How to create an e-learning platform: the complete guide

Teaching remotely is no longer reserved for universities: training centres, language schools, independent trainers and companies also put their courses online. Behind the promise of “learning from anywhere”, though, there is a complete system: content to protect, learners to follow, access to sell and results to prove.

An e-learning platform brings all of this together: learners follow their courses, trainers publish and grade, administrators manage enrolments, groups and payments. This guide details what to plan, from the catalogue to the certificate.

01Who an e-learning platform is for

Each profile has its own screens and rights: defining them early avoids a confusing interface.

• The learner: they follow courses, take quizzes and download their certificate. They want to pick up where they left off, on a computer as well as on a phone.
• The trainer: they create lessons and assessments, run live classes and answer questions, without needing technical skills.
• The administrator: they manage the catalogue, enrolments, payments and the quality of the content.
• The client company or school, if you sell group access: a manager enrols their employees or students and follows their results.

02The essential features

1. 01
   Course catalogue. Each course has its own page: syllabus, trainer, level and prerequisites, with filters by topic and level.
2. 02
   Protected video lessons. Videos are streamed, reserved for enrolled learners, and cannot be downloaded with a simple click. Quality adapts to the connection.
3. 03
   Documents and resources. Handouts, summary sheets and exercises come with each lesson, to download or to view only.
4. 04
   Quizzes and assignments. Quizzes are graded automatically; assignments are submitted by the learner, then marked by the trainer with a comment.
5. 05
   Progress tracking. Learners see completed lessons, their marks and what is left; trainers spot those who are falling behind.
6. 06
   Completion certificates. The certificate is generated once the conditions are met, for example every lesson watched and the final quiz passed, with a verification code.
7. 07
   Live classes. The trainer schedules a session, enrolled learners get a reminder, and the recording stays available afterwards.
8. 08
   Questions and discussion. Questions under each lesson and a discussion space for each course, moderated by the trainer.

03The back office: courses, learners, groups and payments

The back office is the daily tool of your team: it lets the offer grow without piling up manual tasks.

• courses: modules, lessons, unlock order, drafts and publishing;
• learners: enrolments, access, extensions and history;
• groups: one space per company or class, with its manager and its reports;
• payments and subscriptions: transactions, invoices, renewals and refunds;
• statistics: enrolments, completion rate, revenue and the lessons where learners drop out.

04Video: hosting and content protection

Video is often the most sensitive part, technically as well as financially, and there is no single answer: the right choice depends on the volume of content, the number of learners and the budget.

• a specialised video hosting service, quick to set up and billed according to usage;
• storage on your own cloud infrastructure, such as AWS or Google Cloud, more flexible but more technical;
• graduated protection: temporary links, playback reserved for enrolled learners, a watermark with the learner’s name;
• a limit on devices per account, to discourage login sharing.

No protection prevents someone from filming a screen: the goal is to make sharing difficult and traceable. These trade-offs are settled during scoping, with the Codex cloud and DevOps team.

05Payment, languages and local context

A course is not paid for in the same way in Algeria, Qatar or France, and languages affect every screen: it is better to decide early.

• in Algeria, online payment by CIB or Edahabia card goes through an approved provider; bank transfers remain common for professional training, with access activated manually;
• elsewhere, an approved local payment provider handles cards and recurring subscriptions;
• several models can coexist: single-course purchase, a catalogue subscription or a group licence billed to a company or a school;
• the interface comes in French, Arabic and English, with a right-to-left layout for Arabic, including the player, quizzes and certificates.

Billing and the protection of learners’ data should be checked with your legal adviser.

06Website, mobile app or both?

An e-learning platform usually starts as a web application, usable on a computer as well as a phone, where trainers prepare their courses comfortably. Codex builds it as part of its website and web platform service, with React, Next.js or Laravel.

A mobile app becomes useful when learners mostly follow their courses on a phone: reminders, smoother playback, even encrypted lessons available offline. Flutter or React Native cover Android and iOS from a shared code base; the article native or cross-platform app compares the options.

07Start with a useful first version

Three good courses served by a smooth journey are worth more than an empty catalogue surrounded by features. A reasonable first version includes:

• the catalogue, enrolment and payment;
• protected video lessons and documents;
• quizzes, progress tracking and the certificate;
• the back office for courses, learners and payments.

Then, depending on real usage: live classes, group licences, the mobile app or learning paths that chain several courses.

08Mistakes to avoid

• developing the platform before producing a first complete course, the one that reveals the real needs;
• neglecting the trainer’s tool: if it is painful, courses will never be updated;
• treating Arabic as a last-minute translation, without planning the right-to-left layout;
• leaving the videos, the domain or the payment account on accounts that are not in your name.

09What changes the budget

There is no standard price: everything depends on the scope. The key factors:

• the number of profiles, and whether there are groups for companies and schools;
• the hosting chosen and the level of video protection;
• the types of assessment: automatic quizzes, graded assignments, supervised exams;
• the number of languages and the target media: web only, or web and mobile.

The detailed quote comes after the scoping workshop, once these choices are made. The article writing a project brief helps you prepare for it.

10The steps with Codex

1. 01
   Discovery. A workshop on your audience, your content and your sales model. You leave with a clear scope, a schedule and a detailed quote.
2. 02
   Design. The learner journey, the trainer’s tool, the back office and the video architecture. Every screen is approved before any code.
3. 03
   Development. Short sprints with a demo at each step, and tests on video access, payment and certificates.
4. 04
   Launch and support. Going live on a domain and accounts in your name, training for your teams, then maintenance and new features.

Read next: how to create a fitness membership app, which also relies on subscriptions, and SaaS ideas to launch in France.

11Building it with Codex

Codex is a software studio founded in Algiers in 2014. More than 15 engineers and designers build products in French, Arabic and English, and the team has built more than 20 products in-house. The source code, the accounts and the data stay in your name. See the published projects and the certificates of completion.

No office is added locally. The work starts from Algiers (Cité 440 Logements, Ain Malha, Djasr Kasentina), Doha (Building No. 157, Street No. 301, Zone 69, PO Box 8388) and Marseille (Rue de la République, 13002).