Thinkific for Learning Design: an honest review for course creators
If you're a Learning Designer, having a general understanding of popular course platforms is a must. Today, we're diving into a platform that's made a lot of noise in recent years: Thinkific. Whether you're building courses for clients, students, or your own business, understanding how Thinkific supports (or limits) Learning Design is key.
Hi, I'm Bianca Raby—educator, Learning Designer, and someone who has logged way too many hours exploring SaaS platforms. After building three very different courses on Thinkific last year, I'm here to give you the straight-up pros and cons from a Learning Design perspective.
Prefer to watch? I've made a video review here:
Thinkific and Learning Design: what works and what doesn't
Pros
Flexible page building:
Thinkific lets you create course pages using a blog-style layout. This means you can layer videos, quizzes, downloads, images, and text into a rich learning journey—a definite plus for creative Learning Design.
Custom branding:
You can style certain elements like buttons and headings to match your brand colors. It's a small touch, but for cohesive Learning Design, it's crucial.
Community features:
Thinkific has built-in spaces for social learning—communities and discussion threads directly tied to learning activities. This keeps learners engaged without leaving the course environment.
Easy previewing:
While you're building, it's super easy to preview your pages. This saves loads of time when refining the Learning Design experience.
Cons
Basic HTML capabilities:
If you want to style your course beyond basic formatting, you'll hit a wall quickly unless you know how to code—and even then, Thinkific's HTML options are limited.
Limited updates across modules:
Unlike more sophisticated LMSs, you can't easily update an element across multiple modules at once—annoying for larger courses in Learning Design projects.
No live chat feature for students:
For real-time engagement, you'll have to use external tools, which interrupts the learning design flow.
Minimal quiz variety:
If you're a Learning Design nerd who loves diverse assessment types, brace yourself: Thinkific only offers multiple-choice quizzes by default.
Restrictive course player customisation:
From a Learning Design standpoint, the inability to tweak the course player's look and feel can be a frustrating limitation.
My personal thoughts on Thinkific and Learning Design
Is Thinkific perfect for every course build? No. But for educators, coaches, and solopreneurs looking to create structured, attractive online courses quickly, Thinkific offers a lot of value—especially if you're not diving into heavy, complex Learning Design builds.
I'd love to hear your experiences. Have you used Thinkific in your projects? How did it support—or challenge—your Learning Design goals?
Until next time—stay creative, stay curious, and of course, stay awesome!