How to evaluate LMS platforms for customer education

Customer education has different needs than internal training. It has to scale easily. It has to be engaging. And it has to be effective.

That’s not something that every LMS can offer.

In this blog post, we’ll help you choose the right platform for you by exploring:

• Types of LMS solutions
• Evaluation criteria
• Evaluation process

We’re also sharing valuable checklists and ebooks, so keep reading.

Types of LMS solutions

Before you get into demos and pricing sheets, start with the basics: what kind of platform are you looking for? Here’s how four major LMS types stack up, so you can skip what won’t work and focus on what might.

Custom-built LMS

Custom LMS platforms are fully tailored to your product and built by your rules. You choose the features and the integrations. But, you also take on the build, the maintenance, and every update.

Good for: Teams with in-house developers, niche needs, or strict data rules.
Keep in mind: You’re building a product. This means the process is time-consuming and requires technical knowledge.

Cloud LMS

Cloud (SaaS) LMS platforms are built for ease. They’re out-of-the-box, hosted, and maintained. All you have to do is sign up, configure your content and branding, and you’re live. Vendors handle the infrastructure and updates. Most cloud LMSs offer a range of features that cover the basics and more.

Good for: Teams that want a fast launch and low upkeep.
Keep in mind: Flexibility may be limited, especially if you need deep custom flows.

On-premise LMS

On-premise solutions give you full ownership, since they’re installed on your servers and controlled by your team. But with that comes more responsibility: setup, hosting, IT resources, security patches, and slower iteration.

Good for: Enterprises in regulated industries or with tight data compliance needs.
Keep in mind: Requires internal IT capacity and long-term commitment.

Open-source LMS

Open-source platforms give you the code and let you do the rest. You can host it, tweak it, and build whatever you need, provided you have the technical skills. You also take on support, security, and updates yourself.

Good for: Tech-savvy teams that want full control without starting from zero.
Keep in mind: There’s no vendor to call when something breaks. Most open-source platforms don’t offer support teams, only community forums.

How do I evaluate LMS platforms for customer education? 13 criteria

Not every LMS is built for customer education. The right one should feel intuitive to use, easy to scale, and smart about the data it gives you. Here are 13 key lms features to look for.

1. User experience and interface

Your customer training LMS should be simple to navigate, even for first-time users, to keep customers engaged and undistracted during the learning process. Intuitive design allows customers to follow structured learning paths and facilitate the learning process.

2. Scalability

Customer education doesn’t stop at launch. You might start small and grow gradually. Whether you’re onboarding 100 users now or 10,000 next year, your LMS should be able to support this growth without the price skyrocketing.

3. Content management

You don’t want to chase down your dev team every time you need a new course. You should be able to create, organize, and update training materials on your own. Not only that—you should also be able to offer a customer training program that appeals and engages your audience.

4. Integrations

The ideal customer training LMS should talk to your CRM, your support tools, your product, and your data stack for seamless data flow. Integrations will also enable you to link customer behavior and business outcomes to your online training courses. Native integrations are great, but a solid API can also do the job and expand the existing functionalities of your customer training platform.

5. Reporting tools

Completion rates are a start. But what about drop-off points? Which lessons drive the most engagement? The right learning management system helps you go beyond vanity metrics and offers deep insights so you can measure ROI and make smart decisions about your customer training program.

6. Mobile learning

Responsive design is a must for learning management systems. Your customers are no different than any modern person: they too are attached to their mobile devices and prefer to use their smartphones over a laptop whenever possible.

7. Customization and branding

Choose a white label learning management system, so your brand gets the spotlight. At minimum, you need to match your colors, fonts, and logos. At best, you can brand the full experience, from login screen to certificates, without developer help.

8. Certificates and recognition

A certificate of completion signals value and can even help drive adoption. They’re the best way to reward customer progress and end this part of the customer journey. They’re a must for your learning platform if you want to monetize your training program.

9. Support and onboarding

When you hit a roadblock or need to roll out fast, vendor support matters. That includes onboarding materials available on demand and how quickly you can get support teams on the line.

10. Pricing and licensing

Choose a learning management system with a pricing model that fits your growth without the price increasing exponentially. Make sure you understand how you’re being charged (users, usage, features) and whether there are any hidden fees.

11. Automations

Look for a Learning Management System with rich automations. This feature enables organizations to manage their training programs at scale. Whether it’s auto-enrolling users, triggering reminders, or adjusting access based on user role, smart workflows make a big difference.

12. AI-driven features

An AI-powered learning platform can help you create, edit, and repurpose content with ease, saving you time and resources. This is a valuable feature for customer education which needs to be updated often.

Want to learn more about how AI can help? Watch our webinar to find out how we used AI to build our academy 10X faster.

13. Ecommerce

Unlike employee training that is created for internal purposes, training courses addressed to customers can often go with a price tag especially when they’re advanced or niche. But if you want to monetize your educational courses, your learning management system needs to offer an ecosystem of features that allows you to market and sell customer education with ease.

A 7-step evaluation process

Build effective customer training and improve customer satisfaction and retention with the right learning management system. Here’s how to pick the best platform for your customer education needs:

Evaluate your current setup

Before setting goals, get clear on what’s working and what’s not.

• How are we training customers today? (eg live sessions, support docs, email sequences, structured training program)
• What’s broken or time-consuming? (eg manual enrollments, low learner engagement, poor tracking)
• What is customer feedback telling you? (eg on-demand access, certifications, mobile learning?)
• What’s missing in our current tools or educational programs?

Set your goals (and stick to them)

Before looking at any LMS platforms, write down:

• What you want the LMS to do (speed up onboarding process, reduce support tickets, grow revenue from training)

• Who you’re building for (new users, power users, partners?)

• What success looks like (lower support costs? Higher product usage? Higher customer lifetime value? Training revenue?)

Make your checklist

You need a simple way to compare lms platforms, which can come in the form of an LMS scorecard.

Here’s how to build one:

• List the features that matter most (start with things like UX, integrations, analytics, mobile, etc.)
• For each one, write a short note: What does “good” look like for us?
• Rate each platform 1–5 on every item

Shortlist 3–5 platforms

No need to test-drive 15 different tools. Use these filters to single out the best LMS platforms for your training program:

• Does it support customer education, not just internal training?
• Does it check your must-haves?
• Does it fit your budget and team size?
• Does it offer seamless integration with your stack?

These are the basic questions to start with. If you want to dive deeper, we have just the right resource for you.

Book demos and try them yourself

Next stop in your own customer journey: seeing top contenders in action.

• Ask vendors to show real customer training use cases
• Test the platform yourself using your content (or a dummy course)
• Invite teammates from support, CX, or product to try it too

Compare and decide

Use your scorecard to rank your top options.

• Add up the scores and see which platform actually fits best
• Double-check the pricing and support
• Document why you chose it (it helps with internal buy-in)

Make the business case

Document why this is the ideal customer training LMS that will bring the desired business outcomes.

• Summarize your goals, key requirements, and scoring process
• Highlight the ROI (time saved, tickets reduced, upsell potential)
• Flag risks or limitations, and how you’ll mitigate them

Download our free ebook to make a solid business case and get executive buy-in.

Next steps

It’s hard enough to attract and retain customers. Choosing the right customer training LMS doesn’t have to be. Follow our carefully curated process and criteria and success is right around the corner.

LearnWorlds is a top-rated customer training LMS. See for yourself why our customers love us with a 30-day free trial.

Androniki Koumadoraki

Androniki is a Content Writer at LearnWorlds sharing Instructional Design and marketing tips. With solid experience in B2B writing and technical translation, she is passionate about learning and spreading knowledge. She is also an aspiring yogi, a book nerd, and a talented transponster.