Online courses marketplace platform development
An online courses platform is a marketplace for educational content where teachers create and sell courses, students buy and take them. Unlike corporate LMS, key features: course discovery (search and recommendations), review system, revenue split between platform and creator, marketing tools for teachers.
Monetization models
Transactional (pay-per-course): student buys specific course. Revenue split: 70–80% creator, 20–30% platform (Udemy model). Good for creators, student risks buying wrong course.
Subscription (all-access): one subscription gives access to all content. Creators get share proportional to watch time. Good for students, unpredictable for creators.
Cohort-based (closed cohorts): live courses with fixed schedule, deadlines, teacher feedback. More expensive, higher completion.
Creator tools
Separate UI for course creators:
- Course Builder — WYSIWYG interface for course structure
- Video uploader — direct upload to Cloudflare Stream / Vimeo with progress
- Quiz Builder — test constructor
- Landing Page — customizable course page
- Pricing — set price, promotions, coupons
- Revenue Dashboard — sales, payouts, page conversion
Payouts to teachers: via Stripe Connect (Express accounts) or scheduled manual payouts.
Discovery and recommendations
Students find courses via:
- Full-text search (Elasticsearch or Typesense)
- Filters: category, level (beginner/intermediate/advanced), language, rating, duration
- Recommendations: "similar courses", "students also watched", "popular in category"
Course ranking in search depends on: average rating, review count, enrollment rate, completion rate, freshness.
Review and rating system
Students can review after 25–30% completion. 1–5 star rating + text review. Creator can reply. Moderate reviews for toxicity.
Weighted average rating: newer reviews weighted higher against "manipulation" of old courses.
Promotions and affiliate programs
- Coupons: % or fixed discount, usage limit, expiry
- Affiliate program: partner gets tracking link, earns 10–30% commission per sale
- Promo pages: creator can build landing for specific audience
Technical stack
| Component | Technologies |
|---|---|
| Backend | Node.js/Nest.js, Laravel |
| Frontend | Next.js |
| Video | Cloudflare Stream, MUX |
| Search | Typesense, Elasticsearch |
| Payments | Stripe + Stripe Connect |
| CDN | Cloudflare |
| Postmark, SendGrid |
Timeline
MVP (course catalog, video lessons, purchase, student and creator dashboard, basic analytics): 3–5 months. Full platform with affiliates, cohort courses, mobile app, advanced search: 6–10 months.