WordPress and Other Web Solutions are Like Religion
For help with creating and launching these WordPress project management roadmaps (which are very much like an online course without quizzes), I joined Amy Porterfield’s Digital Course Academy (DCA) and related Facebook group. As with any group that offers a web solution (like WordPress groups or plugin groups), there is the constant repeated question of “What is the best ________ for ________?” After a while, I find myself screaming at the group feed – “IT DEPENDS, DAMMIT! IT DEPENDS!!!” OK – I clearly have issues. <grin>
Anyway, below is a post I posted in Amy’s DCA group to help those folks, most of which are not technical. Maybe it will help you too, regardless of what type of solution you are seeking.
===== POSTED ON DCA FACEBOOK GROUP =====
First – web solutions are kinda like religion – everyone believes THEIR way is the only way to heaven and the other guy is misguided.
As a former IT Business Analyst, it is standard practice to discuss business REQUIREMENTS before deciding the best solution. So which of these best describes your business requirements?
1 – Must be super easy and if something breaks, someone else needs to fix it. Need tutorials and videos and someone you can ask tech questions of. Cost is a lesser issue but you need to ramp up quickly. You never plan to expand to any new features or offerings (example = an online store for selling digital assets or physical products separately from your course)
BEST SOLUTION: Kajabi or Teachable or some other “all-in-one” course delivery system. Amy also gets an affiliate fee if you use her link to sign up for Kajabi so if that is your decision, be sure to share the love and use her link. https://pages.kajabi.com/p/amy-porterfield-special-offer
2 – Money is a primary issue – you have none or very little and need the most cost-effective option. You are either moderately techy or have the ability and willingness to learn. You want to launch as quickly as possible but the extra time for a little steeper learning curve is OK with you. You want the most control over your site’s look and feel and things like Search Engine Optimization and want to be able to expand your site into other areas without changing platforms. You prefer NOT to send folks off your website to get to the course. You may want to have a membership site (now or in the future) where folks pay a recurring monthly fee instead of a one-time payment.
BEST SOLUTION: Self-hosted WordPress (.org NOT .com) with an LMS plugin and possibly a Membership plugin.
Note – Amy uses WordPress for her website and Kajabi for delivering her courses. They are 2 completely separate URLs.
https://www.amyporterfield.com/
https://amyporterfield.mykajabi.com/login
So, the moral of this post is – write down YOUR business requirements and then research the different options to see which meets MOST of what you are looking for. This also applies if you are using WordPress and wondering which plugin to use.
When researching, remember this – Everyone thinks their way is the only way to heaven and the other guy is misguided. YOUR business requirements are what matters!!
Hope this helps!