Getting Started with LifterLMS and Zapier

Introduction

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Events happen on your WordPress website: users register a WordPress account, a student enrolls in a course, a student’s membership access expires, and so on.

Sometimes you’d like to automatically respond to these events. For example, you may want to automatically create a row containing user data in a Google Sheets sheet somewhere once a site visitor registers a WordPress account on your site. What we are describing here is an example of automation.

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What is automation?

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We’ll use the terms below throughout the rest of this document:

  1. In the example above, account registration is an example of an event. This event has information about it.
  2. When we capture data about that event as soon as that event happens (or after some delay), we call the piece of software “capturing” that event as a trigger. We say that a trigger “happens” when it captures an event ”happen”.
  3. What we do in response to a trigger “capturing” an event is called the action. In the example above, creating a row in Google Sheets is the action.

The actual event itself is not important when creating an automation: only the starting trigger and sequence of actions. So every time you have a sequence starting with a trigger and followed by one or more actions, you can call that sequence an automation.

Zapier has prepared a quick introduction about automations to help you get started with the basics of automation.

Are automations instant?

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No. It depends on how often you want the trigger to “capture” or “ask for new data”. How often the trigger asks for new data is called the polling interval. This is often controlled by the automation platform you are using — or the pricing tier you are willing to pay for in the same automation platform.

For example, the “trigger” might capture data about an event once every 15 minutes. But the event itself can happen over a hundred times in that same 15 minutes.

This may or may not be important, depending on the context. For example, if the trigger is asking WordPress to give a list of WordPress users with the “student” role, and then someone manually modifies the role of a newly registered student to a non-student role within the same 15 minutes, then the trigger will never capture data about that same student. It is as if the event never happened.

Where can I create automations?

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One popular platform to create automations is Zapier. But, creating automations is not limited to Zapier. For example, when you create engagements in LIfterLMS, you are creating automations. When you use a platform like ActiveCampaign, you also get access to powerful automation tools.

This document focuses exclusively on Zapier because of our integration with it through the LifterLMS Zapier app.

What is Zapier, and why Zapier?

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Zapier (zapier.com) is a platform that allows you to integrate one website/web application to another website/web application. You can create a free account on Zapier.com. But premium subscriptions are also available, so be sure to checkout their pricing page. Free plans and starter plans in Zapier have a polling interval of at most 15 minutes, while higher plans allow you to customize the polling interval to as little as 1 minute.

From the point of view of this help document, Zapier is just the set of all Zapier apps. As of 2024, there are over 6000 such apps in Zapier. These Zapier apps can be connected to each other, allowing you to create powerful automations.

What are Zapier apps?

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From the point of view of this help document, a Zapier app is just the set of all triggers and actions made available by a website or web application to the Zapier app.

  1. For example, the Google Sheets Zapier app can be thought of as the set of all triggers and actions made available by the Google Sheets web application to Zapier.
  2. Similarly, the LifterLMS Zapier app can be thought of as the set of all triggers and actions made available by the LifterLMS plugin to Zapier.

In the example given above, you are making a connection between two different Zapier apps: the LifterLMS Zapier app and the Google Sheets Zapier app.

But you are not limited to making a connection with just two Zapier apps: in Zapier, you can make a connection between any number of Zapier apps. For example, after creating a row in Google Sheets sheet, you could also send an email via the MailChimp Zapier app in the same automation. In this case, you have one trigger and two actions from two different Zapier apps.

How do I use Zapier apps?

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You create automations in Zapier by creating a zap. Every trigger and action that you use inside that zap will come from at least one Zapier app.

We recommend that you follow the official tutorial from Zapier to get a comprehensive introduction in creating your first zap. If you are already logged in to your Zapier account, you can create your zaps from zapier.com/app/zaps.

How do I create zaps using the LifterLMS Zapier app?

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Once you have followed this tutorial on creating your first zap, you can then follow this section to create your first zap that uses the LifterLMS Zapier app.

In the sample zap below, we’ll automatically enroll a new WordPress user to a LifterLMS course as soon as they register an account on our WordPress site. Then, automatically create a WordPress account for that user on a different WordPress site. In a nutshell, you’ll just follow this three easy steps:

  1. Create a zap.
  2. Set up the trigger.
  3. Set up at least one action.

Create a zap.

Step 1. Access the LifterLMS Zapier App. This screen will prompt you to log in to your Zapier account.

Step 2. Navigate to zapier.com/app/zaps.

Step 3. Click on the + Create > New Zap.

Create a zap - Step 1 - Click on the + Create New Zap.

Set up the trigger.


Step 1.
Click on 1. Trigger. A search box will appear.

Set up the trigger - Step 1 - Click on 1. Trigger

Set up the trigger - Step 1 - After clicking on 1. Trigger, a pop-up appears

Step 2. In the pop-up that appears, type “LifterLMS” in the search field and click on the LifterLMS Zapier app as shown below.

Set up the trigger - Step 2 - Search for LifterLMS

This selects LifterLMS as the triggering app.

Set up the trigger - Step 2 - Trigger when the LifterLMS Zapier app is selected

Step 3. Under App & event, set Event to New Student and click on Continue.

Set up the trigger - Step 3. Under App & event, click on Event.

Set up the trigger - Step 3. Under App & event - Event select New Student.

Set up the trigger - Step 3. Under App & event, click on Continue.

Step 4. Under Account > Connect LifterLMS (1.0.0) click on Sign in. If you have already connected a LifterLMS website before, you will see Change instead of Sign in. If you have connected more than one LifterLMS site, you will see Choose instead of Sign in.

Set up the trigger - Step 4. Under Account Connect LifterLMS (1.0.0) click on Sign in.

Step 5. In the “Connect an Account” window that opens fill up the Base URL, Consume Key and Consumer Secret.

Set up the trigger - Step 5 - In the “Connect an Account” window that opens fill up the Base URL, Consume Key and Consumer Secret.

Be sure to follow this tutorial on how to create a Consumer Key and Consumer Secret key. As for the Base URL, it should just be the URL of the home page of your site. So if your WordPress is located at https://www.domain.com, you enter https://www.domain.com and not https://www.domain.com/ (note the forward slash at the end).

Step 6. Click on the Continue button.

Step 6. Click on the Continue button.

Step 7. Under Test, click on the Test trigger button. This checks if you have WordPress users with the student role on your site.

Step 7. Under Test, click on the Test trigger button.

If you do not have students yet, click on the Skip Test button. This will allow you to see what the output data would look like had you received the real student data.

Step 8. Click on the Continue with selected record button.

Step 8. Click on the Continue with selected record button

Set up at least one action.

Step 1. Click on 2. Action. A search box will appear.

Set up at least one action. - Step 1. Click on 2. Action. A search box will appear.

Set up at least one action - Step 1 - A search box will appear after clicking on Action.

Step 2. In the pop-up that appears, type “LifterLMS” in the search field and click on the LifterLMS Zapier app as shown below.

Set up at least one action - Step 2 - Type LifterLMS in the search box, then select LifterLMS from the results.

Step 3. Under App & event, set Event to Enroll in a Course and click on Continue.

Set up at least one action - Step 3 - Under App & event, set Event to Enroll in a Course.

Set up at least one action - Step 3 - Under App & event, click on Continue.

Step 4. Under Account > Connect LifterLMS (1.0.0) click on Continue.

Set up at least one action - Step 4. Under Account Connect LifterLMS (1.0.0) click on Continue.

On the other hand, if you want the action to be performed on a different LifterLMS website, click on Change or Choose. If you click on Change, be sure to follow this tutorial on how to create a Consumer Key and Consumer Secret key since you will be asked to provide these.

Step 5. In the Action step, you will be asked to provide the User ID of the student to enroll and the Course ID of the course to enroll that student to.

Set up at least one action - Step 5. In the Action step, you will be asked to provide the User ID of the student to enroll and the Course ID of the course to enroll that student to.

Step 6. Click on User ID to select the User ID collected by the previous trigger.

Set up at least one action - Step 6. Click on User ID to select the User ID collected by the previous trigger.

Set up at least one action - Step 6. The User ID that is the output of the previous trigger will now be used.

Step 7. In the Course ID field, paste the course ID of the course you would like your students to be automatically enrolled on. Be sure to follow this help document on how to find the course ID of the your LifterLMS courses. Click on the Continue button once you are done.

Set up at least one action - Step 7. In the Course ID field, paste the course ID of the course you would like your students to be automatically enrolled on.

Step 8. Under Test, click on the Test step button.

Set up at least one action - Step 8. Under Test, click on the Test step button.

If you do not have any WordPress user on your account, this will result in an error even if the course exists. In this case, you need to click on Skip test. This is totally okay.

Set up at least one action - Step 8. If you do not have any WordPress user on your account, this will result in an error even if the course exists.

Set up at least one action - Step 8. Confirmation to skip testing.

Step 9. Be sure to Publish your zap.

Set up at least one action - Step 9. Be sure to Publish your zap.

Step 10. Make sure the published zap is turned on.

Set up at least one action - Step 10. Make sure the published zap is turned on.

Step 11. Make sure your published zaps have descriptive names for good housekeeping.

Set up at least one action - Step 11. Make sure your published zaps have descriptive names for good housekeeping.

What triggers are available in the LifterLMS Zapier app?

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  1. New Student
  2. New Course
  3. New Course Enrollment
  4. Course Access Canceled
  5. Course Access Expired
  6. New Membership
  7. New Membership Enrollment
  8. Membership Access Canceled
  9. Membership Access Expired

New Student


This trigger fires when a WordPress user with the “student” role is created.

Basic Usage

Step 1. Create a zap.
Step 2. Select LifterLMS as the trigger.
Step 3. Under App & event > Event, select “New Student”.

Required Inputs None.
Optional Inputs None.
Output
  1. User ID
  2. Registered Date
  3. Username
  4. Email
  5. Roles
  6. First Name
  7. Last Name
  8. Description
  9. Name
  10. Nickname
  11. URL
  12. Billing Address 1
  13. Billing Address 2
  14. Billing City
  15. Billing Country
  16. Billing Postcode
  17. Billing State

New Course


This trigger fires when a new course is created.

Basic Usage

Step 1. Create a zap.
Step 2. Select LifterLMS as the trigger.
Step 3. Under App & event > Event, select “New Course”.

Required Inputs None.
Optional Inputs None.
Output
  1. Course ID
  2. Date Created
  3. Date Created GMT
  4. Date Updated
  5. Date Updated GMT
  6. Menu Order
  7. Title Raw
  8. Title Rendered
  9. Slug
  10. Post Type
  11. Permalink
  12. Status
  13. Feature Media
  14. Comment Status
  15. Content Raw
  16. Content Rendered
  17. Content Protected
  18. Excerpt Raw
  19. Excerpt Rendered
  20. Excerpt Protected
  21. Catalog Visibility

New Course Enrollment


This trigger fires when a WordPress user enrolls in a given course.

Basic Usage

Step 1. Create a zap.
Step 2. Select LifterLMS as the trigger.
Step 3. Under App & event > Event, select “New Course Enrollment”.

Warning: The zap that you create with this trigger might automatically turn off when the course has no students enrolled on it. To fix this, just manually enroll a test student to the course.

Required Inputs Course ID
Optional Inputs None.
Output
  1. Course ID
  2. User ID
  3. Date Created
  4. Date Updated
  5. Enrollment Status
  6. Enrollment Trigger

Course Access Cancelled


This trigger fires when a WordPress user’s access to a course is canceled.

Basic Usage

Step 1. Create a zap.
Step 2. Select LifterLMS as the trigger.
Step 3. Under App & event > Event, select “Course Access Cancelled”.

Warning: The zap that you create with this trigger might automatically turn off when the course has no students enrolled on it or when there are no students whose enrollment status is “cancelled”. To fix this, just manually enroll a test student to the course, and then manually cancel the enrollment.

Required Inputs Course ID
Optional Inputs None.
Output
  1. Course ID
  2. User ID
  3. Date Created
  4. Date Updated
  5. Enrollment Status
  6. Cancellation Trigger

Course Access Expired

This trigger fires when a WordPress user’s access to a course expires.

Basic Usage

Step 1. Create a zap.
Step 2. Select LifterLMS as the trigger.
Step 3. Under App & event > Event, select “Course Access Expired”.

Warning: The zap that you create with this trigger might automatically turn off when the course has no students enrolled on it or when there are no students whose enrollment status is “expired”. To fix this, temporarily create a free access plan and enroll on the course using the free access plan. Then change the enrollment status to expired from inside the corresponding order in WordPress Dashboard > Orders. You can delete the free access plan afterwards.

Required Inputs Course ID
Optional Inputs None.
Output
  1. Course ID
  2. User ID
  3. Date Created
  4. Date Updated
  5. Enrollment Status
  6. Expiration Trigger

New Membership


This trigger fires when a new membership is created.

Basic Usage

Step 1. Create a zap.
Step 2. Select LifterLMS as the trigger.
Step 3. Under App & event > Event, select “New Membership”.

Required Inputs None.
Optional Inputs None.
Output
  1. Membership ID
  2. Date Created
  3. Date Created GMT
  4. Date Updated
  5. Date Updated GMT
  6. Menu Order
  7. Title Raw
  8. Title Rendered
  9. Slug
  10. Post Type
  11. Permalink
  12. Status
  13. Feature Media
  14. Comment Status
  15. Content Raw
  16. Content Rendered
  17. Content Protected
  18. Excerpt Raw
  19. Excerpt Rendered
  20. Excerpt Protected
  21. Catalog Visibility

New Membership Enrollment


This trigger fires when a WordPress user enrolls in a given membership.

Basic Usage

Step 1. Create a zap.
Step 2. Select LifterLMS as the trigger.
Step 3. Under App & event > Event, select “New Membership Enrollment”.

Warning: The zap that you create with this trigger might automatically turn off when the membership has no students enrolled on it. To fix this, just manually enroll a test student to the membership.

Required Inputs Membership ID
Optional Inputs None.
Output
  1. Membership ID
  2. User ID
  3. Date Created
  4. Date Updated
  5. Enrollment Status
  6. Enrollment Trigger

Membership Access Cancelled


This trigger fires when a WordPress user’s access to a membership is cancelled.

Basic Usage

Step 1. Create a zap.
Step 2. Select LifterLMS as the trigger.
Step 3. Under App & event > Event, select “Membership Access Canceled”.

Warning: The zap that you create with this trigger might automatically turn off when the membership has no students enrolled on it or when there are no students whose enrollment status is “cancelled”. To fix this, just manually enroll a test student to the membership, and then manually cancel the enrollment.

Required Inputs Membership ID
Optional Inputs None.
Output
  1. Membership ID
  2. User ID
  3. Date Created
  4. Date Updated
  5. Enrollment Status
  6. Cancellation Trigger

Membership Access Expired


This trigger fires when a WordPress user’s access to a membership expires.

Basic Usage

Step 1. Create a zap.
Step 2. Select LifterLMS as the trigger.
Step 3. Under App & event > Event, select “Membership Access Expired”.

Warning: The zap that you create with this trigger might automatically turn off when the membership has no students enrolled on it or when there are no students whose enrollment status is “expired”. To fix this, temporarily create a free access plan and enroll on the membership using the free access plan. Then change the enrollment status to expired from inside the corresponding order in WordPress Dashboard > Orders. You can delete the free access plan afterwards.

Required Inputs Membership ID
Optional Inputs None.
Output
  1. Membership ID
  2. User ID
  3. Date Created
  4. Date Updated
  5. Enrollment Status
  6. Expiration Trigger

What actions are available in the LifterLMS Zapier app?

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Currently, there are ten actions available. To learn how to use each of these actions in a zap, checkout the section above on how to create a zap along with the Basic Usage section of each action below.

  1. Create a WordPress User.
  2. Retrieve a WordPress User
  3. Search WordPress User by Username
  4. Search WordPress User by Email
  5. Enroll in a Course
  6. Expire Course Access
  7. Cancel Course Access
  8. Enroll in a Membership
  9. Expire Membership Access
  10. Cancel Membership Access

Create a WordPress User

This action allows you to create a WordPress user if none is found.

Basic Usage

Step 1. Create a zap.
Step 2. Select LifterLMS as the action.
Step 3. Under Event, select “Create a WordPress User”.
Step 4. Fill in the required field Email using dynamic data as shown in this section above on how to create a zap. Optional fields can be left to their defaults.

Required Inputs Email
Optional Inputs
  1. Username. Defaults to the supplied Email address.
  2. Role. Defaults to “student”.
  3. First Name
  4. Last Name
  5. Description
  6. Name
  7. Nickname
  8. URL
  9. Billing Address 1
  10. Billing Address 2
  11. Billing City
  12. Billing Country
  13. Billing Postcode
  14. Billing State
Output
  1. User ID
  2. Registered Date
  3. Username
  4. Email
  5. Roles
  6. First Name
  7. Last Name
  8. Description
  9. Name
  10. Nickname
  11. URL
  12. Billing Address 1
  13. Billing Address 2
  14. Billing City
  15. Billing Country
  16. Billing Postcode
  17. Billing State

Retrieve a WordPress User


This action allows you to retrieve a specific WordPress user if you have their WordPress user ID.

Basic Usage

Step 1. Create a zap.
Step 2. Select LifterLMS as the action.
Step 3. Under Event, select “Retrieve a WordPress User”.
Step 4. Fill in the required field User ID using dynamic data as shown in this section above on how to create a zap.

Required Inputs User ID
Optional Inputs None.
Output
  1. User ID
  2. Registered Date
  3. Username
  4. Email
  5. Roles
  6. First Name
  7. Last Name
  8. Description
  9. Name
  10. Nickname
  11. URL
  12. Billing Address 1
  13. Billing Address 2
  14. Billing City
  15. Billing Country
  16. Billing Postcode
  17. Billing State

Search WordPress User by Username

This action allows you to retrieve a specific WordPress user if you have their WordPress username.

Basic Usage

Step 1. Create a zap.
Step 2. Select LifterLMS as the action.
Step 3. Under Event, select “Search WordPress User by Username”.
Step 4. Fill in the required field Username using dynamic data as shown in this section above on how to create a zap.

Required Inputs Username
Optional Inputs None.
Output
  1. User ID
  2. Registered Date
  3. Username
  4. Email
  5. Roles
  6. First Name
  7. Last Name
  8. Description
  9. Name
  10. Nickname
  11. URL
  12. Billing Address 1
  13. Billing Address 2
  14. Billing City
  15. Billing Country
  16. Billing Postcode
  17. Billing State

Search WordPress User by Email


This action allows you to retrieve a specific WordPress user if you have their WordPress email address. If none is found, you can optionally force a WordPress user to be created with that email address.

Basic Usage

Step 1. Create a zap.
Step 2. Select LifterLMS as the action.
Step 3. Under Event, select “Search WordPress User by Email”.
Step 4. Fill in the required field Email using dynamic data as shown in this section above on how to create a zap.
Step 5. You can leave the optional fields as is, or you can fill them up.
Step 6. Check the box for “Create LifterLMS (1.0.0) User if it doesn’t exist yet?” if you want to create a WordPress account for the user you are searching for when they cannot be found.

Required Inputs Email
Optional Inputs
  1. Username. Defaults to the supplied Email address.
  2. Role. Defaults to “student”.
Output
  1. User ID
  2. Registered Date
  3. Username
  4. Email
  5. Roles
  6. First Name
  7. Last Name
  8. Description
  9. Name
  10. Nickname
  11. URL
  12. Billing Address 1
  13. Billing Address 2
  14. Billing City
  15. Billing Country
  16. Billing Postcode
  17. Billing State

Enroll in a Course


This action allows you to enroll a specific WordPress user to a specific LifterLMS course.

Basic Usage

Step 1. Create a zap.
Step 2. Select LifterLMS as the action.
Step 3. Under Event, select “Enroll in a Course”.
Step 4. Fill in the required fields User ID and Course ID using dynamic data as shown in this section above on how to create a zap.

Required Inputs
  1. User ID
  2. Course ID
Optional Inputs None.
Output
  1. User ID
  2. Course ID
  3. Date Created
  4. Date Updated
  5. Enrollment Status
  6. Enrollment Trigger

Expire Course Access


This action allows you to set the enrollment status of a specific user to a specific course to “expired”.

Basic Usage

Step 1. Create a zap.
Step 2. Select LifterLMS as the action.
Step 3. Under Event, select “Expire Course Access”.
Step 4. Fill in the required fields User ID and Course ID using dynamic data as shown in this section above on how to create a zap.

Required Inputs
  1. User ID
  2. Course ID
Optional Inputs None.
Output
  1. User ID
  2. Course ID
  3. Date Created
  4. Date Updated
  5. Enrollment Status
  6. Expiration Trigger

Cancel Course Access


This action allows you to set the enrollment status of a specific user to a specific course to “cancelled”.

Basic Usage

Step 1. Create a zap.
Step 2. Select LifterLMS as the action.
Step 3. Under Event, select “Cancel Course Access”.
Step 4. Fill in the required fields User ID and Course ID using dynamic data as shown in this section above on how to create a zap.

Required Inputs
  1. User ID
  2. Course ID
Optional Inputs None.
Output
  1. User ID
  2. Course ID
  3. Date Created
  4. Date Updated
  5. Enrollment Status
  6. Cancellation Trigger

Enroll in a Membership

This action allows you to enroll a specific WordPress user to a specific LifterLMS membership.

Basic Usage

Step 1. Create a zap.
Step 2. Select LifterLMS as the action.
Step 3. Under Event, select “Enroll in a Membership”.
Step 4. Fill in the required fields User ID and Membership ID using dynamic data as shown in this section above on how to create a zap.

Required Inputs
  1. User ID
  2. Membership ID
Optional Inputs None.
Output
  1. User ID
  2. Membership ID
  3. Date Created
  4. Date Updated
  5. Enrollment Status
  6. Enrollment Trigger

Expire Membership Access


This action allows you to set the enrollment status of a specific user to a specific membership to “expired”.

Basic Usage

Step 1. Create a zap.
Step 2. Select LifterLMS as the action.
Step 3. Under Event, select “Expire Membership Access”.
Step 4. Fill in the required fields User ID and Membership ID using dynamic data as shown in this section above on how to create a zap.

Required Inputs
  1. User ID
  2. Membership ID
Optional Inputs None.
Output
  1. User ID
  2. Membership ID
  3. Date Created
  4. Date Updated
  5. Enrollment Status
  6. Expiration Trigger

Cancel Membership Access


This action allows you to set the enrollment status of a specific user to a specific membership to “cancelled”.

Basic Usage

Step 1. Create a zap.
Step 2. Select LifterLMS as the action.
Step 3. Under Event, select “Cancel Membership Access”.
Step 4. Fill in the required fields User ID and Membership ID using dynamic data as shown in this section above on how to create a zap.

Required Inputs
  1. User ID
  2. Membership ID
Optional Inputs None.
Output
  1. Membership ID
  2. Course ID
  3. Date Created
  4. Date Updated
  5. Enrollment Status
  6. Cancellation Trigger

Try Now: Start With a Zap Templates

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