Are You Listening to Your Students?

You spend weeks creating a LearnDash course – planning lessons, recording videos, designing quizzes. But how do you know if your students are truly learning, enjoying, or even completing your course?

Guesswork doesn’t help. Student feedback does.

In this article, you’ll discover:

• Why collecting feedback is essential for course success.
• The best times to ask for feedback (without annoying learners).
• Do’s and don’ts of running feedback surveys.
• Practical examples of how to act on feedback.
• A step-by-step guide to adding post-course surveys in LearnDash.

If you’re a teacher, trainer, or website owner using LearnDash, this guide will help you create a better student experience, and ultimately, more successful courses.

Your website and courses exist for your students. Every video, quiz, and module is designed to help them succeed. That’s why feedback is critical.

Without it, you risk:

• Building lessons that feel too long or overwhelming.
• Designing quizzes that test memory, not understanding.
• Creating course flows that confuse rather than guide.

On the other hand, collecting feedback helps you:

• Understand how students navigate your content.
• Identify pain points and reduce course drop-offs.
• Improve course completion rates and satisfaction.
• Encourage retention and renewals because happy students come back.

Feedback closes the gap between what you think works and what actually works.

Timing is everything. Here are some touchpoints where feedback is most valuable:

• After enrollment – to understand onboarding experience.
• After a lesson/module – to check if concepts are clear.
• At course completion – to get overall impressions.
• After subscription cancellation – to uncover what went wrong.
• Post-purchase – to validate if expectations matched reality.

By asking at the right time, you capture feedback while it’s still fresh.

Surveys are powerful, but they’re not the only method. Consider:

• Quick polls: “Was this lesson clear?” (Yes/No)
• Open-text questions: “What’s one thing we could improve?”
• Analytics: Track drop-off points and completion rates.
• Surveys: Short, structured forms for deeper insights.

Using a mix of these approaches gives you both quantitative data (numbers) and qualitative insights (opinions).

• Keep surveys short (1-2 minutes max).
• Use multiple-choice options where possible.
• Show a progress bar to boost completion.
• Display one or two questions per page to reduce overwhelm.

• Don’t make every question mandatory.
• Don’t ask for unnecessary personal data.
• Don’t sneak in upsells.
• Don’t distract with extra information mid-survey.

If you’re running LearnDash, the easiest way to collect feedback is with a survey plugin.

One of the best options is Survey Maker.

• The free version has plenty of features.
• The premium version is affordable and unlocks more customization.
• It integrates smoothly with LearnDash workflows.

Here’s a simple way to collect feedback once a student completes a course:

1. Install and activate the Survey Maker plugin.
2. Create a survey and set it to allow only one submission per student.
3. Copy the survey shortcode. For example: [ays_survey id="33"]
4. Open your course edit page in LearnDash. Wrap the survey shortcode inside the course completion shortcode: [course_complete][ays_survey id="33"][/course_complete]

Now, students will automatically see the survey once they finish the course. This ensures you gather relevant, timely feedback.

• Too long quizzes? Break them into smaller, bite-sized quizzes.
• Students struggling to find resources? Improve navigation or add a quick-start guide.
• Low completion rates? Add reminders or motivational messages at key points.

These small changes can significantly boost student satisfaction and course success.

Listening to your students isn’t optional, it’s the foundation of creating engaging, effective courses. By collecting feedback at the right moments, using simple tools, and acting on the insights, you’ll build a better learning experience and a stronger LearnDash site.

✨ Pro Tip: Don’t just collect feedback, close the loop. Let students know their input shaped improvements. That’s how you turn feedback into trust.

Your next step: Set up just one feedback survey this week. Start small, two or three questions after course completion, and you’ll be surprised at the insights you gain.