What is your preferred method to learn new skills? If your answer is to take online courses, you are not alone. This learning solution is becoming more popular, with global online learners expected to reach 1,121 million by 2029 (Statista. Online Education Worldwide. 2024). Creating an online course opens learning opportunities for students while allowing organizations to share their expertise and increase revenue.
However, online course creation involves more than simply recording lectures or converting traditional materials into digital formats. Quality courses that provide value to learners and drive business results require careful planning, learner-centered design, and systematic execution.
This guide covers the complete process of how to create an online course from planning and development to launch, with practical insights for creating courses of any scale or with any objective. 🚀
Summary
- Understanding online course creation
- Six steps to creating an online course
- Common pitfalls and expert solutions
- How Blue Carrot can help your business
- Conclusion
Understanding online course creation
Online courses are educational programs designed for online teaching and learning. They’re accessible through online education platforms and a learning management system (LMS). Modern courses use multimedia content, interactive activities, and personalized learning paths to create engaging experiences and help learners achieve their learning outcomes.
Digital education allows learners to engage in self-paced learning from anywhere and access a wide range of programs not available locally. It saves time for busy professionals who can’t attend traditional classrooms and is cost-effective by eliminating travel expenses. (Statista. Online Education Worldwide. 2024)
📌 How online courses drive organizational growth
Creating online courses presents a compelling business opportunity. According to Grand View Research, the e-learning market is projected to reach $279.3 billion by 2029. Additionally, each online learning platform user is expected to generate $210 in revenue by 2025 (E-learning Services Market Size, Share. Grand View Research. 2024).
The large market size and potential revenue show that well-designed online courses can become a powerful revenue stream for your organization. By transforming your expertise into online education, you can not only enter this growing market but also establish your brand as an industry thought leader.
Beyond generating revenue, online courses are valuable assets for internal training and development. Your organization can use them to provide consistent, high-quality training across multiple departments and locations while reducing traditional training costs.
📌 Types of online courses
Based on the delivery method, online courses typically fall into the following main categories:
- Self-paced courses: Asynchronous learning lets learners progress through materials such as books, videos, and assignments at their pace, without fixed schedules or group participation.
- Cohort-based courses: Groups of learners follow the same timeline and milestones. These courses include live sessions, community interactions, and real-time instructor feedback, creating a more engaging and accountable learning environment.
- Hybrid courses: This approach blends self-paced learning with live components, providing flexibility while maintaining real-time engagement.
- Synchronous courses: Learners engage in lectures, discussions, or workshops simultaneously through platforms like Zoom. They can interact directly with instructors and peers, ask questions, and participate in live activities.
📌 Success factors for effective online courses
Our investigation of hundreds of successful online courses has shown that key factors contribute to effective learning.
|
Success factor |
Details |
|
Learner-centered design (Backward design) |
Design online course content that directly addresses your audience’s needs, skill levels, and learning preferences. Apply backward design by defining clear learning outcomes, creating appropriate assessments, and developing instructional activities that support these goals. |
|
Active learning elements |
Incorporate active learning strategies that engage learners through hands-on participation and practical knowledge application, such as problem-based learning, collaborative projects, case studies, and hands-on experiments. |
|
Clear navigation and progression |
Provide clear navigation to help learners understand the course structure and their learning journey. Course progression keeps them motivated and oriented. |
|
Professional production quality |
Maintain high standards and consistent design for multimedia content, including video, audio, and graphics. Quality production increases learner engagement and knowledge retention. |
|
Accessibility features |
Build an online course for diverse learners by including features like closed captions, transcripts, a screen reader, support for multiple languages, and device capabilities. |
|
Course tracking and analytics |
Use assessments (e.g., quizzes, assignments, and practical exercises) to track students’ progress and make sure they meet course objectives. Implement analytics tools to monitor learner engagement, completion rates, and performance metrics. |
Six steps to creating an online course
Building profitable online courses requires a systematic approach and educational technology implementation. In this section, we’ll break down six steps on how to create online courses, following our checklist for online course creation.
👉 Step #1 Course planning
Course planning lays the foundation for effective online course design. This phase includes conceptualizing core ideas, learning objectives, and major course components.
A thorough plan makes sure your course develops with purpose and precision, aligning all elements and meeting learner needs. Course quality and success depend heavily on this advanced planning stage. (Course Planning. Center for Teaching, Learning & Mentoring. University of Wisconsin-Madison. 2024)
When creating a project plan for an e-learning course, include the following information:
- Learning objectives: Define clear learning objectives, stating what learners will know or be able to do after completing the course. This will give them a clear direction and let them know what they are working toward.
- Audience analysis: Identify the target audience that will benefit the most from your course. Your learner personas should include the audience’s demographic information, current knowledge level, learning preferences, and challenges.
- Content mapping: Organize your curriculum into logical course modules and learning paths. Course content should progress from foundational concepts to advanced applications.
- Learning strategy: Develop a high-level plan that outlines the techniques to help learners master the content (e.g., problem-based learning, story-based learning) and select appropriate delivery methods (e.g., case studies, group practices).
- Instructional design: Create a blueprint for how you will present your course content, including scripts outlining the content flow and storyboards mapping visual elements.
- Multimedia elements: Define required media elements throughout the course, such as videos, animations, graphics, and presentation slides.
- Assessment mechanisms: Design evaluation methods to measure learning progress and effectiveness, such as quizzes, assignments, and group projects.
- Interaction opportunities: Plan interactive learning components that align with learning strategies, such as knowledge checks, group discussions, and feedback mechanisms.
- Technical requirements: Determine necessary tools, platforms, and resources for course creation and delivery, such as an LMS and hosting platform.
- Project timeline: Set milestones and deadlines for each online course creation phase. Be sure to include subject matter expert reviews and contingency time for revisions.
👉 Step #2 Content development and organization
Create a comprehensive course syllabus using the planning elements from Step #1. This gives instructors and students a big picture of the course structure. (Northeastern University Center for Teaching and Learning. Online Course Development Guide. 2024)
✅ Create course modules
After creating your course syllabus, break it down into manageable units, such as weekly modules, so that learners can easily follow it. Each module should build on the previous ones and include:
- Module learning objectives;
- Learning elements (e.g., multimedia content, course activities, interactive elements, assessments);
- Time estimates;
- Clear connections between modules.
✅ Develop course content
Start working on each module’s content and activities, such as scripts, supporting resources, examples, and assessments. Keep in mind to maintain consistent terminology and follow style guides for cohesion.
✅ Review and refine
Conduct thorough peer reviews to verify content accuracy, clarity, and alignment with learning objectives. Make necessary revisions before moving to the production step.
👉 Step #3 Multimedia design and production
Based on our experience in e-learning development, quality multimedia design and production significantly impact course effectiveness and learner engagement. Instructional materials provide the core information students will experience, learn, and apply during a course. They have the power to engage or demotivate students. (Instructional Materials for Online Courses. Center for Teaching, Learning & Mentoring. University of Wisconsin-Madison. 2023)
In this step, you’ll transform your storyboards and content into multimedia assets. For video production, you have three main options: live action, animation, or synthetic videos. The choice between these methods depends on factors like budget and learning objectives. Many successful courses combine multiple formats to create a rich learning experience.
Implement these best practices on how to make video-based courses:
- Develop consistent visual branding across all course materials.
- Implement accessibility features (e.g., captions, transcripts).
- Optimize multimedia for different devices.
- Keep video segments under six minutes to maintain attention.
- Include clear visual cues and transitions between topics.
- Use professional video editing tools (e.g., Adobe Premiere Pro) to improve production quality.
👉 Step #4 Course implementation
A robust technical implementation enables learners to access content, track progress, and engage with course materials. The primary setup includes an LMS, user-friendly navigation, and necessary tools and integrations.
✅ Select the right LMS
An LMS is a software platform for delivering, managing content, and tracking online learning, such as Teachable, Thinkific, and Kajabi. Compare an LMS’s features to your course requirements and consider factors like scalability, integration, tracking, reporting, and mobile responsiveness.
✅ Create intuitive navigation
User navigation helps learners move through and interact with your course content. It should display course organization, progress indicators with completion status, quick access to help resources, and descriptive buttons and links.
✅ Set up tools and integrations
Beyond the LMS, you’ll need additional tools to create a complete learning ecosystem, such as Zoom for live sessions, Discord for community discussions, Kahoot for interactive quizzes, and Trello for group projects.
👉 Step #5 Testing and quality assurance
Testing and quality assurance is an important step before launching your course to ensure it provides the best learning experience. Here are the key areas that require thorough evaluation:
|
Testing area |
Key activities |
|
Content review |
|
|
Technical testing |
|
|
User testing |
|
👉 Step #6 Course launch and scalability
While the previous steps focused on course development, this step turns your completed course into a public educational program. The course launch strategies cover three phases: pre-launch preparation, launch execution, and post-launch optimization.
- Pre-launch preparation: Create a course marketing plan including a launch timeline, course promotion channels, and clear messaging that resonates with your target audience. Develop support materials like user guides and FAQs to help learners navigate your course content.
- Launch execution: Monitor the initial rollout through performance metrics like enrollment rates and content engagement. It’s important to respond quickly to technical issues or learner questions for a smooth learning experience.
- Post-launch optimization: Track course performance through metrics like completion rates and satisfaction scores. Collect student feedback and update course content to make sure it is up to date and meets their needs.
Course scalability
Organizations with multiple locations often need to scale the course for various departments or regions. Research shows that 76 percent of online buyers prefer products with information in their native language, even if the translation isn’t perfect (CSA Research. Consumers Prefer Their Own Language. 2020). This preference extends to learning, so consider localizing course content to boost engagement and motivation. The process includes translation and content adaptation to reflect cultural and local contexts.
Although all departments use the same core content, each may need customized elements like examples, case studies, and exercises for their specific workflows. Use standardized templates and a content management system (CMS) to manage these variations and implement updates consistently across all versions.
Common pitfalls and expert solutions
Even well-designed courses can fall short in certain areas. Drawing from our experience developing online courses, we’ve identified common challenges that you can use as a checklist when making an online course.
👉 Pitfall #1 Overlooking audience analysis
Do you design course content based on what you think is important, rather than understanding your learners’ actual needs, challenges, and learning gaps? This misalignment could lead to less content engagement, lower course value, and inefficient resource use.
Solution: Conduct extensive market research to better understand your learners’ needs and design an online course that addresses them. You can use surveys, interviews, and analytics tools to collect data and create personas, including your learners’:
- Current skill levels;
- Demographics (e.g., age, gender, occupation);
- Knowledge gaps or potential challenges;
- Learning preferences;
- Goals and interests.
👉 Pitfall #2 Neglecting interactive elements
Does your course have only passive content instruction? This may not engage learners or help them deeply understand, especially for skill-based topics. They may struggle to retain and apply new knowledge when there are no opportunities for practice or application.
Solution: Every learning experience occurs within an environment where the learner interacts with content, knowledge, skills, or experts. A well-planned course provides a variety of interaction choices for students. (Judith V. Boettcher. Ten Core Principles for Designing Effective Learning Environments: Insights from Brain Research and Pedagogical Theory. 2011)
To create a more dynamic online learning environment, you should include various interactive learning elements throughout your course, such as:
- Scenario-based learning exercises;
- Knowledge checks, polls, and quizzes;
- Group discussions and peer reviews;
- Hands-on assignments and projects;
- Live webinars and Q&A sessions;
- Gamification.
👉 Pitfall #3 Lack of personalized learning paths
Does your course offer the same content to all learners? One-size-fits-all content is one of the most common engagement killers. When courses assume all students have the same background knowledge or learning style, they may find the content too easy or too difficult, leading to disengagement and low completion rates.
Solution: Create adaptive learning experiences that meet different needs. One of the online learning trends is using AI to analyze learner behavior, performance data, and interaction patterns. AI uses this information to automatically adjust content difficulty, recommend relevant materials, and create custom learning paths.
You can accommodate different learning preferences by providing content in multiple formats. Visual learners may prefer infographics and videos, while others may learn better through traditional lectures or interactive simulations.
See how we created an online course with personalized learning paths for UNFPA:
Healthy relations
View demo
👉 Pitfall #4 Production scalability challenges
Do you lack the systems and resources to scale course production? Many organizations underestimate the complexity of course scalability from pilot to enterprise-wide implementation. Teams often shortcut quality control and standardization to meet high demand. If departments develop training separately, it could cause team burnout, redundant content, and disjointed learning.
Solution: Plan for scalability in course planning by identifying which core elements to use throughout the organization and which variations to modify for different audiences.
In the production phase, follow established training video production guidelines to create modular content that is easy to repurpose and update. Designing structured templates also helps maintain consistency while allowing for customization.
For enterprise-wide implementation, consider partnering with experienced e-learning development teams who ensure professional course quality across all versions.
How Blue Carrot can help your business
Blue Carrot offers complete e-learning course development services that align with your business goals, from initial concept to final delivery and maintenance. Here’s what sets us apart:
- Expertise-driven development: Our instructional team understands both educational psychology and business objectives. We create courses that achieve learning outcomes and business results.
- Production excellence: We deliver high-quality multimedia content for effective learning. Our expertise covers multiple formats, including interactive slides, custom simulations, and various video styles (live action, animation, and AI-generated). Though video content remains the most popular medium, we carefully select the format that best suits your learning objectives.
- Enterprise scalability: Our established production systems ensure consistent course quality and branding across your organization.
Case studies
Our team developed an online course for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) exploring diverse relationship dynamics. It includes 220 interactive slides, 40 interactive elements, and 86 animation assets, with three personalized learning paths and assessments. We incorporated research-based insights, expert consultations, and accessibility features for visually impaired learners.
Another case study is the White Glove E-learning Series, which provides future contractors with essential skills to effectively perform tasks. The course features engaging 2D animation with voice-over text and Spanish localization. We designed the course to be simple and soothing to improve learning experiences for the target audience.
Conclusion
Online course creation is a powerful strategy for organizations to fuel both internal and external growth. The backbone of successful courses is the established production process. By following the steps on how to design an online course in this article and working with experienced partners, you can avoid common pitfalls and create engaging, scalable learning experiences.
Course development extends beyond the release and promotion phase. You must continuously gather student feedback and performance metrics to improve online course content. This iterative process makes sure your courses are effective, relevant, and meet your target audience’s needs.
Ready to start creating an online course that drives measurable results? Book a call with Blue Carrot to discuss how we can help bring your vision to life. 🥕
