Overview Is it possible to learn to play the violin in an online course? Oh yes, you can. Professional violinist Beth Blackerby has developed an online course specifically for adults that has been running with great success for 15 years. The platform has 1300 active subscribers. After such a long time, a redesign was due. The first step was to securely transfer the user and payment data of all subscribers to WordPress.
Background
The technical basis of the website was a custom-programmed PHP framework that was more than a decade old. The framework had recurring security and technical problems, and outages were becoming more frequent. The client was increasingly concerned that the website would eventually stop working and wanted a modern, secure system.
The website was cumbersome to use. Even small adjustments were very time-consuming.
Several unsuccessful attempts had already been made to move the website to another system. All attempts failed due to the transfer of data. Although the information (courses, payment data and subscriber profiles) was stored in a database, the structure of the data was not compatible with other systems.
The website’s business model is selling subscriptions. This means that an amount is debited from the subscriber’s account every month. A loss of user and payment data would have been the end of the business. It should also be possible to transfer the content. Entering over 800 lessons by hand was not an option.
We first developed a system for transferring the data. We were able to transfer both the content of the courses (over 800 teaching units) and all user data (name, credit card, payment dates, etc.) as well as the different subscription plans.
We decided to use WordPress in combination with the e-learning extension LearnDash as the basis for the new website.
The design we developed is based on the colors of the old website. At the same time, it sets fresh, modern accents. The structure, layout, as well as user guidance were revised. New subscribers should stay on the website for as long as possible. A multitude of free offers and incentives should be quickly and easily accessible.
Long-term subscribers ought to find their familiar content again without any problems. They should be able to pick up their learning process easily again, in spite of the new setup. The booking workflow should be as smooth as possible, in order to prevent prospective customers from abandoning the process.
Extensions
The courses are sold in a subscription model. LearnDash offers a payment function, but you can only sell individual courses via a one-off payment. If you want to use a subscription model, you need to add further extensions to LearnDash.
Paid Memberships Pro manages subscribers with their different subscription levels. There are a handful of options with different conditions, partly due to violinlab.com going back more than a decade.
PaidMemberships Pro manages the different types of mostly recurring payments and the implementation of a payment provider. It also ensures that subscribers get access to the lessons and options according to their subscription level.
Private Sessions Using this add-on, students are able to get in touch with their teacher privately.
Community One big part of ViolinLab is the community. Here, subscribers get to meet, exchange information, and ask questions. Having a place to get involved on a personal basis helps to keep subscribers “on board” in the long term.
Dokumentation and coordination
All steps and decisions were recorded in a documentation, accessible to both the team and the client. We used Trello for coordination.
Conclusion
The website now has a stable, modern code base. The website and data are secure against attacks and losses. We were able to rebuild most features of the old platform. User navigation is now more intuitive and the paths are shorter. Our client is able to quickly edit and add content, new courses and subscribers herself.
“I wanted to take a moment now that the dust has settled to express my gratitude for your incredible professionalism and competency. I honestly didn’t believe I would be able to rebuild Violin Lab after previous failed attempts. You instilled confidence from the very beginning. You delivered on every aspect, and I hope our collaboration spans the life of my site.“ Beth Blackerby, violinlab.com
