The short answer: you have two main routes. A hosted course platform (such as Teachable, Thinkific, or Kajabi) is the fastest way to launch a course if you don’t already have a strong website. Selling courses on your own WordPress site, with WooCommerce, a learning management plugin, or both, makes more sense when courses are one part of a bigger business that also includes coaching, retreats, products, or a membership, and you want everything in one place you own.
Many of my clients are teachers, coaches, and practitioners, so this question comes up a lot. Here’s how I help them decide.
What are the options?
| Option | How it works | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Hosted course platform | The course lives on the platform’s site; you link to it from yours | Launching quickly, especially your first course |
| WooCommerce on WordPress | Sell course access like a product, with lessons on your site | Courses sold alongside products, books, or events |
| Learning plugin on WordPress | A plugin like LearnDash, LifterLMS, or Tutor LMS adds lessons, progress tracking, and quizzes | Structured courses with quizzes, certificates, or drip schedules |
| Membership on WordPress | Members-only content unlocked by subscription | Ongoing libraries rather than one-off courses |
The WordPress options are often combined: WooCommerce handles the checkout, and a learning plugin delivers the lessons.
When is a hosted course platform the better choice?
- You’re launching your first course and want to test demand quickly.
- You don’t have a website you’re happy with yet.
- Courses are your whole business, and the platform’s features cover what you need.
- You’d rather pay a subscription than manage anything technical.
When does selling courses on WordPress make sense?
- Your courses sit alongside other offerings. For Enneagram teacher Leslie Hershberger, PowerUp organized self-paced classes, an Enneagram store, one-on-one sessions, and retreats around her own Learn, Practice, Integration framework, with the self-paced classes and materials sold directly through WooCommerce.
- You serve different audiences. For YAO Company, practitioners get a continuing-education course and webinar library built into their wholesale portal, alongside ordering and account history.
- You have a large catalog. For teacher and author Thomas Hübl, the site PowerUp built with design partner Ruzer Design organizes dozens of self-paced courses, live trainings, and retreats in three languages, with a homepage that surfaces whatever is currently enrolling.
- You want one brand experience. Students stay on your site, under your design, with no hand-off to a different-looking platform.
- You want to own your student relationships and your content, without platform fees growing as you do.
What should I plan for whichever route I choose?
- Video hosting. Don’t upload course videos straight to your website’s hosting. Use a dedicated video host such as Vimeo or Bunny Stream, which streams smoothly and can stop your videos being embedded elsewhere.
- Email. Connect enrolments to your email platform, so students get welcome sequences and reminders automatically, with no exporting and importing lists by hand.
- Payment options. Decide on one-time payments, payment plans, or subscriptions before you build.
- Student support. Password resets, access questions, and refund requests will happen. Make sure they’re easy to handle.
- Your course pages. Each course needs a clear sales page that says who it’s for, what’s included, and what it costs. That’s also what helps people find it in search.
Can I start on a platform and move to WordPress later?
Yes, and many people do: they validate a course on a platform, then bring it in-house once their offerings grow. Plan for it by keeping your own copies of your videos and materials, and building your email list somewhere you control.
How do I get started?
If you already have a WordPress site, adding courses is PowerUp’s Feature Development work: membership and course delivery, WooCommerce, and email integration, scoped and quoted before any work starts. If you’re planning a new site around your teaching, that’s a custom build.
Tell me what you teach and how you’d like to sell it, and I’ll suggest the simplest setup that fits.