Teachable · Case study

An embeddable product card for creators' own websites

Third-party website builders
The product card settings page on a laptop
+12%Teachable checkout adoption
1,000+product cards embedded
+7%conversion on sales through product cards
$300Kaverage GMV for schools using the card

Context

Most creators sell from somewhere else

85%

of Teachable creators use external platforms for their websites and sales pages.

44%of them are on WordPress
Switching between platforms made it hard to keep product info up to date, and creators were losing sales.
WordPressWebflowWix

The problem

Selling a Teachable course on your own site took too many steps.

  • Redundant workflows across platforms
  • Potential lost sales along the way
  • A fragmented brand experience
The goalStreamline integrations with third-party website builders, encourage Teachable checkout, and create a cohesive experience.

The bet

A customizable, embeddable product card

HypothesisToday's process causes prospective students to drop off. A product card would simplify integration, keep product details in sync, and drive Teachable checkout.
↑Teachable checkout adoption
↑Embedded product cards
↑Sales conversion rates

Research & discovery

Four ways into the problem

1

Walk the flow

I had our engineering team go through the Teachable + WordPress integration themselves, to build empathy for the pain points.

Research board: what we know, Teachable users’ WordPress sites, and the activity
2

Map the journey

A user journey map aligned the team and pinpointed the moments to fix: Setup and Update.

User journey map from Search to Update, with dips at Setup and Update
3

Read the tickets

Zendesk tickets confirmed creators were reaching out about this.

Zendesk support tickets about embedding Teachable on WordPress
4

Talk to users

I interviewed creators who had recently set up the WordPress integration, to validate assumptions and test concepts.

  • Host their site on a third party
  • At least one product on Teachable
  • Linked Teachable checkout to WordPress
  • Signed up 6–9 months ago
  • Made at least one sale
Research goals
  • Validate assumptions about their current workflow, pain points and challenges
  • Get feedback on a Teachable buy button plugin: first impressions and perceived impact

Solution

One card, always in sync

ReuseExisting course detailsName, thumbnail and pricing, pulled straight from Teachable
CustomizeMatches any brandButton text, corners and colors
SyncReal-time updatesChanges in Teachable show up on external sites automatically
Explorations of the product card and how it looks on a creator’s website
Explorations: the card, its customization options, and how it looks on a creator's site

User interview insights

What creators told us

01Integrating Teachable with external sites was cumbersome and took many steps
02They wanted a one-click checkout, like Shopify's
03They reacted positively to the product card designs
04The card had to be highly customizable to fit their site

Final design

Customize, preview, copy, paste

Final product card settings with a live preview and a copy code button

Creators customize the card, see a live preview of what visitors will see, then copy the code into their website.

Key learnings

What I'd carry forward

Collaborate across teamsIt made both ideation and execution stronger.
Let user feedback leadIt was instrumental in shaping the solution.
Simple and customizableThat combination drove wide adoption.