This must be a big question in your mind while thinking to create your online course. You have two options available.
There are various pre-built online solutions available in the market, which you can buy. Or you can simply build your online course on your own with all your desired features and functions. You can choose between them. Here I’ll present some of the strong points for suggesting you choose the build-in solution option.
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There are some interesting facts about building your online course, that will definitely let you choose it. Though many people find this option not suitable because it is quite a time taking. It may take 5 to 10 months to function properly. But when it gets activated, it will be a course containing all your desired functions.
Whereas with a pre-build solution, you have limited options. First, it comes out with the pre-made features and works. You just have the option of changing the brand name, color contrast, and creating a user profile. The rest of the features will be the same. And second, it is costly also as compared to building your own. So, listed below are the fascinating reasons that will let you build your online course.
1. Desired functionalities
Understand this point with a simple example. In an offline mode of shopping, you have fewer options. Like you have fewer options for sizes and colors. Whereas in the case of online shopping, you have a wider range. Different sizes with different styles and colors are available at your service.
Similarly, when you choose to set up your online course with a pre-build solution, you get to receive fewer options. You can’t make many changes. You are bound to make changes. But if you develop the online course from scratch, you can include things at your ease. You are free to add as many features as possible. Customization can be done at its best. It is totally up to you what things to have and what not.
2. More power in your hands
If you decide to choose the build your online course option then you will have the supreme command in your hand. Having your skilled in-house team is like a blessing in this case because in this way you get away with the fear of disclosing your business secrets. You are fully secured if you develop on your own.
There are some more reasons to worry about if you choose pre-built solutions like ownership and copywriting issues. You may face problems in claiming your software in the future. But if you build your course with the in-house team, then this ownership problem will be wholly eliminated. You will have all the power from top to bottom.
3. Accurate analytics
The pre-built software for online courses offers some specified tools to all. They provide a specific set of tools and metrics to keep track of growth. But it is limited to certain sects only. You can expect metrics of your choice. For instance, for a particular course of yours, you need accurate reporting for a particular department. But the pre-built solution does not offer that, then you will face the problem of incomplete or inaccurate analytics of your course.
In building the course yourself you can add templates of your choice and can also add separate department levels. With scratch, you have various options to choose from and include in your course. You can design and have the analytics separately for fields like Human resources, finance, the speed of online training, review the performance of individuals, and track the overall growth.
4. It is less expensive
The prebuilt software for online courses may cost you more as it has a definite price which is due yearly or monthly. And it may cost you extra if you tend to increase the number of employees working under the course. For instance, your course is showing a great response and it requires you to hire some extra workers due to the workload. But you can’t do that easily, as the vendor will charge you extra for this.
But this problem is eliminated if you have an in-house team to build the online course. You are not restricted to the number of people to include in your team. Hire people according to the demand for the course. This quality of the self-made course makes it less expensive and the value of money.
5. Personalized features
A customized online course is very much liked by the learner. As in this, they have a greater opportunity to express their views. This is because the course is built by keeping the learner’s needs in mind. Personalized features help in building a connection between the learner and you.
A healthy connection with the learner is a must as it boosts engagement on the platform and therefore makes it more popular. In a pre-build solution a learner doesn’t have this much freedom to express. It only provides some basic features which make it another ordinary course.
6. From time to time maintenance can be easily done
Everything requires time to time maintenance and improvements. The same is the case with the online course. It requires upgrades and improvements with time. This is easily possible in the customized course because there you have an in-house team that is regularly keeping a track of the course and is aware of the ups and downs of it. The team can easily do the following improvements according to the need of the learner. The tools and templates are already present so the team just has to take the required actions.
In a pre-build course this might be difficult and may cost you more. Because in this you have to first contact the vendor and ask for major improvements and they may also charge you more for doing so.
Conclusion
Building your online course with the in-house them may let you wait for long, but it will give you a lot in return. You will have a lot of advantages. A unique and personalized course is all a learner wants, so it will let you gain motivation and confidence to build it. Scratch offers various solutions to build a course of your choice, this will also ensure easier integration and growth of your platform. You will for sure end up with building a much secured, personalized, and less expensive course.
Photo by Eduardo Rosas from Pexels.
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