iSpring Suite
Course Creation Software
Course creation software allows you to create, design and deliver online courses for various training needs. Many vendors follow the Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) as a standard framework for integrating content with learning management systems (LMS). The unique feature of course creation software is the ability to create courses without having to write a program or code. The programming features are built-in, which lets authors create a course without complex coding.
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Top Recommended Products
Products most recommended by our advisors over the past 30 days.
Products most recommended by our advisors in the last 30 days. Our advisors assess buyers’ needs for free and only recommend products that meet the buyers' needs and budget.
Vendors pay Software Advice for these referrals.
Vendors pay Software Advice for these referrals.
Compare All Course Creation Software
Tovuti is an all-in-one, cloud-based solution designed to activate the potential of organizations through creating, delivering and tracking online training and education. The end-to-end solution gives users everything they need to...Read more
Docebo is a cloud-based LMS solution to provide training programs for employees, partners and customers. Docebo serves various industries including IT, technology, retail, consulting, healthcare, manufacturing, energy, oil and ga...Read more
Over 1,200 global enterprises on 6 continents are leveraging 360Learning's Collaborative Learning Platform to meet skyrocketing demand on L&D. The platform's collaborative authoring tools, built-in feedback loops, and learning ana...Read more
Coassemble is a cloud based learning management solution (LMS) that allows training administrators to create, manage and deliver online education. The solution is compatible with Android and iOS devices and enables users to access...Read more
Thought Industries offers a cloud-based customer training platform designed to suit the needs of business across multiple industries including software, manufacturing, professional training, continued education, continued medical ...Read more
Totara Learn is an open source learning management system (LMS). It can be hosted by the vendor and accessed through cloud-based deployment, or hosted on the user’s own server. Totara LMS is suitable for businesses of any size, in...Read more
Crowd Wisdom is a learning management system that services the corporate extended enterprise market along with the association market. Its cloud-based services allow customers to provide a branded learning portal along with truly ...Read more
iSpring Suite is a robust authoring toolkit that helps organizations of all sizes design responsive eLearning content. The interface is user friendly and extremely easy to use, because it works within the familiar PowerPoint envir...Read more
Google Classroom is a cloud-based learning management system that is a part of Google Apps for Education. It is suitable for academic institutions only. Google Classroom enable students to access the platform from computers, ...Read more
Storyline 360 is a cloud-based solution designed to help organizations produce and publish interactive video-based eLearning courses. The platform enables users to create personalized project templates/slides and store in a centra...Read more
Software pricing tips
Read our Course Creation Software Buyers GuideSubscription models
- Per employee/per month: This model allows you to pay a monthly fee for each of your employees.
- Per user/per month: Users pay a monthly fee for users—normally administrative users—rather than all employees.
Perpetual license
- This involves paying an upfront sum for the license to own the software and use it indefinitely.
- This is the more traditional model and is most common with on-premise applications and with larger businesses.
Rated best value for money
LearnDash is a cloud-based learning management platform that helps educational institutions and businesses of all sizes design, track and sell online coursework. Prime features of LearnDash include a custom course builder, qu...Read more
Adobe Captivate is an e-Learning Course Authoring tool which allows companies to design learning solutions for employees on any device, to be accessed at any time. Authors can deliver engaging, interactive content, including ...Read more
Easy LMS is a cloud-based learning management solution (LMS) that is suitable for businesses of all sizes. It allows users to create lessons and courses that integrate interactive elements such as quizzes, tests, images and videos...Read more
Thinkific is a user-friendly online course creation platform that gives businesses total control over their online course vision. Key features include the first and only app store for course creation, intuitive drag and drop tools...Read more
Teachable is a cloud-based learning management solution used by small and midsize businesses. The solution allows users to create and share online courses by adding audio, video, images, text and PDF files. Students can access the...Read more
Easygenerator is a cloud-based learning management system solution that serves businesses of all sizes. The solution allows users to create learning courses. Key features include course creation, co-authoring, user management and ...Read more
LearnUpon LMS helps organizations unlock the power of learning by unifying, coordinating, and streamlining training delivery to their entire network - employees, partners and customers. Businesses use LearnUpon’s cloud-based...Read more
OpenEdX is a cloud-based, open-source learning management solution offered by edX. The solution is used by small and midsize businesses to host open online courses and training modules. The solution allows users to create the...Read more
Bridge is an employee development platform built specifically for employees and managers. It provides peer-to-peer practice, live in-person training, external learning, online courses, mentorship, manager 1:1s, goal tracking and p...Read more
Popular Course Creation Software Comparisons
Buyers Guide
Last Updated: June 18, 2021The major challenges for people who develop eLearning courses are time and budget. On average, it takes 100-160 hours and costs about $18,760 to create an hour of online content. This is because course developers need to add variety of engaging elements such as quizzes, 3D elements and interactive PDFs, in the lessons.
So, how can you create courses engaging courses without going over budget and still ensure on-time delivery of your course?
The answer is course creation software.
Course creation software helps businesses create customized lesson, quizzes and other course materials without having to invest a ton of time and money. Most course creation software vendors offer free trials and demos, which allow you to explore features and benefits, without having to pay for it.
With hundreds of tools in the market, choosing one solution for your needs isn't easy. How do you decide which software is right? After all, it needs to meet the expectations of all your stakeholders such as the authoring team, finance team and your end users.
To help out eLearning professionals like you, we created this guide on course creation software. The guide discusses the software's features and considerations to help you find the right fit for your small business or institution.
In this guide, we'll cover:
What Is Course Creation Software?
Common Features of Course Creation Software
What Type of Buyer are You?
Market Trends to Understand
What is Course Creation Software?
Course creation software allows you to create, design and deliver online courses for various training needs. Many vendors follow the Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) as a standard framework for integrating content with learning management systems (LMS).
The unique feature of course creation software is the ability to create courses without having to write a program or code. The programming features are built-in, which lets authors create a course without complex coding.
The three main components of course creation software are:
- Content organization: Allows users to structure and sequence the instructional content and media.
- Control of course delivery: Lets users set the pace of delivering the content.
- Type(s) of assessment: Allows users to set learning outcomes, usually in the form of tests, discussions, assignments and other activities for evaluation.
Easygenerator question creation view (Source)
When contacting various vendors, look out for the following functionality in their course creation software:
- Create multimedia content in the form of text, audio or videos.
- Publish course material on a third-party platform or built-in LMS.
- Support for the latest industry standard in content interoperability.
Common Features of Course Creation Software
In this section, we've covered the key software features that a buyer should be aware of before they purchase a solution. Most small businesses and educational institutions will need some (or all) of these features in course creation software.
| Course builder | Allows users to author their own content and design the courses using multimedia content (text, audio, videos etc.) |
| Test/quiz creation | Embed any quiz or survey into a course, after a set of lessons, to test the knowledge of learners or take their feedback. |
| Template management | Use pre-configured templates to create different types of eLearning materials such as lessons or quizzes. This makes it easier for users to create courses as they won't have to design courses from scratch. |
| Storyline editing | Trim, crop, mix, match and rearrange eLearning components easily. Users can also adjust the brightness or contrast and insert colors in the content material. |
| Gamification | Integrate gaming elements, such as badges, leaderboards and dashboards, into the courses to increase learner engagement. |
| Interactive content | Add elements, such as pop-ups, click-and-reveal features and animated GIFs, which the students can interact with during a lesson or course. |
| Content import/export | Upload your content to third-party sources or import interactive elements, such as infographics, charts, tables, designs and diagrams, into your course material. |
To further understand these features and the vendors in this category, call our advisors at (844) 687-6771 for free, no-obligation help. They'll help you narrow down your options by understanding your requirements and recommending the best-suited solutions for your business.
What Type of Buyer Are You?
Before you start shortlisting course creation software for your business, you need to understand the type of buyer you are to correctly estimate your needs. The next section breaks down the most common buyer types. Based on our research, buyers of this software fall into one of the following category:
Corporate buyers: These buyers need to frequently provide job-specific training or impart best practices to their employees. They need course creation software to create in-house content that contains sensitive company information. E.g., a video course where a leader discusses the organization's specific techniques to deal with customers.
Moreover, corporate professionals prefer training material in the form of bite-sized modules of shorter duration (not more than 3-4 minutes). It also reduces the cost of training delivery, thus increasing the ROI of training budgets.
Educational institutions: Such buyers seek to have engaging courses and lessons by making it more digital and less reliant on paper. They seek multimedia options such as HD video lectures for classroom learning, distance learning, flipped learning and massive open online course MOOCs.
They should ask for the storyline editing feature to create online interactive courses using character templates, voice elements, animation and advanced editing tools. These can help them boost learner engagement. For example, if you want to add audio or animation in your courses, use the storyline editing feature to record and edit the audio/video.
Market Trends to Understand
The tools and technologies used in the content creation space are manifold. To keep up with all the advancements in this space, you should be aware of the following market trends:
Microlearning to disrupt eLearning market: Microlearning or course creation in bite-sized modules was a key trend in 2018 that will continue in 2019. Businesses are increasingly looking at microlearning to impart short courses in a short time at a minimal cost. Even learners prefer to access short courses (of two to five minutes) over daylong training sessions. Microlearning helps them retain more information and learn a specific skill one at a time.
Interactive infographics to boost learner engagement: Interactive infographics let you present complex information in a concise, engaging and easy-to-understand way. That's why sixty-five percent of marketers use infographics for content creation.
The addition of interactive elements, such as pop-ups, click-and-reveal features and animated GIFs, decrease the learning time and allow you to disseminate lessons in an engaging manner and concise format. Infographics-based courses will only increase in number and be an important trend in 2019 and beyond.
