The online education and learning industry has grown in leaps and bounds over the years. Especially in the times of COVID-19 pandemic when home bound online education became a compulsion, online education platforms and tools took heavy strides.
In fact, more and more individuals, academies, institutions, organizations, and businesses are now understanding the importance of going online by creating websites and apps to stay aligned and trending in the age of internet and smartphones.
This is being made possible by online tools and software that are now available in abundance. For instance, LearnDash is one of the go-to platforms for creating and selling online courses and is also going to be our topic of interest and discussion today.
It is a cloud-based WordPress plugin and learning management system (LMS) that offers tools for turning WordPress sites into learning management systems, creating custom courses, and selling them online. As per their own claim, LearnDash was the only WordPress LMS on Capterra’s top 20 training software’ list.
If you have a WordPress + LearnDash website, complementing it with an app has become extremely important in the age of smartphones. (Read the blog suggested below and discover the benefits). Today, we are here to help you with the same.
So, stay tuned with and discover the easiest way to create an app for your LearnDash website. Make your end to end journey more informed and effortless with this step-wise guide and create an app for your educational platform.
Suggested Read: Know why creating apps is highly important for small scale businesses
In this blog
- Step 0: Set up an amazing LearnDash website
- Step 1: Sign up for AppMySite’s online app builder
- Step 2: Start with customizing the appearance & layout
- Step 3: Connect your LearnDash website with the app
- Step 4: Point and add features & manage the settings
- Step 5: Test the app for aesthetics and performance
- Step 6: Generate app builds & submit them on the app stores
- Step 7: Make the most of the opportunities at your disposal
- What are the features that power the Learndash app?
- How to create a mobile app for your online courses?
- Frequently asked questions
How to turn Your LearnDash site into Android & iOS mobile apps?
Now let us cut to the chase and learn how we can create a WordPress website with LearnDash and complement it with an app. Also, we are going to focus on the app building part as that is what we excel at!
Step 0: Set up an amazing LearnDash website
Start by creating a WordPress website, if you do not already have one. Purchase a web hosting service and reserve a domain name. You can install the WordPress software yourself or get a hosting service that includes this feature and offers one click WordPress installation.
Once everything is set up, you can go to your WordPress admin panel and install the LearnDash Plugin. Next, you can install a theme that is compatible with LearnDash and configure it. Additionally, you can set the color scheme, typeface, etc., to manage the aesthetics of the website.
Next, proceed to create courses and get started with your WordPress + LearnDash website. Once your website is up and running, proceed to convert your WordPress site to an app (see the steps below for the easiest method) and offer a mobile friendly experience to your users.
Suggested Read: How to set up your e-commerce business with WordPress & WooCommerce – Complete guide
Step 1: Sign up for AppMySite’s online app builder
Now let us get to the part that we are here for and dive into the process of creating an app for your website. We are sharing the easiest and the most consumer-friendly way of creating premium feature-rich apps without hefty investments.
You can ditch the traditional methods of app development that require you to invest in developers and technicians, or hire agencies, and yet wait for ages to get your app developed. Instead, take the smarter road and build your app with AppMySite’s free online app maker.
Why not create your own app without writing a single line of code and shape it the way you want to? All you need to do is sign up for the app builder and you can get started on your app building journey immediately.
Step 2: Start with customizing the appearance & layout
Now that we have told you how you can start creating your own app with AppMySite, let us continue with that as it is the most effortless and affordable way of creating apps.
As you create an account on AppMySite and log into it, you will be asked to enter a few details related to your website and business.
Next, you will be greeted with a dashboard where you can view all the details related to your subscription plan and all the apps that you create. Under the Analytics section, you can view all the important statistics related to your app.
Start building your app and giving shape to it under the Appearance section. Here, you can design your app’s icon, launch screen, login screen, and home screen.
You can also set the color theme of your app and ensure that it matches with your existing website theme and brand guidelines.
AppMySite gives you the freedom to design all elements from scratch or upload your existing design. You can add images and tint, format the text, and more.
The best thing about this app builder is that it lets you preview every change you make to the app, so that your journey is smooth, and the app turns out flawless.
Suggested Read: How does AppMySite simplify app design?
Step 3: Connect your LearnDash website with the app
Apps built on AppMySite are directly powered by your website. This eliminates the need for manual app management and enables you to auto-populate most of your website data on the mobile app. This ensures more consistency between your website and app, and less work.
Under the Connectivity section, you need to start with installing the AppMySite plugin. Next, you will have to enter the API details to facilitate easy transfer of data from the website to the app and establish a connection between the two.
In case you face some trouble with connectivity, that can happen for a variety of external factors, you can troubleshoot and find out the issues without leaving the site. All you have to do is run troubleshooting and work on areas that need attention.
Step 4: Point and add features & manage the settings
Now that your website and app are fully connected, you can define the features and fine tune the settings of your mobile app. The Settings section has multiple sub-sections that are well-defined categories of different kinds of settings one needs to manage a full-fledged app.
Here you get the following sections:
- General: This section requires you to enter the basic information related to your business that will get added to your app. Here, you can define your website’s category and also enable a share button within the app to enable users to share it in their circle.
- Menu: In this section, you can create the menu for your app. You can also import your website menu on the app and manage everything with the click of a few buttons.
- Bottom Navigation: Adding too many options and destinations to the menu of the app can clutter and congest it, and affect the users’ journey. Hence, you can add a bottom navigation bar and shed the load off of your main menu.
- Users: You can invite others to associate with you and work with you on the app. This makes app management easier and also gives you the ability to control the access levels.
- Posts: In this section, you can manage the availability and appearance of posts in your app, and enable a search icon for the same.
- Pages: If in case the app does not look or perform as per your expectation, you can turn on the web view and render your website within the app to show the pages as it is on the website.
- Products: If you sell products on your app, you can manage all the related settings under this section.
- Checkout: As the name suggests, this section enables you to manage the checkout settings within the app. You can use the various options to define the settings and make the most of them.
- Social: In this section, you can integrate your social media handles in the app and show them to your users. You can add the URL of different social media pages and be ready to go.
You can manage this long list of different kinds of settings, with a click of a few toggles only. This will give a final shape to your app and help you integrate features that matter to you. Once done, you can click on save and proceed to test the app.
Suggested Read: Some handy tips to design the best bottom navigation bar menu on AppMySite
Step 5: Test the app for aesthetics and performance
AppMySite’s dynamic preview and test feature is one of its highlights. You can check how your app looks and performs in this section. The apps can be previewed on well-designed emulators that simulate Android and iOS device environments.
Here, you can choose the operating system and device type and start previewing the app effortlessly. You can restart a preview at any time and also take screenshots for desired screens. All the instructions appear clearly on your screen that make your job even easier.
With AppMySite’s preview plan and advance preview feature, you can build and test your app for free and be sure about the different aspects before you invest in it. In case you get stuck or need help with something, you can refer to the huge pool of help resources.
Step 6: Generate app builds & submit them on the app stores
Once you are all ready to go live, you can proceed to create the Android and iOS app builds. These builds are basically the AAB or APK (for Android) and IPA (for iOS) files of your mobile app.
Generate and download the app builds and you can proceed to submit them to the respective app stores. In this section, you can also view the version and build history of your apps and keep a track of everything.
If you want, you can also make use of the Publish feature on AppMySite and streamline the process of app submission to make it easier and hassle-free.
AppMySite is one of the very few platforms to offer such intuitive and automated app deployment support. It makes the app builder an absolutely great option for those who are not very well versed with the nitty gritty rules, guidelines, and processes of app submission on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store and want to perfect it in one go.
Step 7: Make the most of the opportunities at your disposal
If you think that doing the basic is not enough and want more for your app, then you must tap into every possible opportunity of making your app more feature rich, and also promote it to acquire leads.
You can make use of the additional features of AppMySite and add more elements to your app. For instance, you can explore options for enhancing the security and robustness of your app under the Performance section.
Next, you can integrate Push Notifications, Chat and Monetization features in the app, to send notifications to your app users, integrate chat software and communicate with your users and to display ads in the app and earn money respectively.
Additionally, you can also create app for your WordPress Multisite network or invite your team to work with you on the app projects under the Users section. In fact, there is much more to it than you actually understand once you sign up for the app builder and start using it.
You can enrich your app with these features and have a robust launch on the app stores. Thereafter, you can promote your apps and inspire more app installs using various marketing and branding techniques. It can all start with creating an account on AppMySite.
Suggested Read: Popular mobile app marketing techniques – The complete guide to success
What are the features that power the Learndash app?
The app you build on AppMySite for your Learndash website is powered by a number of premium features. Some of them have been covered in the following points:
- Student login and signup: Any student who signs up on your website can login with the same credentials on the app and vice versa. AppMySite is integrated with the native Users module within WordPress.
- Support for course and lesson content: With support for custom post types and taxonomies, AppMySite will be able to support any content you create with the Learndash plugin.
- Automatic website-app sync: All your website’s content – posts, pages, courses, and more will be synced automatically to the app. Any change you make to the content will also be reflected instantly.
- Push notifications: AppMySite enables you to send push notifications to all your app users. You can send as many notifications as you like.
- Multilingual app: Users on the app will be able to select a language of their choice. Choosing a different language will only translate the native buttons and labels of the app. Your website’s content will by displayed in the same language that it appears on the website on.
- Smart menus and navigation: You can create your side menu and bottom bar from scratch. With simple point and click options, you can build and style your navigation menus effortlessly.
How to create a mobile app for your online courses?
We’ve already gone through the process of creating an app for a Learndash website. However, not everyone that offers courses will have a Learnndash site, or a website built on WordPress for that matter.
AppMySite provides support for all CMS platforms and web technologies. If you are offering a learning course on a web platform besides WordPress, you can still make an app on AppMySite without breaking a sweat. The following steps explain how the process of creating a mobile app for your online courses works:
- Sign up for AppMySite and enter your website URL while setting up the app.
- Once you setup your app, design important assets and screens within it.
- Add a navigation bar to the app so that users can easily go from one screen to another.
- Preview and test your app on AppMySite’s live device emulators. If your website already has courses on it, you’ll be able to see them here.
- Download your app from AppMySite and submit it to the app stores.
Frequently asked questions
Discover answers to some commonly asked questions about developing a mobile app for your Learndash website.
Does LearnDash work on mobile?
If you convert your Learndash website to a mobile app with AppMySite, you can publish it to the app stores and allow students and learners to easily access your courses.
Mobile apps are the ideal medium to reach your users on mobile devices. If you have a Learndash website and solely rely on your mobile site alone, you’re missing out. Native apps can deliver a far more superior user experience with powerful features and better loading times. Apps are also easily accessible at a touch of a button.
Mobile websites however are only accessible via browsers. This makes them less accessible when compared to apps.
If I update course content in WordPress, is it reflected in the app?
AppMySite constantly syncs your website and app. This means any change to the content of your website is synced to the app as well. This will make it easier for you to manage your app, as all the content changes can just be made to the website itself.
Can I use my custom theme in the app?
The app you build on AppMySite have their own native design and interface. You can customize the app’s design and color theme with the features available.
You can also enable webviews in your app. This will simply render your mobile site within the app. Doing this will show your website’s custom theme in the app. However, the native screens will not be affected by this.
Wrapping up!
That was it! Go ahead and build your own app. Launch it on the app stores and promote it to get more installs and conversions. You can also discover our other blogs and learn about a wide range of topics without much hassle.
We have articles on WordPress website and app designing, development, maintenance, publishing, security, marketing, and lot more. Go through the blogs of your choice and dive deep to get all the information you require.
Do not forget to sign up for AppMySite and explore the app builder software if you wish to turn your WordPress website to an app. Build your own mobile app if you do not already have one, and app your way to success in no time. Launch the app and claim your space in the mCommerce realm! Get, set, grow!