Whilst a larger LearnDash project occupies much of our time in the studio, we’ve been able to squeeze in some smaller updates, customisations and improvements to several client websites and e-Learning systems this month…
Improving LearnDash reporting with DataTables
We’ve recently added additional custom reporting to an e-Learning system built on LearnDash and WordPress multisite. The customer needs to report on completion and various other data from across several sites and organisations. The data for these is displayed using the a library called DataTables, giving the customer the ability to filter and search the reports as you would if you were using a spreadsheet such as Excel – but with live data from the LMS.
The customer has several reports which they need run frequently, but their requirements change from time to time which. To save time, we have built the system so they create new reports based on filtering the data in DataTables and re-run these with a couple of clicks.
The customer also needs to provide their own customers with reports from time-to-time; to facilitate this we’ve given the ability for any of these reports to be downloaded as CSV or PDF files.
Using Gravity Forms to enhance the membership sign-up process
One of our clients has a professional membership program using the Paid Memberships Pro plugin on their WordPress site. They asked to us to enhance the user experience when new members sign up. The standard sign-up form in Paid Memberships Pro doesn’t allow for much customisation so we used Gravity Forms to create a more user-friendly sign-up form, introducing pagination to break it down into a series shorter forms, making it less overwhelming and easier to complete. Gravity Forms also allows users to save their details and continue when ready, so they don’t lose information if they break off part way through completing the sign up process.
The new sign-up form integrates with Paid Memberships Pro to ensure the new details are registered as a new member and the client can manage the memberships through the plugin in the same way they had before.
Website improvements for local law firm
We worked with one of our law firm clients on tweaks to their current WordPress website. They run regular webinars which they advertise via their news section. The news article displays the date when the article is published and this was being confused with the date of the event. We therefore customised the category for events and webinars, removing the published date and organising the events into past and future events to make it clear when the events are taking place.
We also added a new section to their author bio blocks on their news articles, adding links to other articles published by the same author. This makes it easier for website visitors to find related content and the client can showcase the expertise of each person in the company.
Extra traffic requires website (and hosting) optimisation
One of our clients is preparing to run a large event in Leeds and is anticipating an increase in traffic to the website in the run up to the event and during the event with visitors accessing programme information. We wanted to make sure the website and server can handle the additional traffic without causing any downtime or performance issues.
It’s also best to pre-empt any increases in bandwidth requirements and put systems in place to deal with this effectively, so we used Cloudflare to improve performance and reliability and made some crucial tweaks to their dedicated hosting server to speed up the website before the event.
Website changes for EV Charger company to gain FCA approval
One of our clients is currently applying for Financial Conduct Authority authorisation to provide credit terms for customers paying for Electric Vehicle (EV) charging units. To comply with the FCA, the client needed to add additional wording to their website footer with their FCA registered details.
They were also required to provide illustrative payment plans for customers to see exactly what the credit terms were and how much they would pay. We therefore added a block to their website to display these illustrations which they can add to any page and customise.
E-learning client for Training website
We’ve been working on a solution for a client who needed the ability to edit questions in a LearnDash quiz without impacting users who are partway through. Previously, users could save a quiz halfway through, but if a previous question was changed by the training provider, they would be prevented from continuing with the quiz, causing user frustration. As a provider of training for a popular piece of software, learning materials change regularly as updates to the software are made.
As a workaround to this LearnDash limitation, we have written functionality on the user profile screen which shows the client any quizzes that are in progress for the learner and gives them the option to check a box to remove the learner’s progress in any quizzes. This resets the quiz and allows the learner to start again without any issues.
Sheffield Women in Tech – join us on 11th June
Bring your own lunch and chat with other women working in tech at our next event in Sheffield. This informal event brings together a supportive and friendly group of individuals to discuss the opportunities and unique challenges faced by women in the tech industry. Steph at Delicious will be co-hosting the event and flying the flag for female web developers.
Find out more and book your place here.
