How To Build An Online Language Learning Platform like Lingoda
With schools and colleges closed amid the Coronavirus pandemic, students are learning new things at home apart from their regular studies. This outbreak has harmed the human race in many ways but on the bright side, we all are moving towards a more planned, more hygienic, and better world.
People are spending more time with their family and learning new things online. Why online? Because we need to follow social distancing till the time we contain the virus or at least get a vaccine to fight it.
Learning a foreign language is one of the things that people are doing online with the help of platforms like Lingoda. There is no doubt that language learning websites are gaining popularity in the online learning industry.
According to Forbes, ‘Language Learning Apps Are Seeing A Surge In Interest During The COVID-19 Pandemic.’
2020 might have created many obstacles for us but these challenges have created a bunch of opportunities as well. The online industry is booming and starting a business like ‘Online Language Learning’ would be really profitable for you and helpful for the students who want to speak a new language.
Suggested Read: Top 8 Most Profitable Niches for Online learning & Consultation Business during Covid-19 Lockdown
How Does An Online Language Platform Work?
Online language learning platforms like Lingoda and Itki are changing the way people learn a foreign language.
These platforms have made learning so convenient that now students and language trainers from different corners of the world can connect with each other whenever they want. The audio and video chat features make it even easier and thousands of people visit these websites to improve their language skills.
Let’s take look at the major players from this industry along with their fundings:
Business Model
The important thing about online language learning is the interaction between the trainer and the students. Earlier the interaction used to be text-based majorly but it was not as effective as a live interaction.
So, this was the pain point that is now resolved through platforms like Lingoda and Itaki. Let’s take a look at the business model of an online language learning portal to understand how these platforms work:
Revenue Model
After studying a few revenue models, it was observed that online language learning platforms are not aware of the real potential that their platform has. They’re missing out on many possible revenue modes. So, here is a list of the possible sources that an Online Learning Platform can leverage to earn more revenue:
- The platform can charge a part of the fee paid by the students to their trainers as commission.
- The platforms can also offer a monthly subscription to access the classes and other features (for students and teachers respectively).
- Banner advertising is a great source of revenue.
- The platform can offer premium listing for tutors with additional features (Just like LinkedIn offers LinkedIn Premium).
- There can be an on-site promotion option for the tutors.
- The platforms can offer study material downloads.
I am sure there can be many more options apart from the ones I have listed above. So, it is necessary to build an online language learning platform that is customizable and scalable so that you can change or add additional features as per the changing trends and requirements.
Factors To Consider Before Building An Online Language Learning Platform
a) Attractive Homepage: The first impression is the last impression! So, it is better to make your home page more attractive, cleaner, and yet informative. Following are the things that you need to consider,
- The logo should be clearly visible on the top and the overall theme of the homepage should go flawless with your logo.
- The navigation must be simple and easy to understand. Adding a search box would be a great help!
- Heading of the website is the first thing that visitors read so keep informative and relatable heading. It should give a clear picture of your business and your services/products.
- Call to action should be simple yet intriguing so that the visitor clicks the CTA and invest more time on browning your website.
b) Different Types of Classes: The more options you give, the more your customer is interested in your product/service. So, you must be offering the following type of classes on your language learning platform:
i) Live Sessions for students who prefer to live interaction with the tutor
ii) Private Classes that tutor and learner schedule beforehand
iii) Class Recordings that can be accessed by learners once a tutor provides them the access
c) A Separate Section For The Tutors: There must be a section fully dedicated to the tutors where the students can review the following,
- Filtered tutor’s profiles based on the language, fee, availability, qualification, etc.
- Sorting options based on price and ratings.
- Ratings & Reviews for the tutors.
- Detailed profile of every tutor.
- Demo classes by tutors.
d) Community: This is the feature that will bring more visitors to your website as it provides users an easy way to interact through audio or video chats. Here are the feature highlights:
- Registered users can join a group for practicing with a group of people who are at the same difficulty level.
- Communicating with other users the text/audio/video chat feature & share information with each other.
Must-Have Features For An Online Language Learning Platform
- Multiple Payment Gateways: People always have their own preferences when it comes to the mode of payment. Providing multiple payment gateways will make your users feel safe and secure while making the payment.
2. Advanced Dashboard: Through an advanced dashboard, the admin, as well as the users, can easily monitor all the activities like new sign-ups, scheduled sessions, etc.
3. Engaging UI/UX: Providing your users is an exceptional experience is very important for the success of your business. An engaging UX/UI can help you provide high-end performance.
4. Multi-Currency Support: If you want to scale your business at an international level then multi-currency support is necessary. Your users from different parts of the world should be able to view and pay the fee/charges in their own currency.
5. Video Chat Option: As discussed earlier, the video chat feature is the most important when it comes to an online learning platform. So, a one-on-one video chat option along with add ons like whiteboard and text pad should be there to make the interaction even more convenient.
6. In Chat Translations: This feature will help the learners/users to chat in their native language whenever they are unable to communicate. Translations will make it easier for them to understand the conversation going on in a foreign language.
7. Schedule Lessons/Classes: Scheduling classes is one of the most important features of an online learning platform. It makes it convenient for the tutor as well as the learner to schedule the classes as per their availability.
How Much Does It Cost To Build A Website Like Lingoda
There are basically 3 ways to build an online language learning platform:
- Build yourself from scratch
- Hire a developer
- Use a ready-made solution
Building a platform like Lingoda can be very expensive and time-consuming if you are building yourself from scratch or hiring a developer to do the same for you. Implementation will also be another issue because whenever you are building a platform from scratch, you have no clue how long it will take because it required coding, development, quality assurance, and the final launch.
So, the best option is to go for a ready-made solution like Yo!Coach by FATbit Technologies. It is a cost-effective and time-saving option because the implementation is quick, hassle-free and it can be launched immediately. The best part is that ready-made solutions come with a fixed price and extra charges are paid only for extensions or customization. Ready-made platforms will also provide you demos and free trials.
Conclusion
Language learning is not just a hobby for some of the students but we also know, most of the businesses depend on strong ties with different nations. So, the foreign language learning skill is not just limited to the students, it can be important for the corporate people as well. Therefore, entrepreneurs can enter this segment and start their online language learning websites.
So, if you are someone who is planning to build an Online Language Learning platform then Yo!Coach by FATbit Technologies is a perfect choice. Yo!Coach is a feature-rich and completely customizable solution that can help you launch an online learning platform like Lingoda and Verbling. Building an advanced e-learning platform with Yo!Coach can help you pay attention to what matters the most — providing a seamless learning experience.
Visit https://demo.yo-coach.com/ for Yo!Coach demo.
