LearnDash builds where the learning actually sticks

An LMS built the way adult learners work — not one that launched, disappointed everyone, and has not been touched since.

Built and ran: M.L. Campbell Training Centre (Sherwin-Williams) — attendance grew tenfold over the engagement · Sayerlack training portal · MA Candidate in Learning & Technology, Royal Roads University (2025) · 22 years of instructional design and delivery · LearnDash, Sensei, LifterLMS, SCORM, xAPI

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The LMS problem nobody talks about

Most LMS platforms fail the same way: the technology is fine, the instructional architecture is not. Content is uploaded, modules are created, and enrollment numbers are reported — but completion rates are 30–40% and the learning is not sticking. The platform gets blamed. The platform is not the problem.

The work here is building both: the right platform, architected the right way, with the instructional design built alongside it — not added as an afterthought once the course shell is already live.

What I build

Two-axis matrix. Horizontal axis: technical implementation, low to high. Vertical axis: instructional design ownership, low to high. Bottom-left quadrant (neither axis staffed): project never lands. Top-left (instructional design without a platform): design can't deploy. Bottom-right (platform without instructional design): course nobody finishes. Top-right (both axes staffed): course people finish. The three engagement tiers all sit in the top-right success quadrant: Single-cohort launch from $5,000 (K-12, first program), Operating L&D from $15,000 (corporate L&D, certifying bodies), Institutional platform from $30,000 (SCORM, xAPI, SIS connectivity). All three tiers staff instructional design; they differ on technical scope.
All three engagement tiers ship in the same quadrant. The variable that decides which tier fits an organization is technical scope — integration depth, governance, reporting surface. The variable that decides whether the LMS lands at all is instructional design ownership.
  • LearnDash builds: Course architecture, quiz logic, prerequisites, certificates, group management, and learner portals — from scratch or on an existing WordPress install. Includes the instructional design to make the course architecture match how your learners work.
  • LMS + site integration: LMS as part of the marketing site, not isolated on a subdomain with a different login. Membership gating, WooCommerce enrollment purchase, SSO where it is needed.
  • Migrations: From TalentLMS, Canvas, Moodle, or a custom platform to LearnDash. Learner records, completion data, and content migrated with provenance maintained.
  • Reporting and administration layers: Group-leader dashboards, manager reporting, completion certificates, and the integration with HR or CRM that makes the LMS data useful outside the platform.

Who this is for

  • ✅ Organizations building a training platform for a defined learner group with a measurable performance goal — not “we need an LMS,” but “we need our sales team to hit X metric.”
  • ✅ Businesses where the training platform needs to integrate with WordPress, WooCommerce, or a membership system — not sit on a separate subdomain.
  • ✅ L&D leads who need both the technical build and the instructional design — not just the platform wired up to hold documents.
  • ❌ Organizations that want to upload slide decks and call it an LMS. The platform will not produce learning that way; the project would set a false expectation.
  • ❌ Projects without instructional design ownership. I can provide it; if the organization is not ready to engage with instructional architecture, the project scope is not ready.

What it costs

The senior-developer rate is $275 CAD/hr. LearnDash, LifterLMS, Sensei, and Moodle builds ladder by audience, integration surface, and instructional-design scope:

  • Single-cohort launch (from $5,000): K–12 programs and small training providers launching a first program with a defined learner group.
  • Operating L&D (from $15,000): LearnDash, LifterLMS, Sensei, or Moodle builds for corporate L&D, certifying bodies, and continuing-education programs — with the integration surface your reporting actually needs.
  • Institutional platform (from $30,000): Institutional builds, SCORM/xAPI integration, SIS/HRIS connectivity, multi-program governance, accreditation-ready data trail.

Every engagement starts with the free 20-minute discovery call. If the audit work matters first — reporting that does not answer the question your VP keeps asking, an HRIS sync held together with a Zapier zap — the audit ladder ($500 / $1,000 / $2,200) sits in front of the build and audit hours credit forward. See the canonical LMS service page for the full deliverables.

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