Learning and development is a strong driver of employee engagement and retention. The ability to learn and grow in a role ranks as a top factor in whether employees feel motivated and committed to their work. If we want to retain top talent and build a future-ready workforce, investment in L&D is essential.
Why, then, are so many L&D teams are stuck using antiquated or cumbersome tools? The opportunity gap cannot be understated: 35% of companies say they lack the right training content for their L&D efforts. By employing the proper tools, you enable your team to design content quickly, educate more easily, and enjoy greater success.
In this article, you’ll learn what course authoring software is, why it’s important, key benefits to consider, and how to choose the best tool for your L&D team’s needs.
What is Course Authoring Software?
Course authoring software refers to any program that allows educators to design and deploy custom learning content. These applications focus on creating great content and making the content creation process easy—whether through a rich-text editor, support for various forms of multimedia (text, video, audio, etc.), or a user-friendly interface. Many course authoring tools also extend beyond course design to hosting and data tracking.
Why Use a Course Authoring Tool?
Even the most experienced educator or instructional designer can struggle to bring their vision to life without the right support. Too often, creating eLearning content requires extra skills like graphic design or coding—skills many L&D teams don’t have built in. With the right course authoring tool, however, anyone can be empowered to create engaging, visually appealing learning experiences without needing to be a designer or developer.
And it’s not just about building eLearning content. You also need to keep it relevant and make sure it seamlessly reaches your learners. The best course authoring software makes updates simple and ensures content flows smoothly into your LMS, without endless file uploads or complicated workarounds. (With Intellum Evolve, you can easily create, preview, and update your training content in real time so your learners always have access to the most engaging and up-to-date experiences.)
Benefits of Using Course Authoring Software
At a high level, course authoring software makes life easier for you and your L&D team—but what about the specifics? What sets this software apart in a world increasingly dominated by artificial intelligence and other automation tools?
Here are five benefits to consider when weighing your next software purchase.
1. Better learning experience
Course authoring software empowers L&D teams to deliver training that is both engaging and relevant. Instead of relying on static PowerPoint presentations or outdated PDFs, the right tool makes it easy to incorporate interactive elements like quizzes, videos, branching scenarios, and simulations—keeping learners actively involved and improving knowledge retention.
Just as importantly, modern authoring tools support personalized and adaptive learning, allowing content to be tailored to different roles, skill levels, or learning preferences. This means each learner gets a more meaningful, efficient experience that meets them where they are and helps them grow faster. The result is training that feels more engaging, impactful, and directly connected to the learner’s success.
2. Maintenance made simple
As you amass content, you’ll need to store it somewhere. In the past, course upkeep was a constant headache. Depending upon your design system or tech stack, you might have spent more time updating SCORM files or syncing content than actually creating content. It isn’t a scalable practice, and it certainly doesn’t benefit you or your learners.
Now, some course authoring tools interface seamlessly with a learning management system (LMS). These platforms are built from the ground up for today’s digital-first world. Use LMS content creation tools to scale your education efforts and provide uninterrupted service to your learners.
Did you know? In 2019, Intellum acquired the Evolve content authoring tool. By embedding the power of Evolve directly within the Intellum platform, we’ve seen completion rates improve by as much as 20%.
3. Increased collaboration
In the past, reviewing a course meant exporting files, uploading them into your LMS, creating private versions for review, and then collecting feedback in scattered documents or emails. Not only was this process slow, but it also made feedback hard to track and contextualize. Modern tools change that. With Intellum Evolve, for example, reviewers can access courses directly and leave in-line comments—much like in Google Docs. This means feedback happens in context, right where it’s needed, making collaboration faster, clearer, and far less painful for everyone involved.
4. A central source of truth
When working together on an eLearning course, you must have stability. Businesses operate on tight deadlines with little margin for error; the last thing you need is for a software tool to crash or for your data to get corrupted.
Most modern tools offer cloud infrastructure. As with any cloud-based authoring tool, that means constant syncing, cloud backups, and centrally hosted information. Anyone on your team can access the latest iteration of your new eLearning course or certification, preventing silos and ensuring stakeholders never review outdated content.
5. Advanced data tracking
You can build the most ambitious eLearning program in your industry—but without clear visibility into learner performance, it’s hard to know if it’s truly working. While most LMSs and authoring tools allow you to track basics like course starts, progress, and completions, advanced course authoring takes data a step further. With tools like Intellum Evolve, assessment and tracking are built into the learning experience. You can see not just whether a learner completed a course, but how they engaged with it—what content they viewed, how long they spent on it, and how they performed on quizzes and assessments. When paired with a suitable LMS, this data can be logged, reported on, and analyzed to surface who’s excelling and who may need additional support. On the Intellum Platform, you can even pass learner data back into the course itself, enabling personalized learning experiences tailored to each individual. The result is deeper understanding of learner behavior and a more targeted, effective approach to driving knowledge, skill development, and long-term performance.
What to look for in a course authoring tool
Determining the best eLearning authoring tools ultimately comes down to you and your team. Different types of authoring tools fare better for certain needs than others. Each organization is unique, and no two L&D teams will tackle education in the same way.
Here are some authoring tool features to consider when narrowing your shortlist.
1. Robust editing tools
If you’re designing courses, you’ll be spending a lot of time within the software itself. That time should be a pleasant experience! Make sure the tool works for your content developers.
Prioritize software that packs a visual punch—both on the back end and on the front end. The editor should be rich with features (animations, interactive widgets, conditional blocks, etc.), and the interface should be easy to use.
Do you know? Intellum’s content authoring tool, Evolve, helps hundreds of companies worldwide—including Google, Amazon, Meta, and KPMG—design and deploy effective education strategies. In our webinar recording, learn how marketing agency Kinesso uses Evolve to streamline its eLearning efforts.
2. Seamless uploads
Your tool of choice should also be speedy. The longer it takes to publish content or sync changes, the more downtime your learners face. And when an audience can’t find or access the latest content, they aren’t likely to stick around long to wait for it.
Look for a software tool or platform that avoids those lengthy SCORM uploads and automates the busy work for you. The faster your software, the easier it’ll be to engage and retain audiences when they’re at their most impressionable.
3. Shared collaboration
Even if your L&D team is an army of one, collaboration is a must in today’s remote-first environment. According to LinkedIn, L&D teams are finding a seat at the executive table more often now than they did two years ago. What’s more, 90% of executives plan to increase or maintain their L&D budgets moving forward.
As an education advocate, your efforts are more visible than ever. With more stakeholders invested in your work, it’s important to show that work—literally—through shared collaboration. Skip the screen recording, and find software that enables stakeholders to take an active role in the design process.
4. Modular content blocks
Scalability is everything in a world fixated on growth at all costs. Thankfully, modular content makes the process easy. Make sure your course authoring software allows for reusable content.
If you create a course or widget for one certification, you should be able to repurpose it elsewhere with zero hassle. Even better if the tool allows you to segment by user role or location.
5. Integrated hosting and tracking
The best course authoring software tools don’t live in a vacuum; they integrate with everything else you’re already using. Choose an editor that also functions as a holistic learning management system. That way, any content you create can be published and hosted without needing to hop between tools.
Data tracking is another must. When you’re using an integrated platform, it’s easier to ensure clear, clean data to pull from. Especially if you don’t have a dedicated business intelligence or web development team to help you, an all-in-one content tool will pay dividends in both time and effort.
Author Next-Level eLearning with Intellum Evolve
Intellum is the leading education platform for any team looking to accomplish more, faster. Our content authoring tool, Evolve, allows you to create visually stunning courses that keep learners engaged for longer. Publish updates in real time, and collaborate with others so everyone has an active stake in your organization’s education program.
Course creation is just the beginning. Once you’ve designed content, track success with an integrated analytics dashboard. Identify drop-off points, so you can make incremental changes and drive completions. Anything you publish is responsive to a variety of devices, ensuring your audience can engage however and wherever they learn best. {{intellum-evolve-free-trial}}
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