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2. Getting Started with LifterLMS

LifterLMS is a powerful, flexible Learning Management System (LMS) plugin designed to help you create and manage online courses directly from your WordPress website. With LifterLMS, you can build a full-featured online learning platform, including courses, memberships, quizzes, and more, without needing to code.

Lifter Elements integrates seamlessly with Elementor and LifterLMS, allowing you to fully customize your course pages while leveraging the design power of Elementor. Below, we’ll walk you through the installation and basic setup of LifterLMS to get your site up and running quickly.

Installing LifterLMS​

To install LifterLMS on your WordPress site:

  1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
  2. Navigate to Plugins > Add New.
  3. In the search bar, type LifterLMS, then click Install and then Activate.
  4. Once activated, you’ll be prompted to run the LifterLMS Setup Wizard, which will guide you through creating essential LMS pages (courses, memberships, etc.) and configuring your initial settings. In case you missed it, you can follow their guide here.

For a more detailed guide, you can refer to the official LifterLMS documentation on Installing LifterLMS.

Basic Setup​

After installation, here are some key steps to help you get started:

  1. Create Your First Course: Go to Courses > Add New in your WordPress dashboard. From here, you can add your course title, description, curriculum, and multimedia content. For more details, we recommend their guides here:
  1. Add Memberships: If you plan to offer memberships, navigate to Memberships > Add New. This allows you to bundle courses together or provide exclusive access based on membership plans. For more details, we recommend their guides here:

  1. Configure Payment Gateways: LifterLMS supports various payment gateways. Set up your preferred gateway by going to LifterLMS > Settings > Checkout.

  2. Customize Course Pages: Once your courses are created, you can use Lifter Elements and Elementor to customize the design and layout of your course and lesson pages. This allows you to personalize the look and feel of your learning platform to match your brand.

For further details on setting up LifterLMS, check out the Getting Started Guide.

By completing these steps, you'll have LifterLMS installed and ready to use, with the basic elements in place for building your online learning platform.

How LifterLMS handles course & lesson content​

LifterLMS handles content for courses and lessons by using custom post types. A Custom Post Type (or CPT for short) is WordPress' name for a type of content that isn't a built-in Post or a Page. For example, some WordPress sites have custom post types for Portfolio or Team Members. These content types often appear in distinct layouts on the front-end of websites, since they serve different purposes. The custom post types added by LifterLMS are largely similar to a page or post, but they have been configured to accept different content than a page or post would, with features such as videos, audio, progression, and more.

Single vs Archive template
  • A Single template for a LifterLMS post type applies to an individual lesson or course.
  • An Archive template for a LifterLMS post type applies to the listing page with all courses (ie.Course Catalog).