Mark Andrews Creative sells kids' ministry resources to churches, schools, homeschools and families. The brief was one sentence: "a platform to sell my courses, books and products with an e-learning system like Coursera and Udemy." There was no documentation and no plan.
I wrote all the requirements, specs, feature definitions and business logic, and the developers built from my specs. Starting on 25 September 2025, the platform went live in 12 weeks. Today Mark Andrews Creative runs its whole business on it, and that business makes over $1M a year, with 20K+ subscribers and 7.48% visitor-to-purchase conversion.
Before any feature, three goals were set: live in about 12 weeks; every sale (subscriptions, courses and physical goods) on one platform; and recurring subscription revenue as the main engine. Every decision below was checked against those three.
Here's what a platform like that needs, in the order I'd decide it.
What does an e‑learning platform like Udemy need?
A course platform is three systems in one: a store, a learning system (an LMS, or learning management system) and an account that ties them together. Mark Andrews Creative also ships physical products, so it's a shop as well.
This is the scope I specified:
- Commerce: orders, products (physical, virtual and bundles), collections and customers.
- Subscriptions: tiers, members and invoices.
- Learning: Bible Stories and Courses, built from modules and lessons.
- Promotions: discounts and coupons.
- Reports: 20+ of them, across sales, refunds, shipping, abandoned carts, stock, gift cards, membership, tiers, download counts and learning by course, module and lesson.
- Settings: roles and permissions, checkout fields, policies, payments and integrations.
That's a lot, which is why the next decision matters most.
How should each product be bought?
Decide this before anything else, because it shapes the checkout, the access rules and the revenue.
Mark Andrews Creative has three kinds of product, and each is bought differently. That was my call: three commerce models on one platform.
| Commerce type | How it's bought | The rule it needs |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription library (Bible Story Images, VBSify, Bible Lab) | Monthly or yearly, with bundles | Monthly download limits per tier; 5 users included, extra users billed per the tier's conditions |
| Courses | With the subscription, and also sold separately | An access rule: unlocked by the subscription or by a purchase |
| Physical goods (workbooks, Kingdom Gear) | Single purchases | Shipping, alongside instant digital delivery |
| Single books, courses and modules (added after launch) | On their own, alongside the subscription | The same access rule, so a purchase and a subscription don't conflict |
Each product is bought the way that suits it, and the subscription stays the recurring revenue engine. The users show why: churches run kids' services with VBSify and teach Bible stories with Bible Story Images; schools and homeschools use structured Bible Lab courses; families study at home and buy workbooks as single purchases.
Why one account and one checkout?
So each product is bought the way that suits it, and the subscription stays the recurring revenue engine, all from one account. Mark Andrews Creative said no to separate stores for subscriptions, courses and physical goods: every sale happens in one account, through one checkout.
That choice has real costs, and I'd plan for them from the start:
- A more complex checkout. One cart handles subscriptions, courses and physical goods together.
- Complex access rules. The platform has to know whether a course was unlocked by the subscription or by a purchase.
- Two kinds of delivery. Physical shipping sits alongside instant digital delivery.
I wrote about the checkout itself in How Mark Andrews Creative sells subscriptions, courses and products in one checkout.
What rules keep a subscription library sustainable?
The content library had to stay sustainable while keeping members subscribed long term, so I said no to unlimited downloads. Each subscription tier has monthly download limits on courses and modules, and downloads stay with the subscriber. On top of that, each subscription includes 5 users at a fixed price; teams can invite more, and extra users are billed per the tier's conditions.
The business got predictable revenue, a reason for members to stay subscribed every month, and pricing that grows with each team. The cost: limits can feel restrictive to heavy users, and billing per user added complexity to invitations, access rights and invoices. If you're choosing between pricing approaches, SaaS pricing models explained compares them.
Looking back, I'd put all these rules into one written, signed-off rulebook in week one, so every edge case (users per plan, download limits, course access) had a single reference.
What should you launch with, and what can wait?
Launch with what every sale and every learner needs. Mark Andrews Creative launched with the core commerce, subscription and learning features and the core reports. Some reports, gift cards and add-ons followed after launch.
Then listen. After launch, customers wanted a specific book, course or module without a whole subscription. So individual books, courses and modules can now be bought on their own, alongside the subscription. That change wins buyers the subscription would have lost, without weakening it.
The team that built it in 12 weeks was one backend developer, two frontend developers, one product designer and me. In my view, a clear spec is what let a team that size build a store, a learning system and a subscription business at once.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to build an e-learning platform?
Mark Andrews Creative went live in 12 weeks, from a one-sentence brief, with subscriptions, courses, physical goods and the core reports. The team was one backend developer, two frontend developers, one product designer and me. Some reports, gift cards and add-ons followed after launch.
Can an e-learning platform sell both subscriptions and single courses?
Yes. On Mark Andrews Creative, courses come with the subscription and are also sold separately, and after launch individual books, courses and modules became available on their own too. The access rules have to track whether something was unlocked by the subscription or by a purchase.
What reports does an online course platform need?
More than most people expect. I specified 20+ for Mark Andrews Creative, across sales, refunds, shipping, abandoned carts, stock, gift cards, membership, tiers, download counts and learning by course, module and lesson. Not all of them have to be ready at launch.
Should an LMS and an online store be separate systems?
I'd keep them in one platform when the same customers buy both. Mark Andrews Creative said no to separate stores for subscriptions, courses and physical goods, so every customer has one account and one checkout.
