Welcome to the LifterLMS 2025 Year in Review.
First of all, Happy New Year. Here’s to 2026! 🥂🎉🎆
As I write this, I hope you’re all still riding the high of an incredible winter break (or Christmas 🌲 break if you celebrate), and a wonderful New Year’s Eve with family and friends.
It’s been quite a year, and we’re resuming the tradition of putting together a write-up as we settle back into work after the holidays as a way of reflecting on what a year it’s been – celebrating some of our achievements and looking ahead to 2026.
If you’re here for the first time, here’s a bit about us:
- LifterLMS is the #1 WordPress LMS plugin.
- Our mission is to empower education entrepreneurs to create, sell, and manage high-value online courses and membership sites, helping them achieve financial freedom and positively impact lives by democratizing digital learning.
- As such, we create software to make that possible, such as the LifterLMS core plugin and many other add-on plugins. Additionally, we are the creators of Sky Pilot – a Full-Site Editing theme specifically designed for use with an LMS, and built for course creators.
This Year in Product
This year continued to be a period of steady progress for LifterLMS, with improvements across both the core plugin and our many add-ons. These were a mixture of meaningful enhancements driven by how customers are using the leading WordPress LMS in the real world, as well as ongoing under-the-hood enhancements.
Alongside ongoing refinements and feature updates, we also introduced two all-new add-ons. These add-ons were designed to address specific, long-standing use cases without introducing unnecessary complexity or requiring new workflows.
The first of these releases was our Continuing Education Add-On, which addresses one of the most established and successful use cases for LifterLMS.
The Launch of Continuing Education for LifterLMS
It’s fair to say that this was our biggest individual launch of the year.
For over a decade, some of the most successful businesses built on LifterLMS have been continuing education platforms. However, despite their scale and longevity, many of these teams were forced to rely on workarounds, such as:
- Manually assigning credit hours
- Tracking expirations in spreadsheets
- Cloning courses for recertification
After listening closely to continuing education professionals for more than 12 years, we knew it was time to remove that friction.
The Continuing Education Add-On brings professional-grade CE functionality directly into LifterLMS. It automates previously manual and error-prone tasks, including:
- Awarding CE credits upon course completion
- Managing expiration rules based on dates or cycles
- Enabling seamless re-enrollment for recertification
- Issuing compliant certificates
- Sending automated notifications
It also introduced centralized reporting and fully customizable terminology, so platforms can match the standards of their specific field – whether that’s CEUs, PDUs, CMEs, CPDs, or something else entirely.
This release was a big one because continuing education has proven to be one of the most sustainable and profitable business models on LifterLMS. Long-time customers, such as Tim McIvor from SchoolPsych.com, have demonstrated what’s possible, serving thousands of professionals and building businesses strong enough to replace full-time careers. The widespread acceptance of online CE in recent years has only accelerated this opportunity.
With the Continuing Education Add-On, we’re no longer asking CE entrepreneurs to bend the platform to fit their needs. Instead, LifterLMS now meets them where they are – with purpose-built tools designed for compliance, scale, and long-term growth.
This release marks a significant advancement in supporting one of the most impactful segments of the LifterLMS community.
The Launch of Gifts for LifterLMS
This year, we also introduced a long-requested feature designed to make buying learning as simple as consuming it – the LifterLMS Gifts Add-On.
For years, customers told us the same story: some of their customers wanted to buy courses or memberships for others, but the process was awkward.
Gifting often meant creating accounts on someone else’s behalf, sharing login credentials, or contacting site owners to figure out how gifting was supposed to work. The intent was clear, but the experience was anything but.
With LifterLMS Gifts, we removed that friction entirely.
The Gifts Add-On introduces a clean, built-in way to purchase access to courses and memberships for someone else without forcing buyers to manage accounts, timing, or enrollment details. Buyers complete a normal purchase, receive a gift voucher code automatically, and share it with the recipient, who redeems it when they’re ready. No shared credentials, no manual intervention, and no operational complexity for site owners.
This release reflects how learning is actually sold today.
- Managers want to gift access to team members without having to collect learner details upfront.
- Clients want to purchase premium courses for colleagues.
- Friends and family want to give learning as a meaningful gift without turning checkout into a support request.
By shifting gifting to a voucher-based model, LifterLMS Gifts reduces checkout friction, lowers purchase hesitation for higher-value products, and eliminates an entire category of pre-sale questions and support tickets. Administrators retain full visibility, buyers can track voucher status, and recipients get a clear, intentional redemption experience – all inside LifterLMS.
The LifterLMS Gifts Add-On is a small change with a big impact: fewer abandoned purchases, cleaner workflows, and a buying experience that finally matches user intent. It’s another step toward making LifterLMS not just powerful to build with, but effortless to buy from as well.
Core Platform Improvements
Alongside new product launches, we continued to invest in improving the LifterLMS core across the areas that affect nearly every site.
This year’s platform work focused on making common workflows smoother and more predictable, especially for teams managing growing catalogs, complex pricing, or larger student bases.
Key areas of improvement included:
- Course and access plan management: Refinements to the builder experience and access plan workflows that reduce friction during setup and ongoing maintenance.
See details: LifterLMS Version 8.0.0 - Reporting and visibility: Improvements that make it easier to understand learner activity and assessment progress without relying on external tools.
See details: LifterLMS Version 8.0.3 - Compatibility and reliability: Expanded support for popular page builders and targeted checkout and enrollment refinements to improve consistency across regions and configurations.
See details: LifterLMS Version 9.0.5
Taken together, these updates make LifterLMS easier to work with on a day-to-day basis, even as sites scale in complexity.
Security, Stability, and Maintenance Updates
Maintaining a secure and reliable platform remains a constant priority, and this year included several important updates focused on long-term stability.
We shipped security and maintenance updates that improve resilience across both the core plugin and extensions:
- Targeted security enhancements in critical components like the voucher and enrollment areas, reducing risk for site owners.
See details: LifterLMS Version 8.0.7 - Ongoing compatibility and stability fixes across minor releases throughout the year that prevent edge-case failures and improve consistency.
See details: LifterLMS Version 9.0.6
This work may not always make headlines, but it’s essential for keeping LifterLMS dependable at scale and aligned with evolving WordPress requirements.
For those who value security, LifterLMS has rightly earned its reputation as the most secure learning management system for WordPress.
Improvements Across Key Add-Ons
In addition to launching new add-ons, we continued improving existing extensions that many customers use every day.
These updates focused on making common workflows clearer and more reliable, particularly for site owners managing teams, learners, and content at scale. Highlights include:
- Groups Add-On Refinements: The LifterLMS Groups Version 1.3.1 release added several administrative improvements and security enhancements.
See details: LifterLMS Groups Version 1.3.1 - Assignments Extension Updates: LifterLMS Assignments Version 2.4.1 shipped with security fixes and updated templates.
See details: LifterLMS Assignments Version 2.4.1 - Theme Refinements: The Sky Pilot Theme Version 2.3.0 release included template updates and structural tweaks that improve frontend consistency.
See details: Sky Pilot Theme Version 2.3.0
Laying the Groundwork for What’s Next
Not every improvement this year came with a headline announcement.
A meaningful portion of our product work focused on strengthening foundations, from simplifying processes to improving consistency across features, as well as preparing for future releases. This behind-the-scenes work positions LifterLMS well for continued, focused product development in the year ahead.
This Year in LifterLMS Team IRL – Events & Travel
Every year, various people on the team make an effort to attend events across the world that relate to WordPress, online education, or memberships in one way or another.
And of course, 2025 was no exception to that. ✈️
PressConf 2025 in Tempe, Arizona
Between April 23rd and 26th this year, I attended PressConf in Tempe, Arizona. 🌵
The PressConf team did an exceptional job of curating what was a focused, business-oriented WordPress conference, bringing together leaders, creators, entrepreneurs, and professionals from across the ecosystem.
Retain Live 2025 in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
I attended Retain Live, a two-day conference focused entirely on growing and scaling membership businesses. The event was held in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
They did an excellent job of bringing together membership founders and operators from around the world for practical, no-fluff sessions on marketing, retention, member engagement, and sustainable growth. What stood out most was the depth of the conversations and the emphasis on real-world tactics – not just theory or sales pitches.
Beyond the sessions, Retain Live created space for meaningful peer discussions and networking with others building serious membership products, making it a valuable opportunity to step back, learn, and bring fresh ideas back to the LifterLMS team.
Not to mention, at the event, I had the opportunity to spend time with LifterLMS users, Kay Peacey and Funk Roberts.
LoopConf in London, UK
After Retain Live, I took a trip up to London for LoopConf.
Presented by WP Sessions & Human Made, LoopConf was a single-day event. Beyond the sessions, the smaller format made it easy to have meaningful conversations with people actively shaping WordPress and building with WordPress.
LifterLMS Dinner in London, UK
While in London, we also had the pleasure of hosting an intimate dinner that brought together longtime partners and friends from across the WordPress and online education ecosystems.
The evening featured Gautam from Seahawk Media, Alex Panagis, founder of ScaleMath, Brian Hogg from LifterLMS, and Steve Woody, who is now working closely with WP Fusion founder Jack Arturo.
Over great food and conversation, the group shared perspectives on product building, partnerships, and the evolving WordPress landscape. It was a relaxed and meaningful opportunity to strengthen relationships and reconnect in person with people doing thoughtful, impactful work across the community.
This Year in Content
This year, our content was shaped by the real questions we kept hearing from course creators and education entrepreneurs: how to build something sustainable, how to make better decisions, and how to avoid costly mistakes along the way.
That showed up in the work itself:
- New LifterLMS Academy courses were designed to solve very specific problems
- Long-form guides meant to be referenced (not skimmed)
- Case studies grounded in actual implementations
- And conversations on the LMScast that go beyond surface-level advice.
Across all of it, our focus stayed the same: practical guidance and content that’s useful whether you’re launching your first course or are an established course creator.
The LifterLMS Academy
We launched three new courses on the LifterLMS Academy. 🎉🎓
1) Education Entrepreneur Masterclass
The Education Entrepreneur Masterclass takes you through the 5 “hats” you need to be able to wear (either individually or by bringing in team members) to create impact, income, and freedom as an education entrepreneur.
- The Expert
- The Entrepreneur
- The Teacher
- The Technologist
- The Community Builder
The first lesson is available for free (no signup required).
The others are also free; they simply require you to sign up to the LifterLMS Academy – something you won’t regret doing, as it also gives you access to our other courses. 😉
This course was produced with Jason Coleman as a co-host.
Enroll in the Education Entrepreneur Masterclass
2) Create an Online Course with ChatGPT
Turn your expertise into a sell-ready online course in record time. Learn the exact ChatGPT prompts, workflows, and AI tricks that plan, script, and polish your entire curriculum from idea to launch.
This should likely come as no surprise to anyone, given the rise of AI in the past year alone: the use of AI is widely debated – especially when it comes to education and entrepreneurs.
This is largely because, in most cases, what people are paying for is access to the education entrepreneur. As such, in this course, we lay the groundwork on how to use AI to create a course with a focus on speeding up and improving efficiency in certain parts of the process without losing sight of the ultimate goal.
Enroll in Create An Online Course With ChatGPT
3) Course Pricing Focuser
In just a few days, Course Pricing Focuser pinpoints your ideal course price and tweaks your offer for maximum profit, delivering unbeatable value to your students while unlocking premium, predictable income for you.
If you’re currently focused on improving your pricing or deciding on what pricing model to use for your course, this is hands-down the best place on the internet to start, and it’s free. The course is broken into three sections:
- Price with Purpose: Laying the Foundations
- Engineer the Offer: Models, Math & Psychology
- Launch & Optimize: From First Sale to Pricing Powerhouse
Enroll in Course Pricing Focuser
Our Most Listened Podcast Episodes
This year’s most-listened-to episode was “Success vs. Failure in Online Education Companies.” My conversation with Kurt von Ahnen serves as a deep dive into what separates thriving education businesses from those that struggle.
We explored the decisions, operational practices, and market dynamics that shape outcomes, from product-market fit and customer experience to pricing models and retention levers.
It looks like this episode really resonated with our audience because it paired real-world examples with clear, actionable takeaways that founders, creators, and operators can apply directly to their own online education ventures.
If you haven’t listened yet, you can find the podcast episode here.
Most Watched YouTube Videos
Our most viewed YouTube video of 2025 was our deep dive into Full Site Editing:
What stood out this year wasn’t just the view count, but the video’s staying power. While we initially expected interest to taper off after Full Site Editing was introduced and became a priority for WordPress, the video continued to attract consistent views throughout 2025 as well.
That longevity reinforced something we’ve seen across our content more broadly: clear, practical explanations of foundational WordPress concepts continue to resonate well beyond their initial release window. As Full Site Editing has matured and adoption has increased, this video has remained a valuable resource for site owners and builders trying to understand how the pieces fit together.
This coming year, we expect to be giving Full Site Editing some more attention, particularly through the lens of Sky Pilot (our Full Site Editing WordPress theme specifically built to be used with your learning management systems of choice).
Several New Case Studies
How Tim McIvor Built a Credentialed Continuing Professional Development Site for School Psychologists with LifterLMS
This year, we published a case study highlighting how SchoolPsych, a professional development organization for educational psychologists, used LifterLMS to create a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) platform.
Faced with fragmented tools and administrative overhead, SchoolPsych consolidated course delivery, member engagement, and certificate issuance into a single, scalable LMS built on WordPress and LifterLMS.
Through features such as flexible course structures, automated certificates, progress tracking, and tailored reporting, they created an efficient system that enhances the learner experience and simplifies compliance with professional development requirements.
The result is a more streamlined workflow for administrators, a clearer learning path for members, and a platform that supports ongoing growth in a specialised professional field.
Explore the full case study here
How Avoya Travel Academy Uses LifterLMS to Provide Travel Agent Certification Education
This year, we also published a case study highlighting how Avoya Travel Academy leveraged LifterLMS to build a comprehensive, self-paced online education and certification program for aspiring travel agents.
Designed by longtime industry veteran Gina Hoyt, the course combines written and audio lessons with engaging video content to provide students with both foundational knowledge and a pathway to professional credibility – recognized by major travel organizations such as CLIA and ASTA, and honored with a Travel Weekly Magellan Award.
Using core LifterLMS features such as automated certificates, email triggers, awards, and advanced video presentations, Avoya’s team created a scalable certification program that helps new agents launch and grow their businesses more effectively.
The flexible, immersive curriculum improves agent success rates, supports higher closing rates and commissions, and reflects how a purpose-built LMS can elevate professional education within specialised industries.
Explore the full case study here
Revamping Our LMS Plugin Comparison Post
This year, as we have every year since its original publication in 2023, we continued to allocate a significant amount of time and effort to expanding and improving our comparison of the best WordPress LMS plugins, ensuring it remains the most comprehensive and trustworthy resource for anyone evaluating WordPress learning management solutions.
LifterLMS is, of course, one of the options compared in the post itself; however, the purpose of this comparison is to maintain a fair, transparent, and objective assessment. As part of this, we highlight the strengths, limitations, and best use cases for all solutions – in part with the objective of pushing ourselves to remain the best choice for our core demographic, as well as expanding the use cases for which we are seen as the best choice by the industry.
This Year in Presales
Our presales team serves as the bridge between curiosity and commitment. This year, we focused on providing a “human-first” experience in a world of automated bots.
- 4,500+ Presales Tickets: Handled with a focus on education-first selling.
- 2,000+ Unique Prospects: Helped over 2,000 individual entrepreneurs and institutions evaluate LifterLMS.
- Live Chat Excellence: Live chat remained one of our most crucial channels for high-intent users, providing instant, real-time assistance.
Beyond the tickets, the presales team has focused on Consultative Selling. This year, we moved beyond just answering feature questions to helping users architect their platforms:
- Bundle Guidance: Guided hundreds of users to the right fit between the Universe and Infinity Bundles, reducing “buyer’s remorse” and post-purchase support load.
- Onboarding Bridge: By clarifying expectations during the presales phase, we’ve improved the “Time to Value” for new customers as they transition from lead to active user.
The guiding principle for our presales team in 2025: “Our goal this year isn’t just to sell a plugin, but to ensure every prospect has a clear roadmap for their online course business before they even click ‘Buy’.”
And this principle, underlined by our focus on Consultative Selling, will be carried forward into the new year.
What’s Next – Looking Ahead to 2026
As we look ahead to 2026, one thing remains constant:
Our mission is to accelerate yours.
We are entering this next chapter with deep respect for the trust our community places in us and a continued focus on helping education entrepreneurs build meaningful learning experiences, achieve real learner results, and create sustainable businesses without unnecessary friction.
Below are the guiding themes shaping where we are headed.
Smarter Tools, Applied with Intention
We see AI as a powerful tool when used responsibly.
In the year ahead, we are exploring thoughtful AI integrations that help creators work more efficiently, communicate more clearly, and stay focused on learner transformation.
Our approach remains human-first. AI should support educators and LMS site builders, not replace them.
Continuing to Set the Standard for Security
Security has always been a foundational aspect of LifterLMS.
As the WordPress ecosystem evolves, we will continue to invest in proactive security practices and collaborate with security researchers to protect our users, their businesses, and their learners.
Continuous Improvement of the LifterLMS Core and Our Add-Ons
We remain focused on long-term value through ongoing improvements to the LifterLMS core plugin and existing add-ons.
Performance, reliability, and usability continue to guide our product decisions, informed by real-world feedback from our community.
Growing the Ecosystem to Meet Real Needs
We will continue to expand the LifterLMS ecosystem with new add-ons designed to solve real-world problems and support a broader range of online education models.
Accessibility as a Responsibility
Education should be accessible by default.
We are committed to ongoing accessibility improvements, enabling LifterLMS-powered sites to better serve learners across diverse abilities, devices, and learning contexts.
Removing Friction from LMS Site Building
At LifterLMS, we are in the friction-removal business.
In 2026, we will continue to simplify the LMS site-building experience, allowing eLearning creators to spend less time managing technology and more time serving learners.
Helping Education Entrepreneurs Earn More
Everything we build is designed to help education entrepreneurs monetize their expertise more effectively and sustainably, supporting financial, creative, and location freedom.
Education Beyond the Software
LifterLMS is more than a WordPress plugin software business. LifterLMS is both a media company and an education company.
Through our podcast, blog, documentation, courses, and other resources, we will continue creating practical, experience-driven content to help our users grow with confidence.
As an independently owned company rooted in community, continuous improvement, and learner results, we are excited about what lies ahead.
Thank you for being part of the LifterLMS journey. It’s great to be on the journey with you.
We look forward to seeing what you create next.
And that’s a wrap on 2025. Here’s to 2026!
– Chris Badgett & Team LifterLMS
