LearnDash

How to integrate LearnDash with Webflow

LearnDash and Webflow have no native integration due to their different architectures. LearnDash requires WordPress hosting with PHP and MySQL. Webflow generates static sites with separate infrastructure. Connect these platforms using API integration (application programming interfaces that enable communication between different software systems), automation platforms, or direct linking methods.

API integration provides the most control and flexibility for connecting these platforms. Build custom integrations using LearnDash REST API v2 and Webflow Data API for complete control over data synchronization, real-time updates, and tailored workflows that automation platforms can't provide. API integration enables use cases automation platforms cannot support: custom-branded course enrollment from Webflow forms with conditional logic, real-time student progress dashboards with live completion percentages, bidirectional data synchronization for course catalog management, and automated certificate displays triggered by specific milestone combinations.

For simpler implementations without real-time requirements, use automation platforms with pre-built integrations. For basic course discovery, use direct linking from Webflow pages to your WordPress LearnDash installation.

Native features, direct embeds and widgets

Link from Webflow pages directly to your WordPress LearnDash installation, or embed LearnDash course pages using iFrame elements—both low-code methods that require no API integration. Direct linking sends users to your WordPress domain for course access while maintaining Webflow for marketing and informational pages. iFrame embedding attempts to display LearnDash content within Webflow pages using Webflow's HTML Embed element, which allows users to add custom HTML code including iframes without coding knowledge.

Direct linking use cases:

• Create course catalog pages in Webflow with "Enroll Now" buttons that link to LearnDash course URLs
• Build marketing landing pages in Webflow that direct users to WordPress for course delivery
• Design member dashboards in Webflow with links to individual course pages on WordPress

iFrame embedding limitations:

• Requires responsive CSS adjustments to prevent display issues
• May break LearnDash's interactive features like quizzes and progress tracking
• Creates cross-domain authentication challenges
• Limits design control over embedded content
• Can negatively impact SEO since course content remains on WordPress URLs

Direct linking provides the most reliable user experience. iFrame embedding introduces technical complications that often outweigh any perceived integration benefits. For most implementations, use Webflow for course discovery and WordPress for course delivery with clear transitions between platforms.

Use automation platforms

Connect LearnDash and Webflow through automation platforms like Zapier or Make without writing code. Set up LearnDash webhook triggers using either the WP Webhooks plugin or the official Zapier Add-on to send course completion data to Webflow CMS Collections, enabling you to display student achievements on your Webflow-designed dashboard or showcase pages. Webhooks (automated HTTP callbacks that send real-time data when specific events occur) enable automation workflows that create CMS items in Webflow when students complete courses, update student profiles, and trigger email sequences.

Webflow-specific workflow examples:

These workflows show exactly how Webflow connects with LearnDash through automation platforms:

Automated enrollment from Webflow form submission:

• Trigger: New Webflow form submission ("Course Interest Form" collection)
• Data mapping: Extract email, name, selected course from Webflow form fields
• Actions:

1. Check if user exists in LearnDash via email lookup
2. Create LearnDash user if new (map Webflow "name" to WordPress "displayname", "email" to "useremail")
3. Enroll in course using POST /wp-json/ldlms/v2/sfwd-courses/{course_id}/users with user ID
4. Create Webflow CMS item in "Student Dashboard" collection with fields: student-name, enrollment-date, course-title, status="enrolled"

Progress tracking from LearnDash to Webflow CMS:

• Trigger: LearnDash "User completes course" event
• Data received: userid, courseid, completiondate, certificateurl from LearnDash webhook
• Actions:

1. Retrieve existing Webflow CMS item using student email as lookup
2. Update Webflow "Student Dashboard" collection item via PATCH /v2/collections/{collection_id}/items/{item_id}
3. Map fields: completion-percentage=100, status="completed", completion-date={LearnDash completion_date}
4. Publish Webflow site to make changes live

Student achievement showcase:

• Trigger: LearnDash "Course completed" + course_id matches certification courses
• Filter logic: Only proceed if course title contains "Certification" or course_id in [123, 456, 789]
• Actions:

1. Create new item in Webflow "Graduate Showcase" collection
2. Map data: student-name={LearnDash userdisplayname}, course-name={coursetitle}, graduation-date={completedon}, certificate-image={LearnDash certificate_url}
3. Set item to "Draft" status for manual review before publishing

Certificate displays on profile pages:

• Trigger: LearnDash "Certificate awarded" webhook
• Data mapping: certificateid, certificateurl, award_date from LearnDash
• Actions:

1. Find corresponding Webflow user profile by matching email addresses
2. Update Webflow "Member Profile" collection
3. Append certificate to "achievements" multi-reference field
4. Update "total-certifications" number field by incrementing value

Dynamic course catalog sync:

• Trigger: LearnDash "Course created" or "Course updated" (requires WP Webhooks Pro subscription because these are advanced workflow triggers—the free version supports essential triggers like course completions, lesson completions, and enrollments, which cover most common integration scenarios)
• Data received: courseid, title, description, price, featuredimage_url
• Actions:

1. Check if course exists in Webflow "Course Catalog" collection by course_id
2. If exists: Update via PATCH request mapping LearnDash fields to Webflow slug names
3. If new: Create via POST request to Webflow Collections API
4. Map fields: name={title}, slug={sanitized title}, description={description}, price={price}, thumbnail={featuredimageurl}

The Zapier LearnDash integration supports 11 triggers including course completions, lesson completions, quiz passes, and group enrollments. Make.com's LearnDash integration provides 6 triggers including course completions and 9 actions including enrollment management—when students complete courses in LearnDash, Make.com can automatically update their profiles in Webflow CMS Collections with completion status, certificates earned, and progress metrics through custom API call functionality for advanced workflows.

Implementation considerations:

Setup requires API credentials from both platforms. Provide these through the automation platform's connection interface. Workflows introduce latency between trigger events and resulting actions—typically seconds to minutes. Automation platforms operate on event-triggered workflows rather than continuous real-time synchronization. Each workflow action consumes platform "tasks" that scale with usage patterns. Both platforms must remain accessible via their APIs. This requires Webflow plans with API access and WordPress hosting with REST API enabled. Test workflows with sample data before activating for production use.

Build with Webflow and LearnDash APIs

Build custom integrations using REST APIs when automation platforms can't handle your specific workflows or when you need real-time synchronization. The LearnDash REST API v2 uses the namespace ldlms/v2. It provides endpoints for course management, user enrollment, progress tracking, and quiz results. Authentication uses Basic Authentication (a simple authentication scheme where credentials are sent with each API request) with WordPress Application Passwords. The Webflow REST API (base URL: https://api.webflow.com/v2) handles CMS collections, form submissions, and site publishing using Bearer token authentication.

Important: The LearnDash REST API v2 is currently in beta status. Endpoint specifications, response schemas, and authentication requirements may change before general release. Plan for potential breaking changes in production implementations and monitor official documentation for updates.

Create middleware services (middleware are server applications that sit between different platforms to translate data and manage communication) that listen for LearnDash events and call Webflow APIs. Or pull data from both platforms for custom processing. Authentication uses Basic Authentication with WordPress Application Passwords for LearnDash per LearnDash REST API authentication guide. Use Bearer tokens for Webflow per Webflow API authorization reference.

Note: Webflow enforces rate limits of 60-120 requests per minute depending on your plan tier. For bulk operations syncing hundreds of users, implement pagination, request queuing, and exponential backoff strategies to avoid HTTP 429 errors. Schedule bulk synchronization during off-peak hours to minimize disruption and stay within rate limits.

User enrollment workflows

Enroll users in LearnDash courses based on Webflow form submissions or e-commerce purchases. Retrieve form data through Webflow form submission endpoints. Call LearnDash course enrollment endpoints with POST /wp-json/ldlms/v2/sfwd-courses/{course_id}/users. Provide user IDs in the request body as {"user_ids": [1, 2, 3]} to enroll single or multiple users simultaneously.

Create users in LearnDash first if they don't exist, then enroll them. Query existing users with GET /wp-json/ldlms/v2/users/{user_id}. This retrieves user profile and enrollment information before enrolling them in courses. Handle authentication by storing WordPress Application Passwords securely. Include them in Basic Auth headers for all LearnDash requests, using the format: Authorization: Basic <base64-encoded-credentials>.

Course progress synchronization

Pull completion data from LearnDash to update Webflow CMS collections for student dashboards or public achievement displays. The LearnDash user course progress endpoint returns completion status, completion dates, progress percentages, lesson and topic progress, quiz attempts, and scores via GET /wp-json/ldlms/v2/users/{user_id}/course-progress/{course_id}.

Update Webflow CMS items with progress data using PATCH /v2/collections/{collection_id}/items/{item_id}. Provide field data that matches your CMS collection schema. Publish staged items with POST /v2/collections/{collection_id}/items/publish. Or publish the entire site with POST /v2/sites/{site_id}/publish to make updates visible on the live site per Webflow CMS publishing guide.

Webhook-based event handling

Implement webhooks (automated HTTP callbacks that send real-time notifications when events occur) to receive real-time notifications when LearnDash events occur. LearnDash does not provide native webhooks. Use the WP Webhooks plugin to translate WordPress action hooks into HTTP webhook requests. Configure webhook endpoints that receive course completions, lesson completions, quiz results, and enrollment events.

Your webhook endpoint receives JSON payloads with user IDs, course IDs, completion timestamps, and quiz scores matching the structure defined in LearnDash progress tracking schemas. Process these events and call Webflow APIs to update CMS collections or trigger other actions. Respond with HTTP 200 status codes immediately to acknowledge receipt. Process data asynchronously to prevent timeout issues.

Course catalog management

Sync course listings from LearnDash to Webflow CMS through automation platforms like Zapier or Make. Retrieve courses using the GET /wp-json/ldlms/v2/sfwd-courses endpoint with query parameters like status=publish (filter to published courses only) and per_page=50 (control pagination) to paginate results efficiently. Course objects include titles, descriptions, pricing, categories, and metadata. Map these to Webflow CMS collection items. Use automation workflows that monitor for course updates in LearnDash. Then programmatically create or update corresponding Webflow CMS items via the Webflow Collections API.

Create corresponding Webflow CMS items using POST /v2/collections/{collection_id}/items. Use field-value pairs mapping LearnDash course data to Webflow field slugs. Update existing items when course information changes using PATCH requests to PATCH /v2/collections/{collection_id}/items/{item_id}. This requires custom API development or third-party automation platforms like Zapier or Make. Implement one-way synchronization (LearnDash as source of truth) or bidirectional sync based on your content management workflow and technical resources.

API implementation requirements:

Host middleware on servers or serverless platforms to avoid CORS issues with browser-based JavaScript. Store API credentials in environment variables. Rotate them regularly per Webflow API security best practices. Implement exponential backoff when encountering API limits. Handle authentication failures by regenerating tokens and retrying requests.

Maintain dual hosting infrastructure with WordPress for LearnDash and Webflow's hosting for static sites. Users move between platforms during their workflow, so implement consistent branding with matching colors, fonts, and logos.

What you can build

Build hybrid e-learning platforms that combine Webflow's design tools with LearnDash's course delivery. Organizations use Webflow for marketing pages and user interfaces while maintaining LearnDash's course delivery on separate WordPress hosting.

• ‍Corporate training portals: Build employee onboarding portals using Webflow for the dashboard interface (displaying assigned courses, due dates, team progress) and LearnDash for actual course delivery (video lessons, quizzes, assessments). When employees complete courses in LearnDash, Zapier workflows automatically update their Webflow profile pages with earned certificates and skill badges pulled from LearnDash's certificate endpoints. ‍
• Membership course sites: Create membership sites using Webflow's native membership features for login and access control, combined with LearnDash for course content delivery. Members browse available courses through a custom Webflow catalog built with CMS Collections that displays course titles, descriptions, and preview videos synced from LearnDash via automation. ‍
• Student achievement showcases: Build public portfolio galleries in Webflow that automatically update when students complete courses in LearnDash. As learners finish programs, automation workflows create new showcase entries in your Webflow CMS Collections. These entries display student names, completed courses, earned certificates (URLs pulled from LearnDash), and project work. The Webflow-designed gallery serves as both student motivation and social proof for potential new enrollments. Connect LearnDash completion events to Webflow CMS through Zapier or Make automation workflows that map certificate data to Webflow collection fields.‍
• Custom course marketplaces: Design course discovery and enrollment experiences in Webflow with filtering, search, and preview functionality built using Webflow's CMS and Interactions. Display course metadata (titles, descriptions, pricing, instructor info) synced from LearnDash through automation platforms that periodically fetch course data via LearnDash's REST API. When users purchase courses through Webflow forms or e-commerce, automated workflows trigger LearnDash enrollment via the course users API endpoint. Users then access the full course content, interactive lessons, quizzes, and assignments on the LearnDash platform hosted on WordPress.