eLearning Software Guide

Why eLearning matters for modern businesses

In the world of enterprise learning, traditional classroom-based training often lacks interactivity and long-term engagement. As companies grow and employee expectations shift, eLearning software has emerged as a dynamic alternative, helping businesses create engaging, accessible, and impactful training programs. 

With the right eLearning development software, companies can transform their approach to onboarding, upskilling, and ongoing training. Whether you’re a startup or an enterprise, investing in the best eLearning authoring software means faster ramp times, improved knowledge retention, and better overall performance. 

What is eLearning software?

eLearning authoring software enables users to create digital learning content without requiring advanced programming or design skills. Also known as authoring systems, these tools empower HR teams, instructors, and subject matter experts to build interactive lessons, structure delivery, and assess learning outcomes. 

Effective eLearning authoring software typically includes three components: 

• Content organization 
• Delivery control
• Assessment tools

These elements make it possible to design custom training experiences tailored to your learners’ needs. 

Why use authoring tools for training?

Creating digital content from scratch with code is time-consuming and costly. Authoring tools remove this barrier, allowing companies to build high-quality training modules faster and at scale. Even non-technical team members can create, update, and share impactful content—freeing up time for coaching, feedback, and strategy. 

With authoring tools built into eLearning development software, companies can focus on: 

• Rapid content creation
• Continuous updates to training material
• Data-driven performance analysis 

Types of eLearning software

Different training goals call for different eLearning solutions. Here are three common types of eLearning authoring software: 

1. Text-driven E-Learning software
   
   Best for quick, straightforward lessons like compliance training. Content includes basic text, audio, and simple graphics. This format is ideal when the goal is to present key information as quickly as possible. 
   
2. Interactive eLearning software
   
   This format adds dynamic content such as charts, graphs, and video. It requires slightly more advanced tools and allows learners to engage with the material more actively and is ideal for product training or customer support modules. 
   
3. Simulation eLearning software
   
   The most advanced form of eLearning development software. This software relies heavily on multimedia (video, audio, animation) and can include custom-built simulations to help learners practice real-world scenarios.

Finding the right authoring software can be complex but the right eLearning software will help companies simplify the training process and save time, financial resources, and mental effort.

Key features of the best eLearning authoring software

Choosing the best eLearning authoring software depends on your team’s goals, size, and level of expertise. Here are the most important features to look for: 

Content Flexibility

Great eLearning software should support: 

• Rich text formatting 
• Video and audio tools
• Interactive charts and quizzes
• GIFs and embedded media (YouTube, Prezi, SlideShare)
• Documents and resources (Docs, PDFs)

Mixing up content formats keeps lessons engaging and helps learners retain information better. 

Mobile Accessibility

Modern learners want flexibility. Cloud-based eLearning development software should allow access from any device, anywhere—supporting work-from-anywhere environments and flipped-classroom approaches. 

User control and ease of use

Admin capabilities should be intuitive. Look for platforms where anyone (not just IT) can: 

• Create lessons
• Share via direct links
• Organize, tag, and label courses clearly
• Assign permissions for editing and access

Tracking and feedback

The best eLearning authoring software includes tools to measure: 

• Learner progress
• Assessment performance
• Certifications
• Completion rates

Built-in quizzes and feedback loops help both learners and leaders understand where support is needed. 

Easy to update

Training content should evolve with your business. Ensure your software makes it simple to revise content, add lessons, and keep training aligned with current processes or products. 

Rapid eLearning best practices

To get the most from your eLearning software, keep these best practices in mind: 

The flipped-classroom approach: We suggest taking the material you use to train and assigning it before work hours. Whether it’s before a first day or a new quarter, the material can be learned and then immediately exemplified by the learner.

Bite-size lessons: Shorter lessons and more frequent quizzing make for higher retention. Lessons should be under 15 minutes and questions should be sprinkled throughout

Content switch-up: We’re big fans of changing up the type of content within course creation software. Look for ways to provide training content via text, images, video, and more.

Ongoing training: Training doesn’t end after onboarding. Even seasoned vets need to learn new things. Ongoing training is important for everyone in the company so that everyone remains on the same page. eLearning software helps prevent messages from being mixed up and serves as a constant source for learning.

Finding the right eLearning software

Not all companies need a full L&D team to manage their eLearning software. Often, a single HR admin or enablement manager can oversee content creation and delivery. When selecting the right tool, consider: 

• Does your company already have existing content that could be repurposed?
• Do you need to create assessments or practice scenarios?
• Will content be delivered digitally, printed, or both?
• Does the tool support SCORM or other formats?

Answering these questions will help you narrow down the best eLearning development software for your needs. 

Comparing eLearning software options

When you’re looking for eLearning software, you are probably aiming for the right balance between a reasonable price, user-friendliness, flexibility, and range of options. However, with the number of options on the marketplace, it’s sometimes impossible to tell where to start. Should you prioritize the cost-effectiveness or efficiency of learning outcomes? What do you need your program to do? Who are you teaching?

You might consider reading customer reviews or comparing feature sets in a software directory. If you’re weighing two options, go beyond just cost and prioritize long-term usability and scalability.

eLearning authoring tools and features

The best eLearning authoring tools can be found for purchase individually, but a system with all the tools and the eLearning authoring software necessary proves time and time again to simplify the learning involved with onboarding and ongoing training. Look for eLearning development tools that support:

• Text formatting: Lessons with hyperlinks, bolded texts, and even underlined sections are easily to read and understand.
• Images: Learning material with images are more engaging.
• Video: If you’ve taken the time to put together really great how-to videos or have timeless videos that have worked well in past training, you can position those within a lesson.
• Embed: People have media all over different platforms these days. Look for a tool that allows you to embed other content from YouTube, SlideShare, Prezi, and more.
• Doc: Sometimes you’ll need to upload supplemental forms, guides, or resources, so look for a tool that supports .doc, .xlsx, .csv, and .pdf files.

Open source eLearning Software

Open source is significant these days. Many people find the idea of open source software very appealing, because it not only is free, it has the backing of hundreds and sometimes thousands of different designers. In instructional design, the contribution of many different minds often results in a great product, but just as with free eLearning software, there are some significant downsides as well.

In an open source eLearning software comparison, you not only have to think through an open source LMS comparison, but you’ve also got to make sure that you’re getting the best product possible. The thing about open source learning management systems is that they often incorporate the most cutting edge software, which isn’t always that user-friendly. “Cutting edge” might sound good, but sometimes this moniker translates to messy, barely-beyond-beta systems that make sense only to the people who designed them and not to the people trying to use them.

The other thing about open source LMS software to keep in mind before jumping in is that it usually doesn’t offer much support doesn’t supply compatible hardware and doesn’t come with warranties. While open source eLearning tools may add a valuable layer to your eLearning program, open source is not always the best way to go.

Free eLearning software

To leverage the explosive growth of eLearning and mobile learning in the past few years, many companies have jumped into the game for free. They provide free eLearning authoring software, allowing anyone to create and disseminate eLearning programs to their employees or the masses. Although free eLearning software has some definite upsides, there are plenty of downsides as well. Let’s consider a few of each.

Among the benefits of free learning management system software is the fact that any company can create and put out training materials to help better its systems and its employees’ knowledge base. Considering that in past creating eLearning materials has been cumbersome and expensive, this is no small thing.

However, the downsides include unreliable origins of such materials, the sometimes-poor nature of the design, and the unvetted safety of importing them onto company systems, where they can bring malware and viruses along for the ride.

The bottom line

The best eLearning authoring software helps businesses train faster, smarter, and more effectively. Whether you’re building onboarding programs, compliance modules, or ongoing education, today’s eLearning development software gives you the tools to build, deliver, and track engaging training at scale. 

By investing in the right eLearning software, your team can reduce ramp time, increase retention, and create a culture of continuous learning that supports long-term success. 

Make the switch to eLearning software

Seismic Learning is online training software for frontline teams. Our mobile platform makes it easy for teams and employees to learn when and where it’s best for them. Seismic Learning makes content creation intuitive and supports a variety of file types. Lessons and courses are quickly created and easily distributed to teams or individual employees. With the quizzing and open-ended question features, managers can see how well learners learn, track their progress, and gather feedback for further training improvements. Ready to learn more? Get a demo from one of our teammates and we’ll show you Seismic Learning in action.