11 Popular (Free) Plugins Used with LearnDash

By: Justin Ferriman • August 29, 2017
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Every single WordPress site out there uses plugins, and usually more than one.

In order for you to achieve the perfect learning environment configuration you will need to use a combination of plugins. It is one of the reasons why people choose WordPress in the first place. The hype of “all in one” is just that: hype. A true all-in-one option doesn’t exist (nor should it) because not everyone’s learning program has the same requirements.

Now over the years we have seen a lot of LearnDash powered learning programs. And yes, they all use multiple plugins to achieve their desired goals.

Some of the plugins are free while others are paid/premium. While it is rare for us to see a plugin that is on every installation with LearnDash, here are some of the more popular free plugins we have seen.

  • LearnDash Course Grid – A favorite for those who want more flexibility for how courses are displayed. Also comes with useful shortcodes to display only courses of a certain tag, category, or enrollment status.
  • BuddyPress for LearnDash – When BuddyPress is needed (and some of the more popular themes recommend it) then we see this plugin being used.
  • WooCommerce – When elaborate pricing & selling needs are required then it doesn’t get much better than WooCommerce (though a strong case can be made for Easy Digital Downloads).
  • CartFlows – Allows you to build high-converting sales funnels for your courses using WooCommerce. See a full tutorial here.
  • YoastSEO – What good is your course if no one can find it? YoastSEO has been a staple in this space for a long time.
  • LearnDash Toolkit – A popular choice for many who are looking to add some extra functionality to their LearnDash courses.
  • Sucuri – The go-to choice for bolstering your WordPress site’s security settings.
  • Akismet – Comment spam is a thing of the past when you have this installed. This arguably a “must-have” for any WordPress site.
  • User Role Editor – If you have a need to manage or modify the WordPress (and LearnDash) user roles, then there are few better options than this plugin.
  • Google Analytics for WordPress – The choice for people who want to see not only their site activity but also details around their course offerings (such as which ones are being visited the most).
  • Toolset Types – The more advanced LearnDash users leverage this plugin to create additional fields for the LearnDash custom post types.

Justin Ferriman

Justin started LearnDash, the WordPress LMS trusted by Fortune 500 companies, major universities, training organizations, and entrepreneurs worldwide. He is currently founder & CEO of GapScout. Justin’s Homepage | GapScout | Twitter