So what knowledge do YOU possess? Are you an expert programmer? A keen angler? A raw food chef? Whatever you know, someone would like to learn about it — and is willing to pay for it. If you’re dreaming of quitting your day job, getting rid of that obnoxious boss and working from home, then creating a course online will allow you to do so carefully. You can work on your course in the evenings and the weekends, and when it starts generating income, you can make your dream come true.

We’ve been working on iJoomla LMS, our working title for the system, for the past two years. It’s taken a lot longer than we expected but we’re back on track and I can show you some of the cool features we have in store for you.

Usability:

Since this is our newest extension, and since usability has become an increasingly important part of our product design, you will notice that iJoomla LMS is using a number of new methods to create and manage content. For example:

• A course tree offers a visual representation of your course. You can re-order modules and steps, as well as add and delete them on the fly, posting new media and courses at the same time.
• Extensive grayboxes allow you to stay on the same page and provide a better user experience.
• Steps layouts let you choose visual layouts for each step and select easily the media, text and narration.

  

Powerful features:

We wanted to make it possible for you to do what you need to do the way you want to do it. That’s why we took our time creating some extremely powerful features. These include:

• A super powerful media manager that supports every possible media type. For example, there are four ways to add a video to your course: upload a video; choose an existing video; use an external video (YouTube, etc.); and even use a video code displayed on someone else’s website.
  

  Media - Adding a video

• A visual course tree that does everything you need to do in one place.
• A flexible hierarchy that lets you created unlimited categories and nested categories.
• All the payment Plugins that suit your country and your needs.

Conversion tools

Converting your visitors into paying students is everything. We provide a number of tools to help you with your conversions:

• Promo codes to increase urgency.
• Teaser content to let people try before they buy.
• Discounts for repeat purchases.
• Automated emails to stay in touch with leads.

Easy management:

Even managing your courses is a breeze!

• The Students Manager lets you manage your students and track their progress.
• The Orders Manager makes managing and creating orders very simple.

So, when is it out?

Hard to tell. We’re about 75% done with the backend but only 20% done with the front end, so there’s probably a few more months of work left. When it’s ready though, were really hope that iJoomla LMS will be the most powerful LMS solution, and not just for Joomla. We want you to be able to convert your knowledge into dollars!

Told you it was cool. Here’s how it works:

Subscription Plans Manager

The Subscription Plans Manager lets you create the type of subscription you want to offer. Subscriptions can be:

• Unlimited – The subscription has no expiry date.
• Limited by number of downloads – The subscription expires when the product has been downloaded a set number of times.
• Limited by time – The subscription expires after a set period based on:
  • Hours
  • Days
  • Months
  • Years

Subscription Plans Manager

Editing a subscription plan

Subscription Renewal Plans Manager

When a subscription expires, your customers will also be able to choose a renewal plan. Like the Subscription Plans Manager, you can create different kinds of subscriptions and even offer a discount for renewal based on a fixed amount (such as $10) or a percentage of the sale (such as 10% discount of the original price).

Renwal Plans Manager

Editing a subscription renewal plan

Email Reminder Manager

Email reminders can be sent automatically to your subscribers, a vital way to increase your conversation rate. You define the “trigger” for the email, sending it a set number of days before the subscription expires or after it expires.

You can use any of the provided variables to construct your email. You’ll only need to create one email for all of your products, although you can create individual messages too.

Email Reminders Manager

Editing an email reminder

Assigning plans and emails to your products.

Choose the subscription plans, renewal plans and email reminders when you create or edit a product. You can set the price for each plan separately, giving you complete flexibility to assign any plans and emails to any product.

Assigning subscription plans/renewals/email reminders to a product

We think that’s all very cool but there’s even more to come. We’re also working on front end subscription integration and automatic subscription renewal. But let us know if there’s anything you’d like to see included and what you think of the improvements so far.

I will be posting more screenshots in Part 2 as soon as we have something new to show.

Interested in iJoomla DigiStore? check out our demo site, or buy it here.