Not sure how to pick the right LMS and have a bit of decision fatigue? We show you exactly how to make the right choice for your needs.

Selecting an LMS is more than a technology decision when you consider that that choice directly affects learning outcomes, employee engagement, and organisational performance.

The right LMS empowers your teams, supports continuous development, and aligns with broader business goals, while the wrong one can create inefficiencies, low adoption, and wasted resources.

But how do you find that ‘right’ LMS? And what does right even look like?

This guide provides you with an in-depth framework for evaluating and selecting an LMS that truly fits their organisational needs.

⚡TL;DR

Making the right choice for an LMS, isn’t about the one that comes up first on Google search. You need to first understand the needs of your business and then map the LMS features you see in each vendor back to those needs.

1. Start with your learning strategy

An LMS should support your organisational learning strategy and content, not the other way around.

If you don’t already have a learning strategy, then we would suggest creating this before you look into LMS procurement.

Without one, it’s easy to get distracted by features that look appealing but don’t drive results, or worse, ones that won’t allow you to create the learning experience you need.

💡 Pro Tip

We often hear how learning teams have to change their content to suit restrictions in their LMS. That’s not something we see with our own customers.

Learn how edt created a platform to suit their learning framework

Questions to ask yourself:

• What are the primary objectives of our learning programs? Compliance, onboarding, leadership development, or upskilling?
• How do we measure success? Completion rates, competency development, retention, or performance improvements?
• What type of learning experiences do we want to deliver? Instructor-led, self-paced, blended learning, microlearning, social learning?

Document your learning objectives and map them to organisational outcomes. This forms the baseline for evaluating any LMS which is the perfect first step.

2. Understand stakeholder needs

LMS adoption succeeds when all stakeholders’ needs are considered. So, again, before you start contacting LMS vendors, first talk to:

• Your learners: Are your employees mostly office-based, remote, or field-based? What devices do they use? What learning formats resonate with them?
• Your managers: Do they need reporting dashboards to track team competencies, progress, or compliance?
• Your administrators: How much time can your team realistically spend on content management, reporting, or system maintenance?
• IT department: What integrations, security protocols, and scalability requirements must be met?

You could address this by conducting surveys or focus groups with each stakeholder group to capture real-world requirements before evaluating LMS options.

3. Core LMS features to evaluate

Every LMS vendor is going to have its strengths. And on that same note, its weaknesses.

Now, you should have a good idea of what you need from an LMS, so you should be able to map the core features you need too.

Here are some of the core ones you might need, plus key questions to ask vendors:

Feature	Why it matters	Questions to ask vendors
Content Management	Efficient creation, organization, and updating of learning materials	Does the system support multiple content types (SCORM, xAPI, video, PDFs)? Can content be versioned and localized?
Assessment & Certification	Validates learning outcomes and ensures compliance	Can you create adaptive quizzes? Are certificates automated? Can expiry dates be tracked?
Reporting & Analytics	Measures learning impact and ROI	Are dashboards customizable? Can you track KPIs like competency growth, engagement, or completion trends?
User Experience	Influences adoption and engagement	Is the LMS intuitive? Mobile-friendly? Accessible (WCAG compliant)?
Integration	Ensures LMS fits into your tech ecosystem	Does it integrate with HRIS, CRM, Single Sign-On, or talent management systems?
Gamification & Social Learning	Drives engagement	Does it support leaderboards, badges, discussion forums, and peer learning?
Compliance & Security	Reduces risk and ensures data protection	Is the platform GDPR/ISO compliant? Can you control permissions and data access effectively?

👉 Looking for a doc to help you compare vendors? Download our free RFP template to map the core features you need, and make comments on what they look like in each LMS.

4. Deployment models: cloud vs. on-premise

One core thing to think about when considering your LMS is how you’ll deploy it.

Your deployment choice impacts cost, flexibility, and IT involvement:

• Cloud-based (SaaS):
  • Advantages: Automatic updates, low IT overhead, scalable infrastructure
  • Considerations: Ongoing subscription costs, reliance on vendor uptime

• On-premise:
  • Advantages: Full data control, highly customizable
  • Considerations: Requires IT resources, manual updates, higher upfront cost

• Hybrid: Offers the benefits of both but may require complex configuration

💡 Pro Tip

Some LMS vendors, like BuildEmpire, offer you the option to host with us, or self-host too. This is a useful option as you might want to change hosts during your subscription.

5. Budgeting for the total cost of ownership (TCO)

You might have a set budget in mind, but remember, this license fee is going to form just part of the cost.

Other costs that will be added on top may include:

• Implementation & customization costs
• Migration of legacy content and learner data
• Training for admins and instructors
• Ongoing support and upgrades
• Integration with other systems

6. Scalability and flexibility

Your LMS should grow with your organisation. What you don’t want to happen is you go from 1,000 users to 5,000 and you get hit with a huge invoice from your LMS vendor.

Make sure you ask what costs are associated with growth so you can be prepared.

Related: How to scale learning in an LMS

It’s also important to check that the infrastructure is there for scaling too. I.e.:

• Can it handle a growing number of learners and courses without performance issues?
• Does it support multiple learning pathways, languages, or departments?
• Can it accommodate new modalities like microlearning, mobile learning, or AI-driven personalisation?

Another key thing to remember with scaling is integrations. Can your new LMS integrate with the tools that you use in a way that’s actually useful?

You might find that integrations exist but data is only sent one way, or you’re limited on the info that you can send.

7. User adoption and change management

Even the best LMS fails if people don’t use it. After all, what’s the point of investing in a new (and expensive) tool if your target audience doesn’t authentically engage with it?

💡 Pro Tip

We’ve got lots of content out there on LMS adoption and how to improve it, including how you can take a marketing approach to your LMS campaigns. Check it out for tips on how to get more users on your platform, and to get them coming back.

First, consider the following:

• Ease of onboarding: How simple is it for new users to start learning?
• Engagement features: Do you want personalised dashboards, learning recommendations, gamification?
• Support resources: What’s the learning curve for this new piece of tech? Are there tutorials, a helpdesk, and community forums?

The key to a successful LMS implementation is getting your stakeholders on board from the get-go. Them being excited by the premise of a new platform, and having their say on how it will work, will likely result in a better result.

Related: LMS procurement red flags to be aware of

8. Evaluate vendors thoroughly

By now, you’re getting close to being able to make a decision on which LMS you want to go with.

But don’t make your decision based on demos alone:

• Review customer testimonials and independent reviews on sites like G2
• Check the vendor’s track record for reliability, support, and innovation and make sure the support is going to be there
• Pilot the system with a small group of learners and admins to uncover real-world challenges

9. Make an implementation plan

A strong LMS implementation plan is critical for success.

We asked our Chief Projects Officer, Nate, to run through the winning process for LMS implementation.

It’ll generally entail a few phases. Most crucially, phase one should be a meeting to discuss your current platform or learning tool, and your needs.

Remember, your LMS vendor should be building your LMS implementation plan and working with you to get it live to the level you want.

Why choose BuildEmpire as your new LMS?

BuildEmpire is a platinum partner of Totara, meaning you get a flexible, scalable and customisable learning solution.

With our current customers, we’ve created fully bespoke solutions and also built more out-of-the-box platforms. The great thing about us is that you get access to everything already in Totara, but you also get access to the BuildEmpire Edition.

This is our “skin” which sits on top of your current Totara platform, and gives you access to extras like gamification, eCommerce, more branding options, extra dashboard blocks and customisations that you can’t find elsewhere.

We’re also commended on our support. We work to create a strong and ongoing relationships so that you never feel like the onboarding process ever ends.