Learning Management System Development: A Step-by-Step Approach

The global learning management system market is projected to grow with a 17.9% CAGR from USD 24.5 Billion in 2024 to USD 107.9 Billion by 2033. Such growth is mostly caused by a trend for generative AI for personalized learning experiences and demand for employee training and cost-effective solutions for education. 

If you want to develop a learning management system, now is the best time to do this. In this blog post, we will review the main trends in LMS development, its must-have features, challenges and opportunities you can face, and successful products in this industry. Let’s get straight to the point.

What is a Learning Management System (LMS)?

LMS is a software application for creating, managing, and storing educational content. It works as a centralized system for both organizations and students, making learning accessible at any time and place. 

According to statistics, organizations that create corporate training programs notice a substantial 218% increase in revenue and a 24% rise in profit margins. In addition, 67% of the LMS market share belongs to the Solution segment (with the high education segment as a leader), which includes interactive and ready-to-use platforms for distributing value-packed educational programs. 

This all means that there is a growing demand for interactive, accessible, and customizable learning systems for higher education and corporate training. 

Let’s review the main reasons for this demand:

• A need for efficient employee training. Especially with the rise of AI technologies, a lot of companies will invest in AI employee training to automate their work processes
• A trend for self-paced education
• A demand for microlearning and personalization
• A shift from passive to active education with a focus on interactive tasks and gamification

As you can see, the trend for learning management system development is here to stay, so now is the best time to get involved and change the industry for the better. Let’s see why you should develop LMS from scratch.

Why Build an LMS from Scratch?

Custom LMS software development is a great option for organizations that want more personalization and flexibility in how they create and manage their educational content. In this case, you don’t depend on the external platform limitations and, as a result, get more freedom in meeting user expectations. 

Let’s see the main advantages of the custom learning management system development:

• Customization

There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to education, as everyone learns at their own pace. With custom online LMS, you can develop personalized functionality for each type of learner by integrating the latest technologies, such as generative AI. Also, you can quickly adapt your LMS to current trends and user needs without being tied to the functionality of a ready-built platform.

• Scalability

Any platform should scale together with your business. Unfortunately, some ready-made LMS solutions have limitations on customization options, features, and capacity as they cater to general needs, not the needs of your business.

• Unique user experience

Custom LMS not only adapts to your current business model but also lets you create a unique user experience, listen to customer feedback, and improve your functionality based on these insights.

Challenges and opportunities in LMS development

To create your own LMS, you need to be aware of both the challenges and opportunities the industry creates. 

Opportunities in LMS development

Collection of data 

With the help of online learning systems, you can gather valuable data about user behavior, performance, and preferences to improve your educational approach and take the learning experience in your industry to a new level. Educational institutions can analyze LMS reports and such metrics as students’ performance, course completion rate, and pass percentage to improve their study program.

Global reach

There are no geographical limits for online education. Institutions can extend their audience and reach students from different parts of the world, enter new markets, and grow their revenue. It’s not a secret that massive open online courses (MOOCs) like Coursera partner with educational institutions to create micro-credential programs. But nowadays, there’s a growing trend of schools collaborating with Edtech startups to create innovative learning experiences outside of their classrooms and extend their reach.

Innovations

With the rapid growth of AI and VR, education will change forever. These technologies open a wide range of opportunities that transform the educational industry, so you can not lag behind. For example, AI is already used for adaptive learning, content creation, predictive analysis, and student assistance with chatbots and virtual assistants.

And what about LMS software development challenges? 

Challenges in LMS development

• Market saturation

The Edtech market is saturated with various apps, technologies, and programs. There are already players that have monopolized the market, which makes it harder for new startups to succeed. The good news is that though there are a lot of options on the market, most of them serve the same purpose. That’s why before creating a new product, it’s essential to analyze the market and find a gap in the industry that you can fill.

• Resistance to change

A reality is that not all classrooms and schools have access to computers and technology to get the most out of edtech. Also, not all educators are open to embracing new technologies and introducing innovations in their teaching progress. That’s why if you want to develop an effective solution in the e-learning market, it’s essential to understand the reasons behind this resistance.

• Data security

One of the challenges of LMS security is keeping the balance between the accessibility of learning materials and the protection of sensitive data. That’s why it’s essential not only to implement robust security measures and audits but also to educate the students and staff on data privacy and rules.

Key features of the learning management system

The functionality of learning management systems will depend on the type of LMS, its main purpose, and target audience. However, there are some basic features that make LMS user-friendly and valuable. Let’s review them.

Now, let’s proceed to the key features of LMS. 

Advanced course creation and management

The main goal of any LMS system is to let the users build online courses quickly and with no effort. That’s why an intuitive drag-and-drop interface for creating courses with no technical knowledge is a must-have.

Custom assessment options

Give content creators the option to either choose pre-built assessments or create their own evaluation system. This may include such options as multiple-choice, drag-and-drop matching, ordering, fill-in-the-blank, and open-ended questions.

Interactive and gamified content

Incorporate bite-sized content and add various gamified features, such as quizzes, short videos, puzzles, etc. Also, users should have an opportunity to add different types of media, import content from the web, or drag and drop blocks from existing courses. The more opportunities you add to content creation, the better.

Customized learner dashboards

Create customizable landing pages for students where they can keep and manage their schedules, courses, checklists, certificates, and badges. Also, you can add the analytics option, where learners can track their performance and scores and compare it with previous periods.

Social learning

Add messaging boards for each course where students can interact and share their experiences. Also, peer-to-peer interaction features should be added so that students can ask each other questions and learn together. This may include whiteboards, hand-raising, participation controls, survey tools, screen sharing, and session recording.

Communication tools

Include various communication options such as private messages, discussion forums, or a calendar for booking a call.

Notifications and reminders

Notifications and reminders let users stay informed about the upcoming courses, any updates, deadlines, or feedback.

Blended learning

Blended learning gives the ability to study effectively in various formats, whether it’s online, offline, synchronous, or asynchronous type of learning. This may include integration with video conferencing software, automated reminders about the upcoming lessons, or detailed analytics for self-paced courses.

Compliance with e-learning industry regulations

Make sure your platform is compliant with e-learning industry standards such as SCORM. SCORM is a technical standard for software products that ensures that all educational content and LMSs are compatible with each other and that clients can easily import their learning materials to your LMS.

Built-in analytics and reporting

Add detailed tracking and reporting with interactive dashboards to analyze the performance of the courses at a granular level. This includes student progress, course completion, enrollment scores, test pass rates, and the number of active users. You can also add activity logs to track every action a user takes on the platform in order to better understand user behavior and improve their experience.

Step-by-Step Guide to LMS Development

Now, let’s review the general process of creating a learning management system and the main stages it includes. It will help you better understand the development process and know what to expect in advance.

Step 1: Market, competitor research, and roadmap development

Any product development starts with prior research and analysis. Before analyzing your goals and audience, we recommend doing market research and conducting interviews with your potential users. It will give you tons of valuable insights and feedback, so you can create a product your target audience really needs. Here are the questions you can ask during the interviews:

• What tools or platforms are you currently using for learning or training?
• What challenges or limitations do you face with these tools?
• How do you prefer to learn—through videos, interactive modules, live sessions, or reading material?
• What would make an LMS process easy and enjoyable for you to use?
• Are there any specific features that you find essential for an LMS?
• How important is it for you to collaborate with peers or instructors within the LMS?
• How important is it for you to customize your learning experience, such as setting goals or tailoring content?
• What tools do you need for effective communication and collaboration?
• What outcomes do you hope to achieve with an LMS?
• How would you define success in your learning experience?

Also, analyze your top competitors, their features, pricing models, target audience, and customer reviews. Test the product of your competitors to find out the gaps that your platform can fill. This will help you create a competitive product.

Step 2: Define the Goals and Audience 

Based on the market research, you can create a more detailed vision of your product.

Define your main goals 

Start by defining the main purpose of your LMS. Is it a system for education, corporate training, or certifications? It’s better to focus on one purpose and scale from there. 

Identify your main users 

What is the primary audience of your LLM? Identify your main users, such as students, employees, and educators. Create a list of your types of users and put down their potential pain points when it comes to online education (based on the interviews and market research). This will be a pillar of your platform functionality.

Create a feature wishlist aligned with your goals

After listing the pain points of your main users, create an approximate list of features that will help them solve these pain points and get a positive experience when using your platform.

Step 3: Select the Right Technology Stack

The technology stack will depend on the requirements and functionality of your platform. However, here are some of the recommendations when it comes to LMS development.

Frontend and Backend Development

When choosing frontend technologies for a Learning Management System (LMS), it’s essential to focus on frameworks and tools that support scalability, interactivity, responsiveness, and accessibility.

You can explore the following languages:

• React.js – works great for building reusable UI components and dynamic interfaces such as dashboards and progress trackers
• Angular – a comprehensive framework with two-way data binding that works great for complex LMS with built-in tools
• Vue.js – a high-performance language that is great for medium-scale LMS projects with a focus on simplicity and speed

Database

Before choosing a database, you need to know what types of data your LMS will use. This includes a number of user profiles, course content, logs and analytics, and communication data. Also, the type of database will depend on your workload, the number of simultaneous users, and the potential traffic. Another important thing is whether your LMS will handle an increasing number of users, courses, or organizations over time. Here are some of the most popular database options for LMS:

• MySQL
• PostgreSQL
• Microsoft SQL Server
• MongoDB

Integrations

Possible integrations for learning management systems may include:

• Video conferencing tools
• Human resources systems
• CRM systems
• Integrations with e-learning standards and extensions
• Integrations with online payment systems
• Integrations with calendars

Step 4: Design User-Friendly Interfaces

A simple and intuitive design is a must-have for learning management systems. The best way to design a user-friendly interface is to create wireframes to gather early feedback. Wireframes include a rough layout of interface elements or schematic blueprints for visualizing your idea and bringing it in front of your target audience. They will help you test your interface in the early development stage and quickly adapt it to your user needs.

Step 5: Development Stage

After you have approved LMS features, product requirements, technologies, and design, it’s time to proceed to the development stage. Here is what it includes:

• The  proof of concept (PoC) stage to build the vision of the product before the development process begins
• MVP development for testing your product idea and bringing it to the market as soon as possible to gather feedback
• Full-scale product development
• Integration with third-party tools and services

Step 6: Test Your LMS Thoroughly

After the development stage is completed, the testing phase begins. Sometimes, these two stages may happen simultaneously. During the software development testing, QA engineers ensure that a system meets its requirements and delivers an exceptional user experience. 

There are such types of testing:

• Functional testing ensures that a product meets specified requirements. It includes unit testing, integration testing, system testing, and user acceptance testing
• Non-functional testing that focuses mostly on performance and security
• Automated testing with special tools that execute tests without manual effort

Step 7: Deployment and Go-Live

A deployment process consists of the following stages:

• Choosing hosting option
• Creating a deployment strategy
• Post-deployment checklist

The purpose of deployment is to make sure that software is accessible to end-users, customers, or internal teams and that everyone can interact with the software without difficulties. During deployment, the product is tested in real conditions, including varying loads and user interactions. 

Also, there is an option for gradual rollout in which the software is released in small, incremental updates. It helps to continuously improve the product and get quick feedback from users.

Step 8: Maintenance and Updates

After the LMS is released, the development lifecycle continues. When you put your product in front of real users, you need to continuously monitor it for various bugs, glitches, and inconsistencies. If you do not do it instantly, you risk losing your potential customers. 

Also, the maintenance stage includes various updates, new tools, and features in order to stay competitive and improve user experience.

Examples of successful learning management systems

Now, let’s get deeper into some examples of learning management systems, their target audience, and main features. Let’s start with the product developed by Djangostars, as our team has extensive experience creating edtech products for various markets.

Illumidesk – a US-based edtech platform for instructors and large educational institutions

Illumidesk reached out to us with the request to scale their existing Jupyter Notebook-based platform that connected managers, instructors, and students. Together, we have transformed their system into a scalable platform that provides instructors with all the necessary tools to create interactive courses such as actionable code blocks and non-coding assignments.

Now, this platform has scaled even more and turned into a content management platform that simplifies content creation with AI-powered functionality, chatbots, and integrations with LMS systems.

Their target audience includes marketing and sales teams, product professionals, and L&D teams.

Illumidesk’s main features include a content manager where you can store learning materials from various sources and then produce personalized content with the help of AI.

Its generative AI course creator provides all the necessary tools to create courses, add media and interactive tasks, and customize the design according to the target audience’s needs.

You can feed AI models with your content, courses, and learning materials, so the algorithm will understand your context and deliver a personalized communication experience with students.

Litmos – LMS and corporate training solutions

Litmos learning management system helps create, organize, and share educational content for various purposes, such as employee training, onboarding, compliance training, etc. Their LMS provides various gamification features, such as badges, certificates, leaderboards, social forums for discussions, and hotspots. It also integrates with your existing business systems, such as HRIS, CRM, Experience Cloud, Shopify, and MS Teams, and provides an open API so you can connect it with all the necessary tools.

Litmo’s target audience includes corporations, educational institutions, and instructors.

You can adapt the platform to your branding style, as well as create personalized dashboards for different types of learners to better meet their needs.

Also, you can create video assessments to provide quick feedback with the help of AI and machine learning.  Such an approach helps eliminate human biases during the assessment process and makes it more accurate, as it is based on predefined criteria. And that’s not all when it comes to AI. Litmos also has an AI assistant that makes courses more engaging and effective.

Litmos provides built-in reports for tracking learning activities and measuring such metrics as course completion, assessment scores, student productivity, etc. It also provides reporting data in real-time and global login analytics for tracking a general picture of where, how, and when students access the platform.

In addition, it engages the students in interacting with each other through features such as badges, leaderboards, course discussion forums, and personalized learning paths. Also, students can test their skills in real-world scenarios with the help of on-the-job (OTJ) checklists and simulations.

Docebo – a global learning platform

Docebo is a generative AI learning platform that empowers businesses and institutions to create engaging education content. Its AI algorithms automatically define the skill gaps of individual learners and optimize the platform for engagement first. Initially, they target businesses that want to upskill their employees

The highlight of Docebo is that it makes your learning content more engaging with the help of memorable games (such as Jeopardy, Noodle, Wheel of Fortune, Jump, Match 3, Trivia, Scenarios, Detective, Scramble, Recall, Sort-It.) and a virtual gamified learning environment, where learners can compete with each other, earn prizes, and achieve their milestones.

Docebo helps businesses deliver personalized learning with automation and AI. For example, you can create personalized pages for each learner, build content with AI recommendations, or even create an immersive learning experience. 

With Docebo, you can track such metrics as enrolled learners, completion dates, time spent on courses, assessment scores, and user progress rates.

Also, Docebo LMS is integrated with e-commerce vendors to help businesses easily sell their courses online. Also, it supports top payment gateways and lets businesses customize their pricing strategies based on the target customer groups.

Conclusion 

Now you know how to build a learning management system and understand that it is a complex process that involves deep research and continuous market analysis. If you want to build learning system that will stand out and provide real value, consider partnering with a tech expert who will explain all the ins and outs of LMS development. 

Django Stars has a software development consulting option where we will help you identify your main goals and challenges, analyze your industry, and align the technology with your requirements and objectives. Sounds interesting? Get in touch with us to discuss the roadmap for your future learning management system.