How to create an online course: 10 steps for success

Training is no longer what it used to be. These days, it’s all about breaking the mold and smashing through barriers like never before. Online courses have been the game-changer as teams worldwide redefine workplace training. It has transformed the learning experience into something flexible, personalized, and practical.

Say goodbye to hours after hours of workshops and page after page of training manuals. In this complete guide, we’ll teach you how to create an online course that suits your organization’s needs.

What is an online course?

Online courses are lessons and training materials delivered virtually through a digital platform. It’s designed to be accessed regardless of location and can be viewed on any device, including mobile phones, tablets, and laptops.

It veers away from traditional training methods by allowing teams to learn remotely. For as long as they can access the internet, training can be done at home, on the road, or on vacation. E-learning courses are also made more interactive by weaving different forms of media, such as images, videos, and game-based assessments, into training content.

Online courses are best delivered with the help of powerful digital tools that do most of the hard work for you. For workplace training, make the most out of learning management systems like SC Training (formerly EdApp). These platforms let you design and roll out courses within minutes. Everything you need is all in one place, making training a breeze!

Know more about how to maximize digital platforms and guarantee success in rolling out your very own online course. Here are 10 steps to follow, along with helpful tips and tricks for creating an effective online course.

Step #1 - Know your audience

When planning how to create an online course, the first step is understanding who you’re creating the content for. Keep in mind that while this guide mainly targets delivering courses for workplace training, this is also a crucial step for building courses for business or educational purposes.

Whether you’re creating a training program for employees from a specific department or for your entire organization, it’s important to answer these questions before moving forward in your online course development process:

• What industry does your organization belong to?
• Are you training new hires, senior employees, or managers?
• What are the key demographics of your target team?
• Are you training for compliance or aiming to improve certain skills?

Defining your audience right from the beginning by finding answers to these questions will help build the foundation for your online course. This will also help make the next steps in the process clearer and easier to fulfill.

Step #2 - Define your training needs

After identifying your audience, you’ll need to figure out what specific skills or knowledge areas they need to enhance to be more effective in taking on their roles and adapting to your organization’s culture.

Identifying what you want to achieve out of training will guarantee that it’s relevant, targeted, and effective in addressing existing problems. This is also key to identifying which online courses to choose for your teams and whether this is the right modality for your training.

You can conduct a needs assessment to find employee development areas. To identify gaps, gather data from your teams through surveys and interviews. You may also check for compliance requirements, or review performance data and employee evaluations so your teams stay updated with trends and industry standards.

Step #3 - Choose a topic

Now that you’ve narrowed down what needs your training will address, it’s easier to choose a specific training topic for your online course. Your topic should be aligned with your team and organizational goals and you should engage team leaders and employees to gather insights and assess interest.

It’s also helpful to begin with broad online course ideas, such as diversity, leadership, and communication skills. After that, you can refine them to more specific topics depending on your needs and objectives.

There are plenty of ready-made and editable courses available on online course platforms that you can use to train your teams. For example, SC Training has over 1,000 free courses in its course library that can help you deliver branded training to your teams in no time.

Step #4 - Find the right platform 

Some online learning platforms have their training niche. That’s why it’s important to identify your audience, needs, and topic before selecting one. The perfect platform is the one that can best train your teams in a way that’s tailored to these three criteria.

Look for platforms that offer intuitive but effective course creation tools, multimedia support, interactive elements, and progress tracking and reporting. Aside from these features, your chosen LMS should also fit your budget and can scale alongside the growth of your organization.

If you’re wondering how to create an online course for free, SC Training hits the sweet spot with its powerful features and great value for money. It’s free for up to 10 users, making it perfect for small teams just starting with online training. But it’s also a great choice for huge organizations because of its scalability.

Step #5 - Maximize the features of your chosen LMS

Online learning platforms are there to make your lives easier. Make full use of their features such as built-in analytics dashboards and interactive assessments. You can also use integrations to build on your existing tools and documents, and roll out training in the most efficient way possible.

SC Training, for example, houses Create with AI—a course creation tool that’s powered by artificial intelligence. There’s no need to start with a blank canvas when creating an online course. Simply enter your chosen topic or some related keywords, and watch your course come to life.

Step #6 - Structure your online course

After getting the hang of how to get the most out of your chosen course creation software, it’s time to get into the nitty gritty of structuring your online course. Start by creating an outline of all the topics and subtopics that you want to include in your course. This will serve as a roadmap that’ll guide you through logically organizing content.

This is also where you decide how to churn out the lessons. You can adapt sequencing, where you tweak your learning plan by arranging the modules so each one builds on what the learner has already learned. If you're learning on your own, this approach is spot-on.

For teams in the workplace, microlearning is the way to go. It delivers bite-sized lessons that keep everyone on the same page. SC Training’s microlearning strategy builds within short attention spans through highly-target bursts of lessons that your teams can finish in less than five minutes.

It’s also the stage where you determine what media forms will best supplement your training content. Use SC Training to choose from 80+ mobile-ready templates made interactive by game-based quizzes, videos, and more.

Step #7 - Communicate the purpose of training to your employees

Before launching your course, it’s important to let your teams know the reason and objectives of the training they’ll receive. Clear communication helps employees understand how training impacts the organization’s goals and their professional development.

When employees understand the “why” behind training, they’re more likely to engage with the training content better, leading to improved performance and productivity in their roles.

Step #8 - Launch the course

It’s go time! After all the work you’ve put in, it’s finally time to roll out your online course to your teams. This should be a breeze since you’ve put in the work in the early stages of the process. 

Make sure to maintain constant communication with your teams about the online course. Remind them of important dates, such as deadlines, whenever necessary. Use various channels, including email and your existing messaging app, to ensure the widest reach.

SC Training offers mobile-first training that lets your team access the course anytime and anywhere using their handheld devices. It’s also easy to automatically set reminders through the Heads Up feature, so you can notify your teams without any extra app or device.

Step #9 - Collect feedback and track performance

The work doesn’t stop with launching the course. You must seek your team’s feedback and track how they perform to make sure that training stays relevant and effective. Feedback also serves a double purpose, as it allows learners to reflect on and assess their understanding of the training content.

Collecting feedback and tracking performance metrics have never been easier with in-built features in just a few clicks. SC Training’s course review and reporting and analytics features do just that. This way, you can track compliance, access real-time reviews, and spot problems with ease.

Step #10 - Revise and improve

Last but not least, make your teams feel heard by using the feedback and data you gathered to revise and improve your online course. This is an important step to enhance its effectiveness and guarantee that it adds value to your teams and the organization.

Regular updates also allow you to evolve alongside industry best practices, while fixing errors and issues, and enhancing the learning experience for your employees.

Boost your team’s skills with the best online course creation software. Sign up with SC Training today!