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If you’re deciding on which online course platform to choose there’s a chance you’ll be presented with a variety of possibilities. It’s a standout due to its numerous useful features.

There are a variety of factors to look out for when using an online course platform and Thinkific is one of them. Keep reading this Thinkific Review below and discover more details about its distinctive features and benefits.

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A brief overview of Thinkific Review Wix And Thinkific

Thinkific is among the more well-known options for selling and creating online courses. In addition to having an easy-to-use design, this platform comes with ready-made templates that you can use for building your brand site.

With just a few mouse clicks, you’ll get to create and sell online courses without any prior knowledge. The drag and drop feature of the site makes it easy to get started.

Online course creators will be particularly interested to know about the advanced quiz elements for every course you make. These can make your lessons more interesting to the students.

It is an online builder of course s. lets you upload different kinds of files to enhance the content of your Thinkific course.

And like most online courses platforms, Thinkific offers email marketing tools and third-party app integration. You can distribute email sequences through Thinkific itself, or through external apps like MailChimp, Zapier, etc.

Continue reading through this Thinkific review to find out more about this popular online learning platform.

Pros

  • Easy-to-use drag & drop editor
  • Efficient course site builder
  • Templates that are pre-made
  • Different payment options
  • Features for marketing and sales
  • Options for student management
  • Feedback capabilities for students
  • Affordable customer support
  • Lifetime access to the free plan
  • No transaction fees , or hidden charges

Cons

How do you define Thinkific?

Thinkific is a cloud-based online course platform. This means that anything you make on it is stored online and automatically backup. It makes course creation easier and easy.

Additionally that, as it is a Learning Management System (LMS) offers many customizable options for instructors. You can create an easy course, and then upload other resources to enhance your lesson.

If you’re one of those instructors who like writing your course offline prior to uploading it, then Thinkific is just right for you. You can do just that and then upload the course later to the internet.

Thinkific also hosts all web pages that you create with it, so you can upload whatever content you want.

You can create an entirely new online course site even with no design experience also. There’s no need to endure a lengthy learning curve using Thinkific It’s that simple.

There are also plenty of marketing and distribution options to accelerate the selling procedure of your Thinkific course. There is an online marketplace community that you can sell courses on and interact with other creators of courses.

Additionally, Thinkific is also a great option for people who already have their own website but want to improve their marketing and gain more students. You can link third-party sites to Thinkific for a greater reach public.

Features and Benefits of Thinkific

In this Thinkific review We break down the key features and benefits which help Thinkific distinguish itself.

Drag and Drop Editor

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The way that your courses appear on your site will greatly impact conversion rates. That’s why we love that Thinkific comes with a drag and drop editor. It makes it easier to organize your website and digital products.

You can rearrange the courses and lessons however way you want. There is no need to learn complicated codes or methods. You just have to select the item you’d like to display and drag it over to the place you would like it to appear.

Almost all of the important elements needed to create a website that looks professional are covered by the Thinkific editor. From logos to the color schemes and fonts, you’ll find everything you need from the site.

If you’re looking to go the extra mile to make your site, there’s still the option to input CSS and HTML codes into Thinkific. It’s your choice to choose.

Plus, you can also use drag and drop for uploading supplemental materials to your classes. The majority of types of media file can be uploaded with the uploader of your editor. You can upload audio files, quizzes and PDFs to enrich your class.

Even the quiz types you design can be easily modified using the editor. Just choose which assessment type you would like to include in your class and then drag it to the appropriate place. You can choose from types of surveys, type forms as well as multiple-choice assessments as well as many more.

Course Site Builder

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Thinkific goes beyond just its drag and drop editor. Its general course website builder can be effective in getting everything all set up and up and running.

As we mentioned earlier, Thinkific does its own web hosting. This means that you won’t have to worry about uploading limitations. Your online storage is basically infinite when you’re using Thinkific.

If you’re thinking about domains, Thinkific lets you choose a unique URL that you can use along with its subdomain. Your URL will look something like this: .thinkific.com

So, your website is more memorable and easier for students to remember.

If you prefer to avoid the Thinkific subdomain, you have an option to get the domain as a separate domain for your website. It’s just a matter of paying an extra amount for it.

Templates Pre-Made

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Regarding the course site builder, Thinkific has a slew of pre-designed layout and course templates that you can make use of. It will help you avoid having to design your website completely from scratch.

The platform gives you template choices, depending on the type of Thinkific course it is that you’re creating. If, for instance, you’re creating an introduction to course, you can choose the mini-course template. For assessment and culminating it is possible to pick a review template.

As for themes and layout templates There are many to pick from. And once you’ve chosen something which is appropriate for your style, Thinkific offers settings to modify the colors, fonts and design of the elements of the template.

In addition, there is no need for you to input complicated code or words. All you have to do is click on what you want to include on your site and drag it to the layout.

But yes, if you’re still interested in using HTML and CSS There’s an option to do so.

You may also rearrange and reorganize the elements of your website at times. The different sections can be placed in a chronological order so that your students are aware of which lesson to prioritize.

Payment Options

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In terms of payment options, Thinkific offers options to incorporate Stripe and PayPal into your website. With these third-party payment processors you will be able to access your earnings in as soon as 1 to 2 days.

It’s a stark contrast to other online course platforms with a payment time of 30 days. With Thinkific, you can withdraw more quickly.

Payment-Options

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Students you can offer them one-time payment plans or an installment-based subscription plan. Additionally, you can offer bundles, discounts, coupons, and bundles with the payment option they pick.

Take note that when you use the one-time payment scheme your customers will have to pay one-time transaction fees in addition. Same applies to the installment subscription scheme, except that transaction fees are split over the period of installment.

Sales and Marketing Highlights

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In addition to being an online course creator, Thinkific is also effective in promoting online courses. As already mentioned, it includes features that let you create and sell courses with only a couple of clicks.

After you have published the course you may immediately put it up for sale by using the Market and Sell choice on the menu on your Dashboard.

From there, you are able to alter your website’s design to improve the conversion rate of your visitors. You can improve how your checkout and sign up pages will look like to the users. So they’ll be more enticed to check out the online course.

You can also improve how your courses are displayed on your site. Enhance their visual appeal by separating them into categories that users are able to easily navigate.

In addition, as we’ve discussed previously You can also bundle your courses using discounts coupons and freebies. That way, your users will be enticed to sign up longer to your course.

A sales widget could be made using Thinkific. It’s essentially a button you can embed to other third-party sites that will direct users to your platform for courses. It is possible to personalize them to have a specific design and color scheme so they appear more consistent with your brand too.

Thinkific also lets you create an affiliate program to help you reach more audiences. On the website, you can create affiliate links to transmit to the affiliates you have. These links will be used in order to bring their followers to your platform and enroll in a class.

And once the affiliate program is in operation, you can access its progress on the Thinkific site. You’ll get to monitor the revenue, sales, and other commissions.

In the end, you have the option to integrate other applications to Thinkific. If you’re looking into email marketing campaigns, Aweber is a great tool that you can sync directly with the account you have.

Student Management

Student-Management

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An LMS can not be successful in the absence of covering all aspects of online education. And that includes keeping an eye on student progress.

Thinkific offers a user-friendly student management system. With it, you are able to easily pull up the contact information of your students and basic information.

You can also customize the sign-up form for your subscribers to ask for specific details. The template from Thinkific asks for names, email addresses, along with contact number. If you’re seeking specific information, simply switch your settings to add a new field to the form to sign up.

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Once you have your subscribers pooled, you can then categorize them, depending on which courses they have signed up for. So, you can track them by course more easily.

In addition, with the Premier and Pro plans, you can also search for a specific user by his/her dates of enrollment, courses enrolled as well as job-type. There are many different categories you can choose from when you explore the page.

Student Feedback

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Thinkific is not only focused on the course creators but also students. So, feedback from students is highly encouraged when you’re taking the course.

A lively discussion between students and instructors can significantly reduce the learning curve of lessons.

There is a discussion area on Thinkific wherein students can post questions about their online courses. From there, the course instructors can reply and clarify with answers.

Students can also choose to review and rate the courses they’ve attended. The ratings will reflect the quality of the online course instructor as well. This way, course instructors can prove their expertise on Thinkific.

The reviews will also help other students decide whether or not a particular course is suitable for them. It reduces the likelihood of a student being dropped out during the lesson all of abruptly.

And if creators of courses are concerned that the reviews could potentially affect them negatively, they don’t have to. They’ll have to decide if they want a review published or not. Thinkific will never publish them without permission.

A good method to keep students engaged is to provide them with regular updates. Thinkific allows instructors to send push notifications to their students when they update their content or other resources via the website.

Customer Support

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Finally, as is expected from systems for learning management, Thinkific does quite a great job with its customer service.

Before you sign-up, you can access case studies and article guides on the official website. You can also access videos and product demonstrations which you can browse.

Once you’ve signed up, you can access Thinkific’s Help Center. Thereare resources that will aid you in understanding selling online courses.

Thinkific includes guides, articles as well as training videos to guide you through the interface. Plus, as stated earlier, there are also forums for users to express your worries. Users and instructors can respond to help you out.

For more serious issues you may submit an online request for help from the service team. If you’re a subscriber to an Enterprise plan, or higher you get priority response.

The only problem is that Thinkific does not offer live chat, but it does have. You just have to wait to see if they respond.

How Thinkific Works

Like every other review of course platforms like any other course platform review, this Thinkific review will help you understand how to start using Thinkific. It is as easy as following these six simple steps.

Step 1: Create an Account

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First, sign up and set up an account on Thinkific account. The account will automatically be subscribed to the free trial upon registration.

Step 2: Customize Your Course Player

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Once you have a login and you have it, you can begin to customize the course players. You can use a specific colour scheme to ensure it matches your brand logo and themes.

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Your course player is what your customers will be using to access the content of your course. Audio files, videos, and quizzes will all be accessible through your course’s player.

Step 3: Design Your Course

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After that, you can design the online class. Utilizing the course Builder software, you can create a new course by adding lessons, modules and other documents to it.

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The course material can be broken down into sections and categories. You may also assign your online courses custom labels that facilitate searching.

Step 4: Personalize Your Site

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Once your content is all set, you can finalize the design of your website. With Thinkific You have the option of customizing every landing page to suit each course you’ve got.

The Thinkific Site Builder lets you set a color scheme and the theme of our homepage. This is where your courses will be set up. Students will be able to look through it and decide the one that interests them from there.

You can also customize the landing pages for each course. It’s best to choose a slightly different look for each course to make them easily identifiable, yet blend into all of your branding.

Step 5 Step 5: Name Your Website

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The next thing to do after content, course player and customizing are completed is to name your site. Make sure that your name is memorable, but still the right fit for your business.

Step 6: Publish Your Course

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Finally, once everything is set, you can publish the course. To publish, you just need to decide on a price and specific payment information.

A card that is referred to as a course will have to be created. The course card will be the one that appears on your students’ dashboards. If they view it they’ll be able get a quick overview of your online course and content.

A well-designed course card can prove invaluable when marketing courses through Thinkific.

What is the need for improvement on thinkific

While there’s plenty to like about Thinkific however, it’s not without a few shortcomings. This Thinkific review we’ve listed down what we think can still be improved.

Limited Quizzing Features

We think Thinkific does an excellent job in creating courses and uploading content however, we believe that the quiz features could be enhanced.

The assessment template available on Thinkific is extremely basic. Although it’s sufficient to gain an understanding of what your students know, it isn’t enough for asking more complex questions.

If you’re content with the short, check-up-style quizzes at the end of each course, then that’s what Thinkific can offer you. If you have questions that require more time and more precise outputs It’s a good idea to consider a different platform.

The absence of Email Marketing Tools

As previously mentioned, Thinkific can be integrated with third-party applications , and these include tools for marketing via email. However, it doesn’t come with email marketing tools of its own.

Though there are many third-party tools that work but it would still be nice if Thinkific already had the software by itself. It would’ve sped up the process.

No live chat support

We’re sure that the response from customer service is quick, it still does not make up for the fact that there is no live chat option.

Users with more urgent issues aren’t likely to get them resolved quickly. They’ll be forced to sit and wait for the response, especially if they aren’t subscribed to the paid plans.

Thinkific Pricing

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Thinkific has three paid plans you can sign up to. And upon signing up, you’ll first be able to sign up for a free plan without any fee for transactions or other hidden charges.

Thinkific Free

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The free plan offered by Thinkific is unique in that, unlike other plans, it doesn’t expire. You can use the free plan for as long as you want to use Thinkific. Wix And Thinkific

Apart from being free, it also doesn’t charge any hidden fees or transaction costs regardless of whether you sell courses. It’s ideal for course creators who want to cut down on expenses or for small-scale business owners that are just starting out.

With the Thinkific free plan, you can create three courses that you can customize by incorporating your personal branding. It is possible to enhance your courses by adding quizzes, other materials and more as well.

You can enroll in a quantity of pupils, and automate the sign-up process, monitor their progression. Surveys can also be distributed to them, so you can gauge their opinions about the course they’re studying. Wix And Thinkific

Thinkific’s free plan also allows one administrator for your site, multiple instructor profiles, and 24 hours access to your student data. You can even keep track of the click rate and conversion rates of your students.

The free plan allows search engine optimization for your content. That way, your courses will be easier to find by your customers. You can also embed third-party applications and websites to your own website to improve the user experience.

Thinkific Basic

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Thinkific Basic costs $49 per month. However, if you decide for a payment plan that is annual, it’ll only cost you $39 per month.

With it, you get all the same features that the free plan has along with additional benefits that are premium. First, you are able to create unlimited courses. This way, selling your courses is also easier. Wix And Thinkific

Another benefit you won’t have on your free subscription is the option to drip your content, mail coupons, or access analytics.

To put it into perspective, first, to drip content, you must release data to your students at an interval that is set and gradually. Additionally, you can mail coupons with discounts or other freebies to learners that might need extra motivation to stay subscribed. The third option you can access are the affiliate reports and conversion rates.

With this plan it is easy to integrate the third-party tools that you’d like to use. This includes Zapier, Aweber, and MailChimp as well as others.

Additionally, you can make a custom domain for your site using the base plan. No need to use the Thinkific domain to host your website’s URL any longer.

Thinkific Pro

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Thinkific Pro costs $99 per month but if you get annual billing, it’s $79 per month.

This plan get all the same features that you get with the Free Basic and Basic plans. The only distinction is that you have greater options for setting up and advantages.

The Thinkific Pro plan lets you have two site administrators and five course administrator accounts. Additionally, there will be advanced course pricing options and editing HTML/CSS codes. Wix And Thinkific

You’ll be able create exclusive courses which only a limited number of users can access as well. Plus, you can offer discounts and membership packages to your subscribers.

Course creators can also use the more advanced assessment, quiz and assessment features.

Growth Package

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And with The Pro plan, you can avail something called a Growth Plan that you can take advantage of. The thing about it is that once you get more than 100 people subscribed to your plan, Thinkific will automatically charge you an extra fee in addition to the monthly fee of $99.

However, don’t worry because the cost of your subscription grants you access to extra features. It is possible to send large quantities of emails, use third-party toolsand groups your users according to various requirements.

Thinkific Premier

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The Thinkific Premier is the least expensive plan. It is priced at $499 per month. However, when it is billed annually, it costs $399 per month. Wix And Thinkific

If you’re subscribed with this program, you’ll have access to all of the same features available to the Basic, Free as well as the Pro plan. What makes it stand out and a higher cost is the fact that it’s targeted at bigger companies with more members.

This Thinkific Premier plan lets you have 5 site admin and 50 courses admin accounts. There is also a feature called a Single Sign-On (SSO). This is helpful when you have a huge bulk of users who need access to the same web page.

The plan also includes an onboarding package which is an onboarding call lasting 30 minutes along with a launch preparedness review and online training guides.

And you’ll also get access to the Growth package at a lower fee. There’ll be a fixed rate that you just have to pay.

Thinkific Reviews

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People who’ve used and reviewed Thinkific especially appreciate how affordable it is. Even with the free plan, you’ll have access to helpful features. And there are no fees hidden, so you don’t end up spending more than you planned to.

And other users also loved the white-labeling function of Thinkific. It lets you improve your brand’s image, even if it’s just a small company.

Finally, many educators love working with Thinkific because it’s great for learners. It’s easy to navigate and explore.

“I found it interesting that this site had the option to upload files within the discussion. I’m happy I chose this particular option as others require the % of income, and you have to wait longer for money. No transaction fees!” -Anonymous

“I liked that you could create the access portal, courses, and the payment methods in one interface, without the need for additional software. I especially like how simple you can set up up the courses up if you have your curriculum designed and it has white-labeling.” – Anonymous

“Thinkific lets you begin producing courses for free and will keep them for free for the rest of your life. Really, this is the best way to master course development without spending a dime.” -Anonymous

“Thinkific made it easy to create & run our online course for financial advisors. The support team at Thinkific was always quick to respond and helped us to understand the process. I also love the fact the ability to white-label and use an individual domain.” – Anonymous

“Classes were more fun, entertaining, and easy particularly for our students who were older. Teachers loved using it to build their classes and share their ideas.” -Anonymous

Alternatives to Thinkific

In case this Thinkific review hasn’t convinced you of the capabilities of this platform as an online learning platform If you’re still not convinced, check out these two alternatives:

Kajabi

Kajabi is among the first online course platforms that is likely to be recommended to you once you begin asking questions. It’s an all-in-one system that lets you create and promote your courses online. Thinkific is like Kajabi in this way.

When you subscribe to Kajabi, you’ll be able to create your own course and then add content. The platform offers built-in templates and themes that you could modify your website right from the beginning. The editor on your site allows you to add several sections and sales pages to your courses. Wix And Thinkific

For quiz functions It is a step ahead over Thinkific because it has more advanced options. It allows you to create more customized quizzes and assessment types. Additionally, you can host webinars and video tutorials to ensure greater clarity in teaching.

Many educators particularly love the idea of rewarding their pupils with certificates for every accomplished course. Additionally, they are able to send content out to their subscribers, just like Thinkific.

Another difference Kajabi differs over Thinkific has to do with the fact it offers superior marketing features. Though Thinkific does let you easily market your online courses, it does not allow you to create an automated sales funnel which could make your process more well-organized.

Kajabi also offers email marketing tools and email automation, which is different from Thinkific. You don’t need to install an application from a third party to send out email sequences and broadcasts to your customers.

You do have to note that Kajabi is more expensive than Thinkific.

READ: Kajabi Review the All-in-1 Online Course Platform

Teachable

learning-platform

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In addition to Kajabi, Teachable is Thinkific’s other closest competitor. This is due to the fact that they share lots of similarities as online course platforms.

Teachable’s interface is user-friendly and has helpful features that will assist you in creating content. There are themes pre-designed that you can utilize to make your site appear attractive even if you don’t have any previous experience in web design.

As with Thinkific instructors are able to choose to drip content they share to their subscribers.

But what is what sets Teachable different from Thinkific is its quiz options. Instead of having basic templates, Teachable lets you customize your assessments and quizzes.

And like Kajabi it is possible to organize webinars and videos to encourage participation from your customers. It is also possible to include a sales page to your online course for higher conversion rates.

Another thing we like about Teachable is the ability to give your subscribers certificates after each course they take. And , unlike Thinkific, Teachable has email marketing tools you can use to send mass emails to your users.

READ: Teachable Review – Unlimited Course Creation Features

Read: Kajabi vs. Teachable

Final Verdict on Thinkific Review

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Thinkific is a great product with a lot of strengths which make it worthy of the cost of a subscription. For one, it’s extremely simple to use. You can design a unique online course and then market it, even if a first-timer.

Additionally, it comes with pre-made templates and layouts to simplify setting your site. It isn’t necessary to enter complicated CSS or HTML code to create professional-looking websites.

If you select any of these paid options, you get access to advanced options that will improve your brand. You can forego using the Thinkific subdomain and instead use Advanced users will set up their own domain names with hosting and create the majority of the pages on their site on their own URL.

You can even incorporate third-party apps to Thinkific in particular since it doesn’t have its own integrated marketing tools for email.

Students can also interact with instructors online via a discussion forum on Thinkific. Students can easily ask for help with classes and ask questions regarding their courses. The teachers can assist questions promptly.

Customer service isn’t terrible as well. It’s a priority for replies in the event you’re on the other paid plans. However, keep in mind that it has no live chat function.

Overall though, our verdict on our Thinkific Review is it’s well worth a test. Particularly if you’re just beginning to become a author, Thinkific seems to be a good starting point for developing courses.

The free plan lasts for the duration of time, unlike other platforms. If you’re tight on money this is a great choice as you’ll be able to access incredible features at no cost at all.

We highly recommend that you test Thinkific out.

If you liked reading this Thinkific review, you may also read through our review on one of the Best Online Course Platforms available today . Click here.

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About the author

jack_morris

Jack has worked on the video production, audio mastery, and physical coursework for over one-hundred popular online courses to date. He’s here to share his experiences with you, as well as show you what tools are worth your time, how to spot those that aren’t worth a penny, and above all else, how to keep yourself informed about how to navigate online course creation efficiently and effectively.