Thinking of turning your expertise into a profitable online course? You’re in the right place.
In this step-by-step guide, you’ll learn how to create online courses with WordPress using an LMS plugin. By the end, you’ll have:
- A fully working online course site
- A monetized course with video lessons and quizzes
- A clean student dashboard
Let’s dive in.
How to Create an Online Course with WordPress
This section walks you through each part of the setup, from theme and plugin installation to publishing and selling your course.
Before you begin, ensure you have a live domain and hosting with a fresh WordPress installation.
Step 1: Install the eLearning WordPress Theme
The first step is to install a course-ready WordPress theme site. We’ll use eLearning in this tutorial since it’s free and highly customizable.
i. Install eLearning Theme
First, log in to your WordPress dashboard, head to Appearance>>Themes. Then, click on the Add New button at the top of the page.
You need to type eLearning in the search box to display the theme.
Finally, click Install and Activate, and your theme is ready to use.
ii. Import the eLearning Demo Content
eLearning has pre-made website templates for both individual creators and marketplaces. To access them, you need to install ThemeGrill Demo Importer.
Go to Appearance >> Themes and click on Get started with eLearning.
This will install the available starter templates. Pick one that aligns with your requirements.
You can add your own customization to the eLearning demo by navigating to Appearance >> Customize.
Step 2: Install a WordPress LMS Plugin
A Learning Management System (LMS) handles all functions of an online course platform, from lessons to quizzes to checkout and student dashboard.
For this tutorial, we’ll be using Masteriyo LMS since it’s free to get started. It comes installed with the eLearning theme.
i. Activating Masteriyo LMS Plugin
If it is not automatically installed, navigate to Plugins >> Add New option from your dashboard.
Search for the Masteriyo WordPress plugin in the search box. Then click on the Install Now button.
After installing the plugin, click on the Activate button.
ii. Configure Masteriyo WordPress Plugin Settings
Once the activation is completed, you’ll be directed to the short setup wizard. Simply click on Get Started for the initial configuration.
- Business Type: Choose between Individual and Marketplace based on how you want to operate your course platform.
- Course: Decide the layout of the course page. Manage how courses appear in the listing. You can also import demo lessons, courses, and quizzes from here.
- Payment: Turn on payments for your premium courses here. You can enable PayPal, Stripe, and Offline Payments.
- Email Subscription (Optional): Subscribe to Masteriyo’s official newsletter for updates about new features, security updates, and offers.
Congratulations! You have successfully created a basic course website with all the required pages:
- A modern Courses page with filters and layout options
- An individual Course page includes an overview, curriculum, and a Buy button
- A sleek My Account page for learners to track course progress and orders
- A distraction-free Learn page for lessons in progress
Step 3: Create New Courses, Lessons, and Quizzes
After completing your setup, you can go back to the dashboard or start the course creation process.
To begin, click on the Create new course button at the Finish page of the Setup Wizard or go to Masteriyo >> Courses >> Add New Course.
It’ll take you to the course builder page, where you can add the course content.
i. Add Initial Course Details
First, add a relevant Course Name. Then, write an accurate Course Description to let the learners know about the content of your online course.
Add the Course Highlights and Categories accordingly. If you want to add a featured image, click on the Add Featured Image option.
When you’ve added all content, click the Next button at the top right of the page.
ii. Add Course Sections
The first step in adding content to your course is to add a new section. Sections are like modules that contain lessons, quizzes, and other course elements.
Click on Add New Section under the Builder tab.
Enter a suitable Section Name and click on the Add button.
You can easily add lessons, quizzes, and assignments to this section by clicking the Add New Content option.
Available options include:
- Text Lesson
- Video Lesson (YouTube, Vimeo, Self-hosted, and Embed)
- Live Stream Lesson
- Quiz
- Google Meet
- Zoom Meeting
- Assignment
- PDF Lesson
- Audio Lesson
Masteriyo supports drag-and-drop so you can rearrange lessons anytime.
Similarly, add as many sections as you want by clicking on the Add New Section option.
iii. Create a New Lesson
Let’s create a video course lesson.
Inside a section, click Add New Content and select Video Lesson from the Select Your Content Type dialog box.
- Enter the Lesson Name and Lesson Description. Also, add a featured image for the lesson.
- Choose your video source:
- Self-hosted: Upload videos directly to your site
- YouTube: Add videos uploaded to YouTube
- Vimeo: Add videos hosted on Vimeo
- Embed: Paste the iframe from any other platform.
- You can also add timestamps to mark key moments or chapters in the video lesson.
- Toggle Disable Right Click to prevent basic video downloading (especially for premium course content).
- Click the Publish button in the bottom right corner to publish the lesson.
Once published, your video lesson appears in the course curriculum and plays directly inside Masteriyo’s learner-friendly interface.
iv. Create a Quiz
Adding quizzes after a lesson helps reinforce learning and keeps your students engaged in your course.
Creating a quiz using Masteriyo is as easy as adding a lesson.
Go to the section where you want to add a quiz and click Add New Content >> Quiz.
Enter the Quiz Name and click Add New Quiz.
Under the Questions tab, click on Add New Question.
Now choose a question type:
- True/False
- Single Choice
- Multiple Choice
Upgrade to Masteriyo Pro to unlock all 9 question types: Fill in the Blanks, Text Answer, Sortable, Audio, Video, and Match the Following.
For each question:
- Write your question title
- Add the answer options
- Mark the correct answer(s)
- Set the points awarded for the correct answer
- Click Update
After saving, your quiz is automatically linked to your course curriculum and available to learners as part of the course flow.
After you’ve added all questions to your quiz, head to the Settings tab to fine-tune the quiz experience.
Here’s what you can configure:
General Quiz Settings
- Full Marks – Total points possible for the quiz (calculated automatically or manually set)
- Pass Marks – Minimum points required to pass the quiz
- Duration – Set a time limit in minutes (optional)
- Attempts Allowed – Limit how many times a student can retake the quiz
Display Settings
These settings help you control difficulty, pacing, and how learners interact with your quiz.
- Questions Per Page – Show one question per page or display all at once
- Randomize Questions – (Pro) Shuffle the question order for each student
- Show Results – Choose whether to show quiz results immediately or after course completion
Once done, click Update, and your quiz is live
Step 4: Sell Your Course
By default, the courses are public, i.e., they are free and need no registration to enroll. You can make a course premium from the individual course settings.
i. Set a Price for Your Course
Go to Settings >> Pricing within a course.
The pricing options under Masteriyo include:
- Free: The course is open to all.
- Public Course: Needs no registration.
- Need Registration: The Course is free but requires registration.
- Paid: Course content is behind a paywall.
- One Time: The Course can be purchased with a one-time fee.
- Recurring: Access to the course is sold using a subscription.
Now your course is ready to sell!
ii. Manage Orders in the Admin Panel
You can manage orders from Masteriyo >> Orders.
Here, you can:
- View all purchases
- Mark bank transfers (local payment) as Completed once payment is confirmed
- Automatically enroll students once payment is approved
Step 5: Publish Your Courses Online
It is ready to go live once you add all the courses, lessons, and quizzes and make the necessary changes.
To do so, go to Masteriyo >> Courses on the left side of the page. Then click on the course that you’ve just created.
If you are in doubt, we suggest you Preview your course. This way, you’ll get to know what your course will look like on the front end.
Moreover, if you feel everything is good, simply click on the Publish button.
Following this detailed step-by-step guide will help you create an online course in the best way.
Bonus: Enhance the Course Experience (Optional Add-Ons)
Once your first course is live, you might start exploring ways to improve engagement and learning outcomes.
Most of the features below are available in Masteriyo Pro, designed to help creators scale with more control and flexibility:
- ⏳ Content Drip: Gradually release lessons over time to maintain momentum (Guide)
- 📝 Assignments: Let students submit tasks and receive instructor feedback
- 🧠 Advanced Quizzes: Add timers, scoring logic, and randomized questions
- 📜 Certificates: Reward learners with customized completion certificates (Guide)
These tools aren’t required to launch, but they’re ideal when you’re ready to take your platform further. You can get 50% off on the first year if you want to explore Masteriyo Pro today.
Wrapping Up: Launch Your Online Course with Ease
You’ve now seen how easy it is to build and sell an online course using WordPress and Masteriyo — from lessons and quizzes to payments and student access.
With everything handled in one place and no coding required, Masteriyo makes course creation simple. Pair it with the eLearning theme, and you’re ready to launch fast.
Want to see it in action? Try the demo and start building today.