5 Tips In Designing A Successful Online Course

When it comes to online courses, content is not the only element that needs to be developed. Design is as important as content, since the absence of a real life trainer makes it much more challenging for an e-learning platform to keep online learners interested and engaged. While content is essential in imparting knowledge and improving skill, design is key in maintaining attention and motivating retention. If you are in the planning to create an online course or if you need to improve an existing one, here are a few tips to help you design a successful online course.

Text Should Be Easy to Read

Use fonts that are easy to read, such as Arial or Verdana and avoid long paragraphs. Make it a point to keep content as simple as possible. When displaying text of a narrated course, the copy does not have to show the entire transcript of the audio narration. Instead, summarize the main points in bullets or short sentences.

Choose Appropriate Images

Images play a very important role online. They can attract the attention of your readers and in online learning, they can help your e-learners understand the content of your course better. Moreover, adding images in your online course helps keep learners interested in the course. It is ideal to work with a graphic artist or a professional photographer so your course contains original artwork. When choosing images from stock photos, search for those that are relevant and compelling. Make sure to use images that accurately represent the topic.

Negative Space is Good

Negative space, those empty spaces in between images and text, are good for creating balance and keeping your learners focused on what needs to be highlighted on your course. Placing too much content or images is definitely a no, as this distracts e-learners from noticing what’s really important. Just as too many people talking at the same time as the trainer is discussing in front of a training class prevents even the most dedicated trainees from absorbing the lessons, so does having too much of anything on an online course deters the most conscientious learner from really getting the point. Look at each page or slide and make sure that you can clearly see the point on each material, that there is no clutter to distract the learner.

Choose a Color Palette

Use a color palette consistently through the entire course. Choose colors that will set the right tone for the training. Research on color psychology and use this to guide you in selecting the most appropriate hues for your course. For example, dark blue is associated with intelligence and lack of emotion, making this the ideal color for online courses on technical skills. Gray evokes the same lack of emotion as dark blue, which makes them complementary. On the contrary, red is a color that depicts passion and determination, which makes it a good tone to use for online training for marketing and sales. It is also best to use contrasting colors to help draw the learners’ attention to key topics.

For anyone who aspires to teach online courses, these tips can greatly help in creating or updating a course that can more effectively impart information and keep learners engaged. 

Michelle Gonzalez has been writing for SMEs across the United States, Canada, Australia and the UK for the last five years. She is a highly-experienced blogger and SEO copywriter, writing business blogs for various industries such as marketing, law, health and wellness, beauty, and education, particularly on e-learning platforms such as www.teachable.com.