Building a Local WordPress Online Course Platform with WooCommerce & Sensei LMS

Table of contents

• Building a Local WordPress Online Course Platform with WooCommerce & Sensei LMS
  • Local WordPress Stack Setup
    • Step 1: Install Core Tools
    • Step 2: Configure Apache Virtual Hosts
    • Step 3: Install WordPress
    • Step 4: PHP Configuration
  • Install Your Online Course Stack
    • Step 1: Theme & Plugins
    • Step 2: Configure WooCommerce + Stripe
  • Configuring LMS Sensei
    • Step 1: Create Courses
    • Step 2: Video Hosting Options
  • Configure Emails (SMTP)
    • Gmail SMTP Setup
  • User Configuration
    • Enable user registration:
  • User Registration Testing
  • Optional Enhancements
  • Conclusion

In this guide, we’ll walk through setting up a full-featured online course platform locally, testing course purchases, user registration, and email workflows using Mac, Apache, MariaDB, PHP, and WordPress. By the end, you’ll have a sandbox to experiment safely before going live.

Local WordPress Stack Setup

Requirements

• Platform: macOS (Linux can be used similarly)
• Stack: Apache, PHP, MariaDB (installed via Homebrew)
• Ports: Use 4001, 4002 to separate test sites

Step 1: Install Core Tools

Install Apache, PHP, and MariaDB using Homebrew:

brew install httpd php mariadb

Then start services:

brew services start httpd
brew services start mariadb
brew services start php

Step 2: Configure Apache Virtual Hosts

Apache config location: /private/etc/apache2/httpd.conf Virtual hosts: /etc/apache2/extra/httpd-vhosts.conf

Example virtual host for WordPress on port 4002:

<VirtualHost *:4002>
    ServerName localhost
    DocumentRoot "/usr/local/var/www/petcoach-course"

    <Directory "/usr/local/var/www/petcoach-course">
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
    </Directory>

    ErrorLog "/var/log/apache2/petcoach-error.log"
    CustomLog "/var/log/apache2/petcoach-access.log" common
</VirtualHost>

Restart Apache:

sudo apachectl restart

Step 3: Install WordPress

1. Download WordPress and extract to /usr/local/var/www/petcoach-course
2. Configure wp-config.php to point to your MariaDB database:

define('DB_NAME', 'local_course_db');
define('DB_USER', 'root');
define('DB_PASSWORD', 'password');
define('DB_HOST', '127.0.0.1');

Test your site: http://localhost:4002

Step 4: PHP Configuration

Check PHP config:

php --ini

Increase limits for uploads and execution:

upload_max_filesize = 64M
post_max_size = 64M
max_execution_time = 300

Restart Apache after changes:

sudo apachectl restart

Install Your Online Course Stack

Step 1: Theme & Plugins

1. Theme: Astra
2. WooCommerce: Core + Stripe Gateway
3. LMS: Sensei LMS Pro

Install via WordPress admin: Plugins → Add New → Search & Install

Step 2: Configure WooCommerce + Stripe

1. WooCommerce → Settings → Currency, Tax, Shipping
2. Payments → Stripe → Test API keys
3. Enable Test Mode for local development

Screenshot for configuration in woocommerce

Configuring LMS Sensei

Step 1: Create Courses

1. WordPress → Sensei LMS → Add New Course

2. Link the course to a WooCommerce product

The woocommerce product have have a price and be of type virtual and downloadable product. See LMS sensei documentation for more details here!

Step 2: Video Hosting Options

1. YouTube: Easy, public access
2. Vimeo: Domain-based access control (better for paid courses)

Configure Emails (SMTP)

Gmail SMTP Setup

1. Install WP Mail SMTP
2. Choose Gmail Mailer
3. Create Google OAuth credentials for localhost
4. Add redirect URI: https://connect.wpmailsmtp.com/google/
5. Authorize Gmail account
6. Send test email

SMTP Host: smtp.gmail.com
Port: 587
Encryption: TLS
Username: [email protected]
Password: <App Password>

Reference screenshot of my setup:

And ofcourse, don’t forget to test tht it sends successfully!!

Normally if your hosting provider has an STMP service, then this is not required. I needed to do this because i was running my testing on local (and duhh, no SMTP service installed in my local server)

User Configuration

Enable user registration:

1. Settings → General → Anyone can register
2. Ensure WooCommerce accounts link to WordPress users
3. Add Account Page to navigation menu (Astra → Customize → Menus)

User Registration Testing

1. User registers or logs in
   • After they register, they can set their password. Link sent via email
2. Purchases product linked to Sensei course
   • Prior to the purchase, user cannot access the product. See the list view
   • If user tries to access course details, it will prompt payment
3. Payment made via stripe
   • See the stripe in the UI
   • For those who like money, you can also see the money come in stripe
4. Access granted only after purchase
   • After payment, they can see continue since they now have access
   • Wigthin each course they can access the lessons

Self-enrollment can be enabled, but WooCommerce purchase is the main access gate Emails & notifications are handled via SMTP

Optional Enhancements

• Course Bundles: Product can unlock multiple courses
• Product Pages: Show included courses for clarity (via shortcode or template snippet)
• Video Hosting: Vimeo preferred for access control
• Local Testing: Use ports like 4002 for multiple test sites

<?php
$product_id = get_the_ID();
$courses = Sensei()->course->get_courses_by_product_id($product_id);
if($courses){
    echo '<ul>';
    foreach($courses as $course){
        echo '<li><a href="' . get_permalink($course->ID) . '">' . $course->post_title . '</a></li>';
    }
    echo '</ul>';
}
?>

Conclusion

And that really sums it up, a simple learning management platform all under your control. All the materials are under your control. Theme, colour scheme etc., under your control – and you are free to fiddle around with it as much as you want!

Until next time, peace and love!