Create Certification Program Online | Step-By-Step Guide

Do you want to create a certification program online?

You can create your own online certification platform on your own website using the best WordPress LMS plugin, LifterLMS.

Watch the step-by-step video tutorial below and read the whole article on how to create a certification program online on your own website that you own and control.

Create Certification Program Online From Scratch – Full Video Tutorial

Here is a step-by-step video tutorial on how to create a certification program online.

In this video, we create an example of a continuing education course in nursing where nurses earn continuing education units (CEUs) and a certificate of completion.

The software tools used in this video to create certification program online:

• LifterLMS (Free Download)
• LifterLMS Infinity Bundle (Includes all the add-ons below)
  • LifterLMS Stripe
  • LifterLMS PDFs
  • LifterLMS Groups
  • LifterLMS Sky Pilot Theme
  • LifterLMS Advanced Videos
  • LifterLMS Custom Fields

What is a certification program?

A certification program is a structured learning pathway that equips participants with specific knowledge or skills and culminates in a formal certificate as a credential that verifies their competence.

Unlike a simple course that might transfer information, a certification program often combines 3 elements:

1) Defined standards of mastery – Clear learning objectives map to specific, measurable outcomes, so every learner knows exactly what they must know, be able to do, or demonstrate by the end.

2) Assessment and verification – Quizzes, assignments, exams, or performance reviews are often used to ensure learners have actually met the standards, not just “sat through” content.

3) Awarding and tracking of credentials – Successful participants receive a digital and printable certificate that can be shared with employers, clients, or licensing bodies, and their achievement is recorded for easy verification and renewal tracking.

5 Benefits of Creating an Online Certification Program

Launching your own online certification program unlocks a mix of authority, revenue, engagement, and competitive edge that traditional courses alone can’t match.

Build authority with you certification program online.

By designing and governing a rigorous certification curriculum, you convert your expertise into an official credential that only you can grant.

The act of setting standards, assessing learners, and issuing verifiable certificates signals to the market that you are a definitive authority in your niche.

As graduates proudly display their digital certifications across professional networks, your brand becomes synonymous with excellence, amplifying your reputation and influence.

Earn a scalable income with an online certificate program.

Because certificates hold tangible career value, learners are willing to pay higher course fees, often as one-time payments bundled with optional annual renewal or continuing education charges.

Once the program’s curriculum and assessment engine are built, additional students can enroll indefinitely with virtually zero marginal cost, converting your expertise into a high-margin, scalable asset.

Layering in upsells such as coaching cohorts, advanced micro-credentials, or branded exam prep materials can further diversify and compound your recurring revenue streams.

Attract serious students who want a training certificate.

Students who enroll specifically to earn a recognized credential arrive with clear professional goals and a strong commitment to finishing every module.

Their drive to pass assessments and secure proof of competence translates into higher completion rates, richer discussion participation, online community interaction, and more enthusiastic reviews.

This motivated cohort also becomes a built-in referral network, championing your program to peers who share the same ambition and dedication.

Boost engagement with an automatic certificate generatior.

Modern learning management system platforms like LifterLMS generate and deliver a branded certificate the moment a student passes the final assessment, rewarding effort while motivation is still at its peak.

By removing the lag time of manual certificate printing or approvals, you keep learners’ momentum and attention on the course instead of on administrative delays.

That instant, shareable credential triggers a dopamine boost and social proof cycle, prompting students to celebrate publicly and attract fresh enrollments.

Stand when you design a certification program online.

By crafting a custom credential that carries your brand, you transform a typical course into the benchmark against which competitors are judged.

While others can imitate content, they can’t duplicate the authority embedded in your distinctive certificate design, verification link, and renewal criteria.

This exclusive value proposition draws high-caliber students and cements long-term loyalty, keeping your program top of mind.

How to Design a Certification Program Online

To create certification programs online, it’s important to get clear on your certification goals and strategy.

Once you get clear on your goals to create a certification program online, the implementation is far easier, as you have a clear vision for your online certification program.

Step 1) Define Your Certification

Figure out what exactly you are going to be certifying.

Clearly define who your certification will be for and why they want or need this certification.

Figure out what course, or series of courses, the student will need to complete to earn the certification.

Here are example high-level plans to create a certification program online:

Step 2) Create Your Online Course or Course Track

Certification happens on successful completion of a single course or a group of courses known as a course track.

As an example, I may offer a single course that certifies dog trainers in a specific technique of positive reinforcement dog training.

Or I may offer a babysitting certification that requires the successful completion of 5 different courses for the learner to earn the certificate.

Create the outline of your certification course and get started creating the course content. If you need help planning and creating your course content, explore this free training on how to create an online course with ChatGPT.

You will need a Learning Management System (LMS) to deliver your certification program online. Get LifterLMS, the best LMS for online certification.

Follow the step-by-step instructions in the LifterLMS Quickstart Course to launch your online courses on your website.

Step 3) Choose Certification Program Requirements

As your course content and certification plan is coming together, you need to decide what the user has to do to earn the certificate.

The simplest passive option is to award the certificate on completion of all the lessons in the course.

But there are many “barriers” you can enforce before a certificate is earned, like:

• Complete all the lessons in the course
• Successfully pass a quiz or series of tests (with or without manual grading)
• Successfully complete an assignment or series of assignments
• Complete some action outside of the LMS website (like an in-person assessment)

Decide on your mix of requirements that need to be met for your certification. LifterLMS can handle all your requirements as you create a certification program online.

Step 4) Figure Out What Your Certificate Design Needs Are

What information do you want to have on your certificate?

As a starting point, most certificates have a background. This certificate background typically contains an ornamental border to frame the content. The background itself is typically white or a light color.

Think about the classic high school or university diploma framed on the wall as a model for certificates.

Here are some ideas for the types of information you can put on your certificates:

• Certificate title
• Student name
• Earned date
• Information about the time of validity
• Course completed
• Certificate name
• Course instructor or institution name
• Points or continuing education credits
• Present by
• Signature of certifier
• Seal of authenticity
• Logos of organizations behind the certificate

How To Create an Automatic Certificate Generator

LifterLMS is a learning management system that contains automatic certificate generator capabilities.

LifterLMS certificates can be set up once and delivered automatically when students meet the requirements you set through a feature called engagements.

Individual student certificates generated by LifterLMS are dynamic, which means the automatic certificate generator will merge in the student’s name, earned date, a certificate id, or any other dynamic data you require on your certificates.

Certificate Components: Create Certification Program Online

The components of a certificate include:

• Certificate template name – This allows you to keep track of and organize your certificates in the learning management system (LMS).
• Certificate content – The static content (never changes) and dynamic content (changes based on the user) that will be published on your certificate when earned. The name of the course is an example of static content. The student’s first name, last name, and “earned date” are examples of dynamic content.
• Certificate background image – The background image that sits behind the certificate content. Certificate backgrounds are typically a blank content area in the middle and a decorative frame design that acts as an ornamental border around the certificate content. There are hundreds of certificate background designs you can choose from in the LifterLMS Graphics Pack, which is included in the Universe Bundle and Infinity Bundle plans.

Online Certificate Design

To design a certificate template, follow these steps:

1. Give your certificate a name
2. Choose your certificate background
3. Enter the static and dynamic content for your certificate
4. Publish and save your certificate template design

Automatic Certificate Generator Setup

Next, you will set up the rules and conditions required to generate and award a certificate to a student automatically.

An automatic certificate generator setup in LifterLMS is accomplished through engagements.

Create an engagement that awards the certificate automatically by selecting the course, or course track, that needs to be completed successfully for the student to earn the certificate.

When setting up a certificate engagement, follow these steps:

1. Choose the “Triggering Event.” This is usually course completion.
2. Choose the specific course to target under “Select a Course.”
3. Under “Engagement Type,” choose Award a Certificate.
4. Under “Select an Engagement,” choose the certificate template to use.
5. Under “Engagement Delay,” choose how soon the student will get the certificate after they complete the course. I recommend leaving this blank, so they get it instantly.

Here is an example setup for a LifterLMS certificate engagement using LifterLMS’s built-in automatic certificate generator technology:

While you may be using course completion to trigger the certificate, keep in mind that you have options to add quizzes, tests, and assignments inside the course to test competency as well.

You can also add the LifterLMS Advanced Videos add-on to make sure students watch every second of every lesson video before they can complete the lessons, and ultimately, the entire course.

How To Track Certification Program Completion: Create Certification Program Online

Once your students earn their certificates, they get an on-screen notification that they have earned a certificate, and they can download their certificate from the student dashboard.

Certificates are also viewable and accessible in the LMS reporting.

Figure out what you want to happen with the certificates once they are earned.

Some examples of what could happen related to certificates after they are earned are:

• Student download them, print them out, and hang them framed on their wall
• The site admin reports certification to a governing body
• Students add the certification to their resumes
• Students publish their certification on their business or personal websites
• Students share their certificates on social media

Certificates in LMS Reporting

LifterLMS site admins can access their students’ certificates in the LMS reporting and easily view and download them.

It’s up to you what you want to do from here, as someone who created a certification program online with your students’ certificates.

How Students Access Certificates

Students can easily access their certificates from their “My Certificates” area in their student dashboard.

If you have the LifterLMS PDFs add-on installed, your students can download the certificate as a PDF and do whatever they want with it, including printing it out.

Certificate Sharing

LifterLMS has a feature called “certificate sharing,” where students can choose to allow their certificate to be shared as a public web page or URL.

If your students enable certificate sharing, their certificate is viewable on a unique URL which can be shared across social media, from any website, in emails, or anywhere else internet links are allowed.

Learn more about certificate sharing here.

10 Online Certification Program Examples

There are many types of people in various niches who set out to create a certification program online.

Creating a certification program online could be a goal for education entrepreneurs who want to make money online teaching what they know.

Organizations offer certification programs to improve the skills of their members and the general public.

Some employers require continuing education certification for their employees to get or keep their jobs.

Schools of all kinds offer online degree programs culminating in a diploma, which is a type of certification.

Here are some example certification programs that others have done and you could offer through your website using LifterLMS:

Health Coach Certification Program

A wellness expert certifies students in holistic health coaching through structured modules, quizzes, and a final assessment.

WordPress Web Designer Certificate

A freelance developer teaches others how to design and build WordPress websites, with certification awarded after portfolio completion and review.

Yoga Instructor Online Certification

A yoga school offers a remote teacher training program that certifies students to lead classes, including video submissions and peer reviews.

Corporate Sales Training Certification

A sales consultant delivers an online training and certification program for companies to upskill their teams in prospecting, closing, and CRM usage.

Dog Trainer Certification Program

An animal behaviorist creates a structured course to certify professional dog trainers, using assignments, scenario-based quizzes, and observation videos.

Nutritionist Certification for Fitness Coaches

A fitness nutrition coach certifies personal trainers in macros, client planning, and meal strategy, with a final test to earn credentials.

Digital Marketing Specialist Certificate

A marketing agency owner trains students in SEO, paid ads, and funnels through project-based learning and a digital certificate.

Online Bachelor’s Degree Completion Program

A university offers adult learners the ability to complete their bachelor’s degrees online in fields like business, psychology, and IT.

Continuing Education for Licensed Therapists

A continuing education (CE) provider delivers board-approved online courses to help licensed therapists meet ongoing licensure requirements, with tracking and auto-certificates.

Professional Development for K–12 Teachers

A school district or educational service provider offers asynchronous professional development (PD) courses to help teachers meet annual requirements and build teaching skills.

Online Certification Program Case Study

Tim McIvor from SchoolPsych.com used LifterLMS to create continuing education and professional development certification for school psychologists.

Tim offers continuing education credit certifications using LifterLMS, which school psychologists need to keep their jobs.

Click here to see the full story about how Tim used LifterLMS to create a certification program online.

Your Next Steps To Create Your Certification Program Online

Get started with LifterLMS today and create a certification program online from your website that you own and control.

FAQ’s For Create Certification Program Online