Creating an online course

Creating online courses? Sounds exciting—a fun adventure! As a company, you’re likely wondering how you can organize your employees’ or customers’ learning and training in a modern and effective way. Online courses are a fantastic solution for this. They’re flexible, customized, and your target group can access them wherever they are—whether in the office, at home, or on the move.

Now comes the crucial question: Should you create the course in-house or is it better to have a professional do it? In this article, we’ll look at both options, including all the pros and cons. The goal? To help you find the best path for you and to give you the information you need to make an informed decision.

Standard courses are like ready-made meals: quick, but often uninspiring and not quite to your taste. What really helps companies are custom online courses—the gourmet version of digital learning, so to speak. Why? Because they align perfectly with your goals, values, and the specific working realities of your team.

With custom online courses, you ensure that your employees learn exactly what they need to for their specific roles. You can tailor content specifically to the challenges and tasks they’ll experience at your company. Which means? Greater motivation, more effective knowledge sharing, and, ultimately, employees who not only know more, but can also apply what they have learned in their day-to-day work. And let’s be honest, is there anything better than investing in training that gives you immediate results?

Custom online courses also give you a clear competitive advantage. While others may focus on general learning content, you’ll raise the bar with greater relevance and quality—something that not only goes down well with your teams, but also strengthens your employer brand.

The first option is clear: “Do it yourself!” Creating online courses in-house naturally has its appeal. You have full control, can implement your visions down to the smallest detail, and make amendments whenever you need to. But as with any DIY project, there are a few stumbling blocks to consider.

If you decide to create your online course in-house, there are a few important points you should definitely bear in mind:

Didactic expertise: An online course is more than just knowledge in digital form. Think carefully about how to structure and deliver the content so that it’s easy to understand and appeals to your users. Interactive elements, quizzes, and exercises help them to consolidate what they’ve learned and generally make the course more engaging.

Time and resources: Creating a course requires time and effort. Set a realistic schedule and consider who in the team can take care of which aspect of the content, design, and technical implementation. Nothing is more frustrating than a project that never gets finished!

Technical tools and platforms: If you choose to develop your course in-house, you’ll need the right software and platforms. Tools such as Knowledgeworker Create, Articulate 360, and Lectora help you design professional-level courses. Don’t forget to offer technical support to ensure your course runs smoothly.

Design and user-friendliness: Your course should not only be informative, but also visually appealing and easy to use. Make sure you have a clear structure and layout so that participants enjoy learning and can use the course intuitively.

Evaluation and feedback: A good course continues to develop over time. Ask your first cohort for feedback and test how well the course is received. Schedule regular updates to keep the content current and continuously improve it.

If you take these points into account, you’ll increase your chances of creating an effective online course that perfectly fulfills your learning objectives. And if you do reach a roadblock, we’ll be happy to advise you!

If you’re looking for a more relaxed solution, the second option may be the right one for you: Have your online courses created by professionals! This means less work for your team and gives you the certainty that you’ll receive a high-quality course backed by state-of-the-art methodology, content, and technology. Sounds tempting? Let’s take a look at the finer details.

Both routes have their appeal and justifications. Think carefully about what resources are available to you and what you want to achieve with your online course. This will help you make a decision that not only saves time and money, but also ensures your teams achieve the best results.

Now you have all the important facts you need to make the right decision. Both approaches—creating online courses in-house or commissioning them—have their advantages, and the best choice depends on what is most important to you: time, costs, control, or quality.

If you have a creative team, the necessary resources, and want to develop smaller, specific courses, DIY could be the way to go. You’ll retain full control and be able to make flexible adjustments—perfect if your course content changes regularly.

However, if high quality, efficiency and professional implementation are important to you, then it makes sense to outsource the development of your online courses. Working with an experienced provider such as chemmedia guarantees that your course is not only of high quality and backed by sound methodology, but also meets the specific requirements of your target group.

At the end of the day, the path you choose should fit your goals, your budget, and the needs of your employees or customers. We would love to assist you in finding the optimum solution for your custom online courses. We’ll advise you with no obligation, and show you how your vision of a successful course can become reality—with no beating around the bush!