How to create an online course with WordPress in 2026

Hosted course platforms charge $39–$199 a month and still own your audience. WordPress plus a good LMS plugin gives you the same features on infrastructure you control. Here is the complete path from empty site to first sale.

What you need

• A WordPress site (any host, any theme — block themes included)
• The free CourseGlade plugin
• A Stripe account if you plan to charge for the course

That’s the whole stack. CourseGlade ships its own checkout, so you do not need WooCommerce, a page builder, or a separate membership plugin.

Step 1 — Install the plugin

Install CourseGlade from the WordPress plugin directory and activate it. On activation it creates the pages you need automatically: a course catalog, student dashboard, checkout, login, and registration. No wiring required.

Step 2 — Structure your course

Open CourseGlade → Courses → Add New. A course is built from sections, and each section holds lessons and quizzes. A structure that works for most first courses:

1. A short welcome section — one lesson plus your course roadmap
2. Three to five core sections, each 3–6 lessons
3. A quiz at the end of each section to reinforce the material

The curriculum builder is drag-and-drop, so reordering as you record is painless.

Step 3 — Add your lessons

Paste a YouTube or Vimeo link and the video embeds automatically, or point to a self-hosted MP4. Add text, images, and downloads under the video. Students watch in a distraction-free learning mode with the curriculum in a sidebar and Q&A below.

Step 4 — Build a quiz

CourseGlade includes seven question types in the free plugin: multiple choice, true/false, fill-in-the-blank, short answer, essay, matching, and ordering. Build a quiz by adding questions inline and setting a passing grade, time limit, and attempt limits. Essay and short-answer questions go to a grading queue for you to review.

Step 5 — Set your price

In the course settings, choose free enrollment or a price. Connect Stripe in Settings → Payments with your API keys, and checkout works immediately — cards and wallets, handled by Stripe Checkout. Prefer bank transfer? Enable the manual gateway. Already run a WooCommerce store? Link the course to a product instead.

Create a launch coupon under Coupons — percentage or fixed amount.

Step 6 — Launch

Publish the course and share the catalog page. Students register, pay, and land in their dashboard with progress tracking, quiz attempts, and Q&A. You get order emails; they get enrollment confirmations — thirteen transactional emails are pre-written and customizable.

When to go Pro

The free plugin is a complete LMS. Upgrade to Pro when you want completion certificates, scheduled content drip, assignments, live classes over Zoom or Google Meet, or gamification. Every Pro plan includes all twelve addons.