A Large Choice of Resources Online to Learn. But How to Choose ?
Just because a learning platform exists online does not mean it is worth paying for.

And so before parting with your hard earned cash for a subscription or even a lifetime membership on a learning platform it would be wise to investigate that platform from all angles.
1. Look Beyond the Marketing Page
Read the About page on the website of the online learning platform you are considering. As a rule the About page on the website of a learning platform will tell you that the online learning platform is wonderful. You can read testimonials and the success stories of all students of the online courses offered. However, you must realize that all information on the About page was written up by the company itself. Therefore, do not rely on the information provided on the About page of a learning platform and read information about a learning platform on other sources of the website of the online learning platform.
Also comments of other members of users of the learning platform’s community are very helpful and in them one can find a lot of information which hasn’t been published on web site of the company (e.g. how good is customer support of learning platform, are there new learning materials added from time to time, how easily one can get refund, and after one year of time how many users are still very satisfied with online learning platform and it is still worth to pay for it).
2. Read Reviews From Multiple Sources
Don’t just read reviews on one website.
Compare opinions across several sources:
- Trustpilot
- Quora
- Independent blogs
- YouTube reviews
This allows the same thing to be mentioned in more communities, which increases the likelihood of you having an accurate perception of the subject in question.
3. Pay Attention to Review Quality
All reviews – positive and negative – are not of equal value.
Ask yourself:
- Is the reviewer able to explain why he or she liked or disliked the platform.
- Do they describe their actual experience?
- Are there both positive and negative opinions?
Unbalanced praise with one-line five-star reviews do not provide a true glimpse into a product or service.
In our example we suggest to compare different views of this tool instead of reading from one source only. The TestLibrary community gives you an inside view of the strengths and the tool has for you as well as of some of the weaknesses. In addition to this read the comments of people who already registered for the platform and get firsthand from their good and bad experiences the most likely results of your efforts with TestLibrary.
4. Check How Often the Content Is Updated
Information about test taking, certification tests, career and vocational training as well as study materials for entrance tests is changing quickly. Therefore, the content has to be updated regularly as well.
It’s especially important for knowledge about certification tests or for professional training to be up-to-date quickly. Therefore before you pay, check if the provider updates his lessons, the practice questions as well as his study material regularly.
Check how often the content of the learning platform is updated with new lessons, practice questions and study materials for certification exams and professional training.
5. Evaluate Customer Support
While in an ideal learning experience things would just work, problems with a platform can occur, for example with a paid subscription. And when that happens, it’s very important to have good customer support to resolve the issues as quickly as possible.
Look for reviews mentioning:
- response times;
- refund experience;
- account access;
- technical support quality.
You will also want to make sure that the learning platform’s customer service is very important as well and can make a huge difference if there are any technical issues or billing problems that occur. Also read reviews about …
6. Look for Real Community Engagement
After buying a learning platform, the study community of a good product is active.
These examples give you a much better understanding of the learning platform than the official sales pitch of the website. Yes, even the best learning platform can be utterly useless if no one actually uses it after purchasing it.
They openly share their learning strategies and experiences with the learning platform and also help each other where they can.
7. Consider Overall Value, Not Just Price
The cheapest platform isn’t always the best deal.
Instead, ask yourself:
- Does the content match your goals?
- Are practice materials comprehensive?
- Is the platform actively maintained?
- Would it save you time in comparison to something free for example?
A slightly higher price can be worth paying when the results of learning on the platform are many times superior to those achieved with other offers on the market.
Final Thoughts
Don’t Buy an Online Learning Platform in a Rush.
When it comes to picking online learning tools do not fall into the trap of rushing into a purchase after having been sold on a really cheap and or pretty online marketing campaign. Read lots of independent reviews, try to get your foot in the door with an active and healthy online learning community and make sure you get lots of value from your chosen platform’s core offering and NOT from their web of marketing spin. Yes a few minutes of up front research into various online tools and platforms will cost you NOTHING in terms of cash, stress and hours of potentially wrong or non-productive learning in the long run BUT it will in the end pay massive dividends and more importantly get you the right tool(s) for your specific needs which will enable you to reach your goals efficiently.





