Develop Learning Management System like Canvas
Cost & Features to Develop Learning Management System like Canvas
You might have heard the name of Canvas, one of the most popular learning management systems out there in the market. The tool has a decent user interface and provides a lot of functionalities that can add value to your business. The only drawback that one might find in the Canvas LMS is the price point at which they offer their services or the sheer fact that it is an online cloud-based system. There are tons of enterprises that look for a learning management system just like a canvas with slightly added features, So what will be the cost to develop something as robust as Canvas LMS? Well in this post we are going to discuss exactly the same so make sure you read it till the end.
A Learning management system is one of the key ingredients in eLearning services and employee training. While in the past the application of such a system was limited to eLearning platforms that had a great number of users, nowadays every enterprise, every eLearning platform, no matter the scale, is using an LMS. Even the centralized sectors such as the army & defense have adopted ALMS as their prime focus is to provide efficient training to the newest additions to their forces. These systems are highly functional and can help in creating a perfect hierarchy in the learning process. All the data is available at one single destination making it easier for the student to access their courses. Also, administration becomes super easy as now the experts have command over every student in just a few clicks. The system brings transparency as all the experts can track the progress of the learners and even the learners can know where they exactly stand in their batch.
Overall, an LMS is a need of the hour and canvas LMS is something that can be considered as an ideal match for the horizons of businesses. Now that you are aware of the use cases and needs of LMS, let us cut the chase and jump right on to the cost and features.
What Features Do You Need to Design Something Like Canvas?
There are so many custom LMS development companies that can help you bring your vision down to reality and draft a perfect learning management system as per your requirements. However, when you talk about creating something specifically like canvas, you need to know the USPs that the software offers and how you can actually reach the same level. If you are in the market for anything, you need to have a list of features that you look for and the same goes for the LMS. If you are yet to figure out what sort of properties your learning management system must have, then take a look at the features mentioned below as these are the top in-demand features that canvas LMS provides -
- Open-source
- Collaborative workspace
- Integrated Content
- Web standard browser
- Integrated LTIs
- Opensource API
- Multimedia messages
- Content customization
- Profile customization
- Third-party services integration
- Shared resources
- Detailed Analytics
- Web conferencing & RSS support
- Mobile integration
- Dedicated app center
All these features along with a simple mechanism that brings a great User Interface is the strength of Canvas. Every system needs to have a distinctive identity when it comes to a UI; however, integrating functionalities in a simple interface is much better than complicating the presentation in order to make a unique user experience. All these features are the highlights that attract the consumers and hence people looking for an LMS solution in the market go for canvas LMS.
Cost to Develop an LMS Like Canvas
Now, you already know the features that you have to integrate, the functionality that you need for a robust LMS, try to understand what is the exact cost of developing something like Canvas on your own. One of the advantages that you have in your hands is that canvas is an open-sourced product that can be molded as per your requirements. Currently, the brand itself has multiple payment structures that they offer their customers. They do have a free trial method as well for 2 weeks but that is their way of presenting their product to the masses, if you are an enterprise who is looking for a more robust and efficient custom LMS that caters to your own needs and vision, you can actually get it done as per your budget, however, the cost actually depends on various factors like -
- Number of Users & Scale of Platform
It is very important to understand how you are going to use the platform. The possibility is that you are an eLearning brand that wants a centralized LMS for thousands of students on your platform and it is also possible that you need an LMS to maintain a record of the new employee learning programs and understand which fresher is ready enough to move forward. For every type of solution, the resources can be limited, and hence the cost can be set accordingly. It also gives you a perfect peek into the maintenance cost that you may have to bear after you make the system work.
2. Integrations
There are times when organizations look for integrations in their LMS to make things easier. For instance, CRM-LMS integration or any sort of tool can be made to work in sync with the LMS which in turn saves a lot of time and effort while maintaining the quality and integrity of the data that you yield. Also, you can rest assured that all your students are doing well and finishing the courses as you get the leads accumulated in one place. Adding these integrations may raise the cost of an ordinary LMS. Canvas does support integration hence you also need to ensure whether it will be of use or not.
3. Team & Experts
If you want to create an in-house solution, you will need to hire developers, quality analysts, and all the other important members of the team who will work solely on creating the final product for you. The best option to optimize this cost is to outsource custom LMS development to a company that already has all the aspects sorted. Else you will have to spend on hiring which might add more to the current costing. You can never deny that gathering a really good team for the purpose can become a headache and hence this decision significantly decides what will be your budget and how you can optimize it.
4. Added Features
It is not necessary that all the features that you found in Canvas are what you need, it is very well possible that you take something extra into consideration. For instance, you might want to implement gamification in multiple sections rather than keeping it limited to the dashboard. In all fairness, it is like a buffet you choose what you want to have. The only difference is you only pay for what you choose. You can easily add or subtract any feature when you go for custom LMS development and hence you have the ability to take control and get yourself a system similar to that of Canvas LMS.
These factors when combined with the hard work of a team along with the vision can create an LMS that may even turn out better than the current canvas. Whenever you have a team of experts of a custom development company you can maximize the results and minimize the development cost.
In Conclusion
If you are looking for a digit-wise cost, only a well-defined company can give you that however, you need to understand that you will have to spend thousands of dollars if you want to achieve something like canvas LMS. Sure you can minimize the cost by going to the correct custom LMS development Company and above all, an accurate vision to achieve. If you are confused right now about what you exactly want, you can take consultations from any IT service. A few of them like A3logics even provide the discussions for free. There is no point in hesitating in reaching out. Hope this post helps you understand the core concepts behind the costing and features of canvas LMS and what it will take you to develop a learning management system like Canvas. Good luck!
