other educational institutions, and they can accommodate many different types of learning materials, assignments, and courses.

Enterprise LMS platforms are designed to meet the specific needs of a company. They can integrate with other systems and software, and they typically have functionalities such as reporting, tracking, and managing employee training and development.

Once you have a clear understanding of which category of LMS suits your needs, you can better focus your search and find a platform that fits your specific requirements and budget.

PS. In the following we mention the e-learning standard SCORM. If you don't know what it is, it would be a good idea to read SCORM for dummies and busy people before you continue here.

Consume the LMS

If you are a provider of standard courses and want to sell them to individual users, you need to choose a solution that supports sales and marketing on the platform. It is important to consider how you can differentiate yourself from the competition and market your courses on the platform to maximize your earnings. It is also important to ensure that your platform can handle payments securely and in a user-friendly way.

Platforms like Simplero , Thinkific , Kajabi , etc. are examples of such platforms. These platforms typically do not support SCORM, but this is not necessarily a big problem, since you typically do not want to run your courses outside of these platforms. However, it may be a good idea to not create very complex content in these platforms and limit yourself to videos that can be easily converted to SCORM. This will enable you to both run your content for your individual customers in your own platform, and to provide SCORM packages with your courses for running in larger customers' own LMS.

School LMS

In the academic environment, platforms such as Canvas LMS , Blackboard , and the open source platform Moodle more relevant. These platforms are more focused on teaching in formal educational institutions and typically include a lot of other functionality in the platform, such as classes, teams, student administration and assignment submission. SCORM is rarely particularly important in this scenario, as you typically use a lot of other functionality in the platform. SCORM is typically "nice to have" and not essential.

Corporate LMS

Is designed to train employees in mandatory topics such as GDPR and security. It is also often used for onboarding new employees, code of conduct and the like. One of the advantages of a Corporate LMS is that you can buy ready-made content in the form of SCORM packages from external suppliers, such as the programs in the Office suite, which can be run in your own LMS. Your employees can easily go somewhere for training, and with SCORM you can track and document that employees have completed the e-learning. Read SCORM for dummies and busy people if you just want a quick explanation of what it is.

Free LMS - a fourth option?

We've had some customers come to us after being burned by initially choosing a cheap or free LMS plugin for Wordpress. One of these was LearnDash. The problem was that while it supported SCORM, it didn't store much of the SCORM data, making it useless for these customers. Generally, you get what you pay for, so we don't recommend these. See also Beware of 'dirty tricks' from LMS vendors: Don't use the built-in e-learning content creation tool , which also applies to Wordpress LMS plugins.

Use authoring tools to create content for your LMS

To ensure high quality and flexibility in your e-learning content, it may be a good idea to use a separate authoring tool to create content for your LMS platform. This way, you can avoid being locked into a specific LMS vendor and easily reuse your content across different platforms.

You can find a list of some of the best authoring tools in our article " What programs should you use to create e-learning in 2023? ".

Beware of 'dirty tricks' from LMS vendors: Choose the right tool for content production

When choosing an authoring tool to produce content for your LMS, it is important to be aware of potential pitfalls of using the content modules within the LMS platform itself.

Some LMS vendors claim that their platform can handle SCORM content, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you can export the content you create in their content module as SCORM.

If you can’t export your content as SCORM, you may end up locked into a specific LMS vendor, which can limit your flexibility and make it difficult to switch to another vendor in the future. To avoid this, it’s important to research whether the LMS you’re considering supports exporting SCORM content, and create your content in a separate authoring tool so you can export and import it to different LMS platforms as needed.

How does a Corporate LMS typically work?

You can upload e-learning modules, send messages to users and decide whether an e-learning course is mandatory or optional for employees. You can also combine multiple e-learning modules into e-learning courses and group them into different groups. You can decide whether it should be automatically assigned to groups of users and much more.

Examples of Enterprise LMS include Cornerstone OnDemand and SAP Successfactors LMS. But you don't always need a large and expensive Enterprise LMS. Our own LMS, Activate LMS, is designed to be an affordable alternative to the larger solutions.

Once you have set up the e-learning content in a corporate LMS, it is most common for employees to receive an email notifying them that e-learning is ready for them.

Employees then log into the LMS via their smartphone, tablet or computer and complete the course. The LMS stores various information about the employees' answers to questions and how long they have spent learning. This is called tracking, and it also ensures that employees can resume learning where they last left off in the e-learning course.

Typical functionality for a Corporate LMS includes SCORM compatibility, recording and reporting user results, and sending emails with course diplomas, information about new courses, or reminders if a user has missed a deadline. In addition, you would typically want automated user administration, e.g.

Which LMS should you choose?

When choosing an LMS platform, you need to consider your needs and goals for your e-learning program. If you want to sell online courses to individual users, a platform like Simplero or Thinkific would be a good option.

If you need a platform for formal education at an educational institution, platforms like Canvas or Moodle will likely better suit your needs.

However, if you are looking for a platform to train employees on mandatory topics or onboarding, an Enterprise LMS like Cornerstone OnDemand or SAP Successfactors LMS may be the best option for you. If you are going to use an Enterprise LMS, it is important to make sure that it is SCORM compliant so that you can track and document employee progress and outcomes in your e-learning programs.

Final thoughts

Choosing the right LMS platform for your e-learning program can be a crucial decision for your business or organization. It's important to take the time to evaluate your needs and goals for your program, and to consider the different types of LMSs available.

Give us a call if you have any questions.

You can also read more about our LMS, Activate LMS .