Scaling a Hybrid Education Platform (WordPress + Custom LMS)

The client had a growing platform with a mix of in-person and online courses, but things were starting to break down behind the scenes.

Role: Tech lead

The Problem

The platform had evolved over time with contributions from multiple developers, resulting in a fragmented and overly complex system.

Key challenges included:

  • Disconnected ecommerce systems across Tutor LMS, WooCommerce, and membership plugins
  • Limited tracking and attribution, with no reliable ecommerce data being sent to analytics platforms
  • Performance bottlenecks impacting both user experience and backend operations
  • Plugin limitations, particularly within Tutor LMS, which lacked the flexibility needed for advanced business logic
  • Operational inefficiencies managing both online and in-person course offerings

This complexity made it difficult to scale the platform, measure performance, or confidently optimize revenue.

The Solution

I led a comprehensive restructuring of the platform, focusing on simplification, performance, and extensibility.

Unified Ecommerce Architecture

  • Consolidated all transactions into Tutor LMS native ecommerce, eliminating reliance on WooCommerce and other plugins
  • Simplified the purchasing flow for both online and in-person courses

Custom Plugin Ecosystem

  • Developed a suite of custom plugins to extend Tutor LMS beyond its native capabilities
  • Built a session-based enrollment system to support in-person classes with capacity management and scheduling logic

Analytics & Tracking Infrastructure

  • Implemented a full GA4 + Meta Conversions API pipeline using web and server-side Google Tag Manager
  • Built custom logic to push complete ecommerce data into the DataLayer, overcoming Tutor LMS limitations
  • Enabled accurate event tracking for key actions like course views, add-to-cart, checkout, and purchase

Performance Optimization

  • Improved database efficiency through targeted query optimization and indexing
  • Reduced unnecessary plugin overhead and streamlined asset loading
  • Implemented caching strategies to improve load times and scalability

Enhanced User Experience

  • Built custom filtering and browsing tools to help users navigate a large course catalog
  • Improved overall frontend performance and usability

Results

  • Contributed to a ~50% increase in revenue following system improvements
  • Significantly improved tracking accuracy and attribution, enabling better marketing decisions
  • Reduced system complexity, making the platform easier to maintain and extend
  • Improved site performance and reliability across both frontend and backend systems
  • Created a scalable foundation to support continued growth of both online and in-person offerings