You have a skill worth teaching. But turning it into an actual online course — choosing a platform, setting up lessons, handling payments, getting students enrolled — is where most people stall.
Most course creators either spend weeks evaluating platforms and never build anything, or they jump straight into recording and realize halfway through that they have nowhere to publish it.
In this guide, you’ll learn exactly how to create an online course with WordPress in 2026 — from installing your LMS plugin to publishing your first lesson and taking your first payment. No coding experience needed. You can have a working course live by the end of today.
Key Takeaways
- Define your target audience and course outcome before you touch WordPress — this decision shapes everything else
- WordPress with Masteriyo gives you full ownership of your course content, student data, and revenue — no platform fees or revenue share
- The free Masteriyo plan covers everything you need to publish and sell your first course
- A course sales page and your course itself are two different things — both need to be built before launch
- Certificate builder and sequential content drip are both available on the free plan
- Test the full purchase-to-enrollment flow before announcing your launch
Plan before you build
The most common reason a course doesn’t sell is that it was built before the creator confirmed anyone wanted it. Spend 30 minutes on these three questions before opening your WordPress dashboard.
Who is this course for? Write one sentence: “This course is for [specific person] who wants to [specific outcome] but is struggling with [specific obstacle].” The more specific this sentence is, the easier every subsequent decision becomes — what to include, what to leave out, how to price it, and how to market it.
What transformation does the course deliver? Complete this sentence: “By the end of this course, students will be able to ____.” This becomes your course headline, your sales page anchor, and the filter you apply to every lesson you consider adding.
What are your launch goals? Set a specific target: number of students, revenue, or launch date. A concrete goal creates a deadline — and deadlines are the only reliable cure for indefinite pre-launch research.
Prerequisites: what you need before installing anything
Before you install Masteriyo or build a single lesson, you need:
- A domain name — registered through Namecheap, Google Domains, or your hosting provider
- WordPress hosting — SiteGround, Cloudways, and Kinsta are reliable options with one-click WordPress installation
- WordPress installed — most hosts provide a one-click installer. Enable SSL during setup — it’s required for payment processing
- A course outline — at minimum, a list of modules and the key lesson in each. Don’t start building in WordPress until you know what you’re building
💡 If your hosting provider doesn’t include a free SSL certificate, get one through Let’s Encrypt before proceeding. Masteriyo’s payment processing requires HTTPS.
Choose your WordPress LMS plugin
A WordPress LMS plugin handles course creation, lesson delivery, student enrollment, progress tracking, quizzes, certificates, and payments — all from your WordPress dashboard.
The main options for WordPress course creators:
| Masteriyo | LearnDash | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes — full course creation | No |
| Pricing | Free + Pro plans | From $199/yr |
| Setup speed | Fast | Moderate |
| Course builder | React-based, fast | Block editor |
| WooCommerce integration | Free addon | Yes |
| Certificate builder | Free (1 template) | Yes |
| Sequential drip | Free | Yes |
| Best for | Beginners and SMBs | Power users |
For most creators building their first course, Masteriyo is the right starting point — the free plan covers everything needed to publish and sell, and upgrading is straightforward when you need advanced features.
What you’ll set up in this guide
Here’s the full build sequence before diving into each step:
- Install and configure Masteriyo — install the plugin, run the setup wizard, and configure payments and emails
- Create your course structure — add your course name, description, categories, and curriculum outline
- Build lessons and quizzes — add video lessons, text content, and quizzes with passing score configuration
- Configure content access and progress tracking — set sequential delivery, drip schedules, and certificate awarding
- Create a sales page and set your price — build a conversion-focused course page and connect your payment gateway
- Publish and launch — preview, publish, and run through the full purchase-to-enrollment flow before announcing
How to create an online course with WordPress: step by step
The seven steps below take you from a fresh WordPress install to a published, sellable course with lessons, quizzes, certificates, and payment processing. Work through them in order — each step builds on the previous one.
Step 1: Install and configure Masteriyo
Go to Plugins → Add New Plugin in your WordPress dashboard. Search for Masteriyo, click Install Now, then Activate.
The Setup Wizard launches automatically across four screens:
- Welcome — select how you’re creating the site and check the features you’ll need. For a course creation setup, select Payments, Certificates, and Multiple Courses
- Setup — choose your currency and enable your preferred payment methods (Stripe, PayPal, or Offline Payment)
- Starter Templates — this is where you choose your theme and layout. Select Yes, import a starter template to access the eLearning theme templates. You can choose from individual course layouts, course catalog card styles, and other design options built specifically for course sites. If you already have a site with existing content and design, select No, skip starter templates
- Finish — optionally install sample courses for reference, then click Create new course
✅ Masteriyo creates all required pages automatically — a Courses listing page, individual Course pages, a student Account page, and a distraction-free Learn page for active lessons.
Configure settings after the wizard:
Go to Masteriyo → Settings:
- General — enable or disable student and instructor self-registration
- Emails — customize enrollment confirmation and course completion email templates
- Advanced — enable two-factor authentication and Google reCAPTCHA for login security
Step 2: Create your course structure
Go to Masteriyo → Courses → Add New or click Create new course from the wizard finish screen.
On the course editor:
- Enter your course name — use your target keyword naturally, e.g., “iPhone Photography for Beginners”
- Write a course description — focus on outcomes and who the course is for, not a list of topics
- Add course highlights — three to five bullet points summarizing what students will achieve
- Assign a category and upload a featured image
- Click Next to open the Course Builder
In the Course Builder, add sections to create your curriculum outline. Sections are modules — each one covers a major topic or milestone.
Add your section titles first before adding any lesson content. This gives you a structural overview before you start building individual lessons.
Step 3: Build lessons and quizzes
Add lessons
Inside each section, click Add New Content and choose your lesson type:
- Text Lesson — written content with the WordPress block editor
- Video Lesson — upload directly (self-hosted), embed from YouTube, Vimeo, or paste an iframe from any platform
- Live Stream Lesson — live virtual session using live stream
- Quiz — students take quizzes to test their knowledge
- Google Meet — live virtual session using Google Meet
- Zoom Meeting — schedule a live virtual session (requires Masteriyo Pro)
- Assignment — student submission with instructor feedback (requires Masteriyo Pro)
- PDF Lesson — upload a PDF that students can read inside the course (requires Masteriyo Pro)
- Audio Lesson — for podcast-style or language learning content (requires Masteriyo Pro)
For each lesson, enter a name and description, add your content, and click Publish. Toggle Disable Right Click on video lessons to prevent basic downloading of premium content.
💡 Keep video lessons between 5 and 15 minutes. Shorter lessons have higher completion rates and are easier for students to revisit specific content without rewatching everything.
Add quizzes
Click Add New Content → Quiz inside any section.
- Enter a quiz name and click Add New Quiz
- Under the Questions tab, click Add New Question
- Choose a question type — True/False, Single Choice, or Multiple Choice are available on the free plan.
- Upgrade to Masteriyo Pro to unlock all 9 types, including Fill in the Blanks, Sortable, Audio, Video, and Match the Following
- Write your question, add answer options, mark the correct answer, and set the point value
- Click Update
Configure quiz settings: Go to the Settings tab within the quiz to set:
- Full Marks — total points possible
- Pass Marks — minimum score required to pass
- Duration — optional time limit in minutes
- Attempts Allowed — how many retakes a student gets
- Questions Per Page — one at a time or all at once
- Show Results — immediately after submission or after course completion
For a full quiz setup walkthrough, see: How to Build Quizzes for Your WordPress Online Course →
Step 4: Configure content access and progress tracking
Sequential content drip
Enable sequential delivery so students must complete each lesson before the next one unlocks. Go to Masteriyo → Courses → [Course Name] → Settings and enable Sequential Course. This is available on the free plan.
For date-based or enrollment-based drip scheduling — releasing content on specific dates or a set number of days after enrollment — see our guide: How to Set Up Drip Course Content →
Certificate awarding
Go to Masteriyo → Addons and enable Certificate Builder. Configure your certificate template under Masteriyo → Certificate.
Certificates are issued automatically when a student completes the course and meets the passing criteria. One template is available on the free plan — additional templates require Masteriyo Pro.
For detailed certificate configuration instructions, see: How to Create Course Completion Certificates in WordPress →
Course prerequisites (Pro)
Set prerequisite courses under Masteriyo → Courses → [Course Name] → Settings → General. Students must complete the prerequisite before enrolling in the next course — essential for structured learning paths.
Progress tracking (Pro)
Student progress is tracked automatically at the lesson level. Go to Masteriyo → Reports to see completion rates across all students and courses, filterable by course, student, or date range.
Step 5: Create a sales page and set your price
Publishing a course and selling a course are two different things. Your course page is where the lesson content lives. Your sales page is where potential students decide whether to buy.
Set your course price
Go to Masteriyo → Courses → [Course Name] → Settings → Pricing and configure:
- Free — open to all with no registration required
- Need Registration — free but requires a student account
- Paid (One Time) — single payment for lifetime access
- Paid (Recurring) — subscription access billed monthly or annually (requires Masteriyo Pro)
Connect your payment gateway
Go to Masteriyo → Settings → Payments and enable Stripe or PayPal. Connect your account credentials from your Stripe or PayPal dashboard.
For extended payment gateway options, coupon management, and the ability to sell courses alongside physical products, enable the free WooCommerce Integration addon. Full setup guide: How to Sell Courses with WooCommerce →
Build a conversion-focused sales page
Your WooCommerce product page or Masteriyo course page functions as your sales page. Make it work harder by including:
- A headline that states the course outcome clearly
- A breakdown of what students will learn, organized by module
- Who the course is for — and who it’s not for
- Your instructor bio and relevant credentials
- Testimonials from early students or beta testers
- A clear price and enroll button above the fold
Step 6: Publish and launch
Before clicking Publish, run through this pre-launch check:
- Go to Masteriyo → Courses, open your course, and click Preview to see the student-facing view
- Check the course page on mobile — open it on your phone and verify that the layout, video playback, and navigation all work
- Create a test student account and complete the full enrollment and first-lesson flow
- If your course is paid, run a test transaction and confirm the student is automatically enrolled after payment
- Confirm that the enrollment confirmation email is sent correctly
Once everything checks out, click Publish.
Announce your launch:
- Send a launch email to your list with your course outcome, price, and enrollment link
- Post on the social channels where your audience is active
- If you have early-bird pricing set up, include the deadline in all launch communications
Student management and reporting
After launch, go to Masteriyo → Students to see all enrolled students, their enrollment dates, and their course progress.
Monitor enrollments: New enrollments appear in Masteriyo → Orders in real time. Mark bank transfer orders as Completed manually once payment is confirmed — this triggers automatic enrollment.
Review quiz and completion data: Go to Masteriyo → Reports for completion rates, quiz scores, and enrollment trends. Check this weekly in the first month — if students are dropping off at a specific lesson, that lesson needs attention.
Export student data: Go to Masteriyo → Tools → Import/Export → Users to export your student list as CSV for use in your CRM or email platform.
Re-engage inactive students: Filter students by last activity date and send a targeted re-engagement email. A single nudge email recovers a meaningful percentage of students who enrolled and went quiet.
Scale with bundles, subscriptions, and community
Once your first course is running, the next step is increasing revenue per student and building retention.
Course bundles: Group related courses into a single product at a discount to increase average order value. A student who might hesitate at $197 for one course is more likely to buy a three-course bundle at $297 when the value is clear. Set up bundles through WooCommerce after enabling the integration.
For detailed course bundle instructions, see: How to Create Course Bundle on WordPress →
Subscription access: Offer recurring access to your full course catalog — monthly or annual billing — rather than selling each course individually. This creates predictable recurring revenue. Requires Masteriyo Pro and WooCommerce Subscriptions.
Community: Students who connect with each other stay longer and complete more. Add a private discussion forum using BuddyBoss or a simple Facebook group for enrolled students. Even a monthly live Q&A session improves completion rates and generates testimonials.
Upsell ladder: Design a course progression — a free or low-cost entry course that leads to a mid-tier course that leads to a premium offer. Each course completion is a natural moment to present the next step.
Masteriyo free vs. Pro for course creation
| Feature | Free | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Course creation | ✅ | ✅ |
| Video, text, PDF, audio lessons | ✅ | ✅ |
| Quizzes (3 question types) | ✅ | ✅ |
| Sequential content drip | ✅ | ✅ |
| Certificate builder (1 template) | ✅ | ✅ |
| Student management | ✅ | ✅ |
| Stripe + PayPal | ✅ | ✅ |
| WooCommerce integration | ✅ (free addon) | ✅ |
| All 9 quiz question types | ✅ | |
| Assignments | Content drip (date/enrollment-based) | ✅ |
| Advanced certificate templates | ✅ | |
| Subscription billing | ✅ | |
| Content drip (date/enrollment based) | ✅ | |
| Gradebook | ✅ | |
| Zoom integration | ✅ | |
| Multiple instructors | ✅ | |
| White-label branding | ✅ |
The free plan covers everything you need to build, publish, and sell your first course. Upgrade when a specific Pro feature becomes relevant to your program — not before.
For current Pro pricing, see: masteriyo.com/pricing →
Build your first course today
Everything you need to create, publish, and sell an online course is available in Masteriyo’s free plan — course builder, quizzes, student management, sequential drip, certificates, and payment processing — all from your own WordPress site with no monthly platform fee and no revenue share.
FAQ
Do I need coding skills to create an online course with WordPress? No. Masteriyo installs like any standard WordPress plugin. Building courses, adding lessons, configuring quizzes, and setting up payments all happen through the WordPress dashboard with no code required.
Which is the best WordPress LMS plugin for beginners? Masteriyo is the strongest free-to-start option for beginners. The free plan covers course creation, quizzes, student management, sequential drip, certificate builder, and Stripe/PayPal payments — everything needed to launch a complete course without upgrading.
How long does it take to create an online course in WordPress? If your content is ready, you can have Masteriyo installed, your course built, and your first lesson published in a single day. Creating the course content itself — scripting, recording, and editing — typically takes two to eight weeks, depending on course length and format.
Is the Masteriyo certificate builder free? Yes. One certificate template is included on the free plan. Additional templates and advanced customization require Masteriyo Pro.
Can I sell courses without WooCommerce? Yes. Masteriyo has its own built-in checkout with Stripe and PayPal. WooCommerce integration is optional — use it if you need extended payment gateways, coupon management, physical product bundling, or subscription billing through WooCommerce Subscriptions.
How do I prevent students from downloading my course videos? Toggle Disable Right Click on individual video lessons in the Masteriyo lesson editor. For more comprehensive content protection — blocking direct URL access to media files — enable Masteriyo’s content protection addon.
Can I offer free and paid courses on the same site? Yes. Set each course individually to Free, Need Registration, or Paid under Masteriyo → Courses → [Course Name] → Settings → Pricing. Free and paid courses coexist on the same platform without any conflict.
What happens to my courses if I stop using Masteriyo? Your course content lives in your own WordPress database and media library. You can export courses, student data, and quiz content via Masteriyo → Tools → Import/Export at any time.