Comprehensive Guide to Choosing the Best Learning Management System (LMS) for Small Businesses in 2023
Published on 1 July 2023
Welcome to our comprehensive guide to the best Learning Management System (LMS) platforms for small businesses.
In this article, we will explore the essential features and considerations to help you make an informed decision when choosing an LMS that caters to the specific needs of your small business.
Before we get started though, let’s address an important point.
Apart from a few LMS systems like Moodle and Google Classroom, which are primarily designed for educational institutions, most Learning Management Systems have a lot of similarities and provide solutions that are suitable for businesses of all sizes.
Understanding the Importance of an LMS Platform for Small Businesses
However choosing the best learning management platform poses some unique challenges for small businesses.
Factors like budget constraints, scalability requirements, user-friendly interfaces, streamlined course creation and management, customisation options, reliable technical support, and mobile compatibility.
In this article, we will explore these distinctive characteristics and provide insights on how small businesses can choose the most ideal online training delivery platform that caters to their specific needs, empowering the growth of their online course business and enhancing their services for 1-2-1 clients.
Assessing Your Small Business Needs
Before diving into the vast array of available LMS platform options, it’s crucial to assess your small business needs and goals. Consider the following factors:
1. Budget Constraints
Small businesses often have limited funds available for marketing and development. It’s crucial therefore to choose an LMS that offers a pricing structure that aligns with their budget. Look for options that provide flexible pricing plans, such as monthly subscriptions to ensure affordability.
2. Scalability
As a small business, you may have ambitions for growth and expansion. Ensure that the LMS you choose can scale alongside your business. Evaluate its capacity to handle an increasing number of users, courses, and features as your business grows.
This will prevent the need for a disruptive migration to a new LMS further down the line.
3. User-Friendly Interface
Small businesses may not have dedicated training personnel or technical experts, in fact it might just be you in the business. In that case, an LMS with an intuitive and user-friendly interface is vital.
Look for an LMS that facilitates easy navigation, minimal learning curve, and seamless user experience for both administrators and learners.
4. Course Creation and Management
Small businesses often have limited resources and time for course creation and management. Consider an LMS that offers user-friendly course authoring tools, drag-and-drop functionality, and content library organisation.
These features can streamline the course development process and minimise the need for extensive technical expertise.
5. Customisation Options
Small businesses have unique branding and training requirements. Look for an LMS that allows customisation options, such as adding your company logo, incorporating branding elements, and adapting the platform’s colour scheme to align with your organisation’s identity.
6. Technical Support
Small businesses may not have dedicated IT teams or technical experts readily available. Therefore, it’s essential to choose an LMS that provides reliable technical support and assistance. Look for options that offer responsive customer support channels, such as live chat, email, or phone, to address any issues or questions that may arise during the implementation and usage of the LMS.
7. Mobile Compatibility
In today’s remote work environment, it’s crucial to consider mobile compatibility. Look for an LMS that is accessible across various devices, including smartphones and tablets. This allows learners to access training materials on the go and promotes flexibility in learning.
By considering these unique challenges, small businesses can select an LMS that meets their specific needs and empowers them to grow their course sales and improve their services for 1-2-1 clients.
RELATED
- How to Choose a Topic for Your Online Course
- How to Set Up Your Online Course in Less Than An Hour
- The Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Right Online Course Platform
Key Features to Consider in an LMS Platform
Now that we have established the primary needs for your small business, let’s explore the key features to look for when evaluating different LMS options. These features will enhance course delivery, collaboration, communication, and assessment capabilities.
But before we dive into looking at these features, it’s worth restating that a common characteristic of small businesses, particularly within their first few years of operation, is budget concerns.
With that in mind, when it comes to choosing an LMS you may need to sacrifice some functionality in order to find a solution that works for you and is affordable.
Okay, now we’ve got that out of the way here are the key features to look for:
1. Course Delivery and Management
An effective LMS should provide robust course delivery and management features. Look for options such as:
- Multimedia Support: Ensure the LMS supports various multimedia formats, such as videos, audio files, and interactive presentations, to enhance learner engagement.
- Course Progress Tracking: The ability to track learners’ progress and completion rates is vital for evaluating the effectiveness of your training programs.
- Automated Notifications: Look for an LMS that offers automated notifications to remind learners of upcoming courses, deadlines, or new content releases.
2. Collaboration and Communication Tools
A comprehensive LMS should facilitate collaboration and communication among learners and trainers. Consider the following features:
- Discussion Forums: Enable learners to engage in discussions, ask questions, and share insights, fostering a sense of community and knowledge exchange.
- Real-time Messaging: Look for an LMS that offers real-time messaging capabilities to allow learners and trainers to communicate effortlessly.
- Virtual Classrooms: If your small business requires live instructor-led training, opt for an LMS that supports virtual classrooms with features like video conferencing and screen sharing.
3. Assessments and Reporting
Assessment and reporting features are crucial for measuring learning outcomes and tracking overall performance. Look for the following functionalities:
- Quizzes and Exams: An LMS should enable you to create quizzes and exams with various question types to assess learners’ understanding effectively.
- Course Progress Tracking: The ability to generate comprehensive progress reports on individual learners or groups helps identify areas for improvement and evaluate the effectiveness of your training programs.
- Data Analytics: Look for an LMS that provides detailed analytics and insights, allowing you to make data-driven decisions to enhance your training initiatives.
By selecting an LMS that offers these key features, your small business can create an engaging and efficient learning environment.
These features empower learners to interact, collaborate, and access valuable resources, while providing trainers and administrators with the necessary tools to monitor progress and evaluate the success of your training programs.
Making An Informed Decision
When it comes to selecting the best Learning Management System for your small business’s online course business or membership site, making an informed decision is crucial.
Evaluating LMS options based on your specific needs as well as the platform’s affordability is essential to ensure you choose an LMS that aligns with your goals and empowers your business over the long-term.
Here are some key steps to help you in this process:
1. Evaluate Based on Small Business Needs:
Recognise that as a small business, your needs and priorities may differ from larger enterprises. Consider the unique requirements of your online course business or membership site, such as the ability to create and sell courses, provide a seamless learning experience, and enhance your 1-2-1 client services.
Focus on LMS features that directly support these goals, rather than getting overwhelmed by a plethora of unnecessary functionalities.
2. Conduct Thorough Research:
Start by researching different LMS options available in the market. Explore their websites, read product descriptions, and review their feature lists. Pay attention to their target audience and whether they cater to small businesses.
Look for case studies or success stories from businesses similar to yours to gain insights into their experiences with different LMS platforms.
3. Read Reviews and Seek Recommendations:
Reading reviews from other small business owners or course creators can provide valuable insights into the strengths and weaknesses of different LMS platforms. Look for reviews on reputable websites or forums where users share their experiences.
Additionally, seek recommendations from industry peers or professional networks who may have firsthand experience with specific LMS platforms.
4. Compare Features and Functionality:
Create a list of essential features that align with your small business needs. Compare different LMS platforms based on these features, paying attention to aspects such as course creation and management tools, payment processing capabilities, user experience, customisation options, integration possibilities, and customer support.
Consider how each platform aligns with your specific requirements and goals.
5. Request Demos or Trial Periods:
Many LMS providers offer demos or trial periods to potential users. Take advantage of these opportunities to explore the platforms hands-on. This will allow you to test the user interface, experience the course creation process, and assess the overall functionality.
Pay attention to the ease of use, intuitive navigation, and whether the platform meets your specific requirements.
6. Seek Input from Your Team:
Involve key stakeholders in the decision-making process. Consult with your team members (if you have any) who will be using or managing the LMS. Get their input and consider their perspectives, as their insights can provide valuable information and ensure a smoother transition to the new platform.
By following these steps, conducting thorough research, reading reviews, and comparing features, you can make an informed decision about which LMS is best suited for your small business.
Remember that the right LMS will enable you to create and sell online courses or memberships effectively, provide a seamless learning experience, and enhance your 1-2-1 client services.
Taking the time to evaluate your options and choosing the right LMS will set your small business up for success in the ever-growing online learning industry.
Best LMS Platforms for Small Businesses
When it comes to choosing the best online learning platform for your small business, there are numerous options available.
To simplify the process and save you a bit of time, we will review two popular and inexpensive platforms: Thinkific (which is the platform that we use) and EzyCourse.
Please note that the following sections contains sponsored links. That means that if you were to buy into any of their paid plans we would receive a small commission from the company at no additional cost to you.
This helps to support the work that we do and the content we create here on the blog. It’s important to know that we would recommend these particular tools, even if they didn’t operate an affiliate programme, so this does not in any way affect the tools we feature and recommend.
1. Thinkific
Thinkific is an ideal choice for small businesses that are just starting out and want to test the waters without any upfront costs. It offers an affordable, easy-to-use and intuitive platform, particularly suitable for business owners who already have a website.
Key features of Thinkific include:
Course Creation Features
Thinkific allows unlimited course creation with different lesson types (available on all paid plans), course bundling options and memberships.
Marketing and Sales Features
Thinkific provides essential marketing and sales tools, such as email marketing, coupons, up-sells, order bumps, and affiliate marketing. A sales funnel tool is currently under development and will be available in the future.
User Experience and Interface
Thinkific offers a clean and user-friendly interface for both students and course creators, with an easy on-boarding process for new users.
Pricing Plans and Value for Money
Thinkific offers tiered plans starting at $49 per month, with no transaction fees. They also have a free plan available with unlimited student enrolment.
Customer Support and Training
Thinkific has responsive customer support and a reliable platform performance. There is also an active Facebook Group for Thinkific users, providing additional support from a community of course creators.
There are also some fantastic ‘How To’ help articles, that explain pretty much everything you need to do on the platform. To see what I mean, just head over to Google and ask it how to do something with your course in Thinkific, and chances are the top search result will be one of these help articles.
*If you are not sure whether Thinkific would be a good fit for your business, check out my full review of the platform.
2. EzyCourse
EzyCourse is an all-in-one solution that is ideal for small business owners who don’t already have a website. It offers a range of features, integrations, and customisation options for building, marketing, and selling online courses.
Key features of EzyCourse include:
Course Creation Features
EzyCourse allows unlimited course creation with different lesson types, course bundling options, sale of physical and digital products, dynamic membership site creation, and customisability.
Marketing and Sales Features
EzyCourse provides essential marketing and sales tools including, email marketing, coupons, bonus items, up-sells, appointment booking, and affiliate marketing.
User Experience and Interface
EzyCourse has a modern and sleek user interface with a clean design that is easy on the eyes. It provides a seamless learning experience for students and offers gamification features to make learning fun and engaging.
Pricing Plans and Value for Money
EzyCourse offers three pricing plans ranging from $31 to $319 per month, with flexible payment options. They also provide a 14-day free trial for prospective users to test the platform.
Customer Support and Training
EzyCourse offers comprehensive customer support through various channels, including email, live chat, and Zoom/Meet support. They also provide extensive training resources, such as a Facebook creators group, video tutorials, and blog articles.
Both Thinkific and EzyCourse are excellent LMS platforms for small businesses. Thinkific is well-suited for businesses that already have a website, while EzyCourse provides an all-in-one solution for those without a website.
Consider your specific needs and budget to determine which platform is the best fit for your small business.
Conclusion: Choosing The Best LMS Platform for Your Small Business
Selecting the most appropriate Learning Management System is crucial for small businesses aiming to create and sell online courses or memberships, as well as enhance their services for 1-2-1 clients.
By carefully considering the unique challenges they face, such as budget constraints, scalability requirements, user-friendly interfaces, customisation options, and reliable technical support, small businesses can choose an LMS that addresses their specific needs.
Platforms like EzyCourse and Thinkific offer comprehensive solutions, enabling small businesses to expand their course sales, generate revenue from memberships, and improve their services for 1-2-1 clients.
With the right LMS at their disposal, small businesses can efficiently manage and deliver their online courses, provide a seamless learning experience for their students, and grow their online course business while delivering exceptional services to their clients.
By leveraging the capabilities of platforms like EzyCourse and Thinkific, small businesses can unlock new opportunities for growth and success in the online education market.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
Q1: What is the most widely used LMS?
One of the most widely used learning management systems is Moodle. Moodle is an open-source platform that is highly customisable and flexible, making it a popular choice for educational institutions and organisations of all sizes.
It offers a wide range of features and has a large user community providing support and resources.
While Moodle is a popular choice for larger organisations, there are some disadvantages to be aware of:
- Learning Curve: Moodle may have a steep learning curve for administrators and instructors who are new to the platform, requiring technical expertise for setup and management.
- Customisation Complexity: While Moodle offers extensive customisation options, implementing and maintaining customisations may require additional resources and technical knowledge.
- Hosting and Infrastructure: Moodle needs to be hosted on a server or cloud infrastructure, which may require organisations to have their own IT infrastructure or rely on external hosting providers.
- User Interface: While Moodle has improved its user interface, some users may find it less visually appealing or not as intuitive as more modern and commercial LMS platforms.
- Support and Documentation: While Moodle has an active community and extensive documentation, the level of support may vary depending on organisational resources and community involvement.
- From a small business perspective, one disadvantage of Moodle is that it may not be optimised for commercial course selling. It lacks built-in payment and e-commerce integration, marketing and sales tools, and a user interface tailored for a commercial learning platform. Small businesses should assess their specific commercial course selling needs and consider alternative platforms or customisations to meet their requirements.
Q2: Does Google Have an LMS?
No, Google does not have a dedicated learning management system of its own. However, Google offers Google Classroom, which is a popular platform for educational purposes.
While Google Classroom has some LMS-like features, it is primarily designed for classroom settings rather than comprehensive corporate or commercial training.
Q3: Is Google Classroom a true LMS?
Google Classroom is not considered a true learning management system in the traditional sense. It is designed primarily for classroom environments, focusing on communication, assignment distribution, and grading.
While it may meet the needs of some organisations for basic training purposes, it may lack certain features required for comprehensive corporate training programs and it’s not optimised for selling online courses.
Q4: Can I use Google Classroom for my business?
While Google Classroom is primarily geared towards educational settings, some businesses may find it suitable for their training needs, particularly if they have a small-scale and simple in-house training program.
However, it is important to evaluate if Google Classroom meets the specific requirements and features needed for your business’s training and commercial initiatives.
While it’s tempting to use a free tool like Google Classroom for your small business, if you want to sell your online courses you will struggle to automate the sales, marketing and payment-taking processes; so whilst you will be saving money in the short-term it will create a lot of extra work and make it difficult to scale.
If you are looking for a free LMS, it’s far better to sign up for a platform like Thinkific that allows you to create and make money from a free account, all be it with limitations.
Q5: Is Blackboard a free LMS?
Blackboard is not a free learning management system. It is a commercial LMS used by many educational institutions and organisations. Blackboard offers various pricing plans based on the specific needs and scale of the organisation.
Organisations interested in using Blackboard should inquire about their pricing structure and features to determine the best fit for their requirements.
Q6. Is Zoom an LMS Platform?
No, Zoom is a video conferencing and online meeting platform that allows people to communicate and collaborate remotely.
It provides a way for individuals and groups to connect through video and audio calls, chat, and screen share.
With Zoom, users can host virtual meetings, webinars, and online classes, making it a versatile tool for various purposes, including marketing and recording videos for your online courses.
Q7. What is the best free LMS platform for small business?
The best free LMS platform for small business is Google Classroom, but; and it is a BIG but; as I said above it’s not really an LMS in the sense that you are probably thinking of one. If your goal is to create and sell online courses commercially, then Google Classroom is not worth the hassle you are going to have trying to automate everything.
In fact none of the open-source LMS platforms will likely give you what you need to be successful with your online course business.
Instead I would recommend you sign up for a free plan on a more commercial LMS platform, like Thinkific or Teachable. That way you can be making money straight off the bat with no financial outlay, and then if you need additional features, you can always upgrade to one of their paid plans later.
You can thank me later!
If you want to learn more about choosing the most appropriate LMS for your business, check out ‘The Ultimate Guide To Choosing The Right Online Course Platform‘.
Q8. Can you use Microsoft teams as an LMS?
No, but you might be able to integrate Microsoft Teams into your LMS.