Custom elearning content development for modern training in 2025

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As I look back on how training evolved, I’m happy to realize that in the end, online training is what you make of it. Through custom learning development, you lead the way toward what online education will look like for you—and for everyone else.

Now imagine we’d still be creating one-size-fits-all courses. We’d be stuck struggling with the same old training demands and challenges that come out of now understanding learners and failing to meet their expectations.

But custom elearning course development has and will be evolving massively. Next are some of my takeaways on why and how you can provide tailored online training through a couple of bespoke elearning solutions you should try out.

What is custom elearning content development?

When I talk about custom elearning content development, I’m describing what I do every day—building training that’s made-to-order, not pulled from off-the-shelf solutions. It’s me, you, any creator or training provider sitting down with a client and digging into their world.

Once you see generic courses, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and create something that will cater to every individual (as much as possible) in your learner base. That includes listening to and understanding their needs, challenges, and jobs to be done, pulling from these so you can create custom training materials, learning experiences, and ultimately growth opportunities.

Why businesses need custom elearning content in 2025

Businesses need custom elearning development primarily because it’s the only solution for them to address common, yet difficult-to-solve problems. Most of these learning challenges stem from a poor understanding of individual learner needs, and a poor delivery of educational content.

More specifically, personalized digital learning comes in to help. Let’s figure out how.

Adaptability to industry-specific training

No, a marketer won’t be able to learn how to run ads in the automotive space from a general ads course. My first marketing job was in this sector and when I switched to SaaS, I had to learn everything from scratch. That’s a lot of time, trial and error, and budget wasted for learners who have to figure out things on their own.

Off-the-shelf elearning courses are simply too broad for learners to instantly be able to apply the specific demands of a business. Custom elearning content, on the other hand, can reflect the exact context employees work in for example, and get them exactly what they need. And that does wonders for employees’ professional development.

As the Marketing and Innovation Manager at Raise3D, I’ve seen firsthand how custom elearning content helps address the unique complexities of our products and industry. The main benefits for us have been the ability to create highly specialized training that reflects the technical nature of 3D printing and additive manufacturing, while also aligning with Raise3D’s brand and innovation-driven culture.

Olivia Tian, Marketing and Innovation Manager at Raise 3D

Personalization for different learning styles

We all know that people consume educational content in different ways. But the “no two learners are the same” saying is actually true. Some thrive on visual aids and prefer interactive learning content while others need detailed text-based or audio explanations.

The challenge is that things aren’t even that simple. Think about how you prefer to learn. It’s likely more than just “I’m a visual learner”. You probably need a course to be structured in a certain way, quizzes to come in at the right time, and you might even want to pick out your own rewards.

With tools like AI and data analytics, businesses can do just that: Create content that adapts in real-time to deliver the right format for each individual, whether it’s bite-sized refreshers for experienced staff or in-depth tutorials for new hires.

Cost-effective & scalable training solution

For many of you, custom elearning course development might only be worth the money if you can reuse the content. The good news is that personalized corporate elearning development tends to be scalable. Whether a company onboards five or 500 recruits, the same program may be rolled out without added costs.

For my business, I require a highly customizable LMS to meet our specific needs, especially in terms of course design and user tracking. I’ve implemented an LMS that allows us to tailor the curriculum based on different employee roles, ensuring that each department gets relevant, targeted training. For instance, our sales team has a specific module on product knowledge and customer engagement, while our technical team focuses on troubleshooting and advanced system knowledge.

Nikita Sherbina, Co-Founder & CEO at AIScreen

How LMS supports custom elearning content development

Below, I’ll break down how different LMS capabilities contribute to custom elearning solutions.

AI-powered content authoring & automation

AI-powered authoring tools can help you speed up the creation of customized content by acting as “replacements” for creative assistants. Just upload a document you already have and the AI will generate drafts for your course outline, complete with lessons, quizzes, and even potential visuals. Automation comes in over this to handle repetitive tasks like formatting content, tagging it, and converting the text into voiceovers for accessibility.

Gamification & engagement tools

One of my favorite add-ons to an LMS is a gamification module. You’ll mostly see this as badges, leaderboards, and scenario-based activities within an LMS. Also look for advanced gamification strategies like social learning, virtual reality, or interactive scenarios that allow for role-playing as a deep engagement technique.

Mobile-friendly & on-the-go learning

An LMS simply gives you the right environment to host courses wherever learners want them. That includes any device, a dedicated app for mobile learning, and even offline access. Such flexibility means learners will be able to access training that meets their learners right where they are at, even on the go.

AI-powered adaptive learning paths

One of the hardest things to do without a LMS is to adapt learning paths to individual needs. Adaptive learning paths can use AI to create custom learning journeys that will be different for everyone according to their needs and level of proficiency.

LMS integration with HR & CRM systems

Key features

Pricing

You’ll choose between three plans (depending on the number of users) but the costs aren’t clear since they’re not transparent with their pricing.

*Pricing retrieved from LearnUpon in March 2025.

How to develop custom elearning content for your business

Over time, I’ve refined a step-by-step process that ensures the elearning content you create is effective, engaging, and matches your specific business requirements.

Below are the steps I suggest to help you achieve this.

Step 1: Identify training needs & learning objectives

The first thing I do is to assess what your business really needs. I normally sit and talk to the employees and managers to assess their challenges and pinpoint any skill gaps. At this point, it’s also a good time to understand why current learning strategies aren’t working for them.

You can simply take these core findings and set clear, measurable objectives for them. For example, if your sales team struggles with handling customer objections, one solid target is improving objection-handling skills by 30% (or similar).

Step 2: Choose the right LMS platform

Next, it’s time to select the best learning management system suited to your requirements. Easier said than done but the comparison above should give you a clearer understanding of which one will work for you.

If you need my help, I recommend sticking to the LMS that can help you with all your current struggles when it comes to employee training and development and customer education.

Step 3: Design interactive & engaging content

My various experiences in the course creation space made me realize that if the content isn’t captivating, people won’t care for it. That’s especially true if you’re also looking to sell your courses. That’s why you’ll want to consider including lots of interactive videos, diversified course libraries, and gamification.

Step 4: Implement AI-powered personalization

In my experience, AI is best used to adapt training materials and paths to each person. Your LMS should be able to tell you how someone’s doing and even adjust their next effective learning steps based on that progress.

In fact, AI comes in where you can’t. A common instance where you won’t be available is when learners need quick help or guidance so they can move forward with a course on their own.

Step 5: Track, analyze, and optimize training performance

Choose an LMS that provides data you can trust. We’ve already linked training with real outcomes, but that’s just on paper. You’ll need to go one step further to make sure that employees can actually apply their newly acquired knowledge.

That’s where you come in to look at the metrics and see if anyone needs to practice certain skills a bit more or can move towards a new career path, expertise level, or similar.

Final thoughts

I have spent a lot of time focusing on how to make the most out of custom elearning content development and trust me, it only becomes a game-changer if you prioritize creating a unique learning journey for your learners. Think about:

Remember that custom training doesn’t just apply to employee and customer training and, to an extent, customer onboarding. If you’re a course creator, you can make a statement in your space by delivering custom courses to individuals too.

Make sure of interactive videos, quizzes, and certificates to create unique learning experiences that don’t simply inform. Learner engagement and long-term learner retention and success are your primary goals.

Start your free trial to see how LearnWorlds can help you achieve just that.

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Alexandra Cote

Alexandra Cote is a SaaS growth marketer and online instructor who's worked with dozens of brands in the MarTech, HR tech, and productivity space. She's also a strong supporter of staying happy at work and choosing a healthy career path.