Learning platform serving 500+ active learners — Laravel case study
PulseTrainings delivers video courses, live sessions and skill-gap assessments. I led the original build as full-stack developer and project manager, and since 2024 I have been the platform’s sole technical owner.
- Client
- Online training company
- Timeline
- Initial build via Dixeam; direct since Jan 2024 — present
- Role
- Full-stack developer & PM, then sole technical owner
- Headline result
- 500+ active learners
- Stack
- LaravelMySQLVimeoMicrosoft TeamsDigitalOcean
The problem
The training company needed one place for everything a learner does: watch recorded courses, join live sessions, and find out where their skills fall short. Learners shouldn’t have to juggle separate logins and links to get through a course.
After launch it would be run and extended by a small team. Today that team is just me, so the platform had to be straightforward to operate and safe to change.
What I built
- A Laravel and MySQL learning platform hosted on DigitalOcean
- Video course delivery through Vimeo
- Live sessions through Microsoft Teams
- A skill-gap analysis module for assessing learners
- 15+ courses delivered on the platform
Integrate, don’t rebuild
Video hosting and live meetings are solved problems. Using Vimeo and Microsoft Teams meant the build could focus on what was specific to this business: the course structure, the assessments and the learner experience.
Simple, conventional hosting
The platform runs as a standard Laravel and MySQL application on DigitalOcean. Nothing exotic to operate means one person can look after it, and a new developer could pick it up without a guide.
Challenges and how they were solved
One learner journey across three systems
Courses live on Vimeo, live sessions on Microsoft Teams, and assessments on the platform itself. The work was making that feel like one product: the learner moves through a course in one place, and the platform ties the pieces together.
Leading the team and writing the code
During the initial build I ran a 4-person team as both full-stack developer and project manager. Every core feature shipped on schedule. In 2024 I took over account management and support directly.
Results
- 500+ active learners
- 15+ courses delivered
- Course completion rates up ~20% after the skill-gap module launched
- Still retained after 2+ years as sole technical owner
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