Why I Chose Podia (& Why I Continue To Recommend It)

When I first discovered Podia in 2016, I didn’t have a business.

I didn’t have products to sell. I didn’t have an email list. I didn’t even know exactly what I wanted to even offer. What I did know was that one day I wanted to build a business around helping people learn.

That sent me down a familiar path that many aspiring creators eventually travel: researching online platforms, comparing features, watching YouTube reviews, and trying to determine which tool would support the business I hoped to one day build.

Like many people, I initially assumed that the platform with the most features would naturally be the best choice. Coming from higher education and corporate training, I had spent years working with Learning Management Systems such as Microsoft Class Server (MAN am I dating myself!!), Blackboard, Canvas, Moodle, and TalentLMS – so when I went shopping for course platform, that’s what I wanted and thought I needed.

I was looking for gradebooks, attendance tracking, learning paths, reporting, assessments, and every other feature I had come to associate with teaching.

What I didn’t know or realize at the time is that those platforms that I used were built specifically to manage learning, and because that was my experience, I expected every course platform to work the same way.

When I selected and created a Podia account, my initial reaction was honestly a little underwhelming. Compared to other platforms, it looked almost too simple. The website builder didn’t overwhelm me with hundreds of settings. There weren’t endless menus to configure. There weren’t dozens of design decisions waiting to be made before I could publish a single page.

The more I used it, however, the more I realized that what I originally saw as a limitation was actually one of Podia’s greatest strengths.

Podia doesn’t try to impress you with complexity.

Podia removes complexity so you can focus on building a business.

That philosophy resonated with me because I’m naturally drawn toward technology. I enjoy many areas of tech to include: cybersecurity, networking, virtualization, and exploring new software. Left unchecked, I can spend hours—or days—customizing systems that have very little impact on moving the needle in my business.

Podia quietly prevented me from falling into that trap.

Instead of spending my time setting up and configuring technology, I found myself thinking about my message, my customers, the problems I wanted to solve, and the learning experiences I wanted to create.

That shift was exactly what I needed.

What I Really Like About Podia

One of the things I appreciate most about Podia is that it encourages creators to build their business from the inside out. Instead of starting with a homepage and worrying about making it look impressive, you begin by creating the things your business actually offers—your products, your community, your digital downloads, your coaching, your events.

Once those pieces are in place, building the website becomes a process of connecting those products and services together rather than designing pages from scratch. It’s a subtle difference, but it changes the way you think about your business.

I also appreciate that Podia has remained committed to simplicity without standing still. Over the years, I’ve watched the platform evolve significantly while staying true to its core philosophy. Nowhere is that more evident than the complete redesign of Community.

For a long time, community felt like the one area where Podia lagged behind other platforms. Rather than abandoning it, however, the Podia team rebuilt it from the ground up.

Today, Community has become one of the platform’s greatest strengths and one of the primary reasons I continue to recommend Podia to coaches, consultants, trainers, and creators who want to extend learning beyond a single course.

I’ve also come to appreciate Podia as a company.  From the outside looking in, many say that Podia is not competitive with their product. But, from where I sit, they don’t chase every trend or add features simply because their competitors have them. Instead, they seem to listen carefully to their customers and improve the platform in thoughtful and intentional ways that strengthen the overall experience.

As someone who has watched the platform grow over several years, I’ve seen consistent iteration rather than constant reinvention. That gives me confidence that the platform will continue evolving while remaining approachable for new creators.

My business is built around helping professionals build and deliver engaging, participant-centered learning experiences. Most of my work happens through live instruction, mentorship, workshops, and cohort-based learning. Podia supports that model exceptionally well because it allows me to organize everything in one place.

Before a live session, I can prepare participants through email and course resources. During the session, the actual online course becomes my teaching hub, keeping presentations, activities, downloads, and supporting materials organized in the order I teach them.

After the session, recordings, community discussions, announcements, and additional resources allow the learning to continue long after the workshop ends. Rather than replacing live instruction, Podia extends it.

As a small business, Podia provides everything that I need to run and manage my training business.  It’s the reason I continue recommending the platform. I don’t view Podia as software that hosts courses. I view it as the central hub for my entire learning ecosystem.

My website, products, email marketing, community, digital resources, and customer communication all work together inside a single platform. Instead of spending my time managing integrations or moving customers between disconnected systems, I spend that time helping people learn.

Podia's Competitors

Could I build my business on another platform? Absolutely.

There are excellent platforms available today, including LearnWorlds, Thinkific, Canvas, Kajabi, and many others. Each serves a different audience and solves different business problems.

If my business depended on SCORM packages, enterprise reporting, learner analytics, or compliance tracking, I would evaluate those tools very differently.

But those aren’t the problems my business needs to solve.

My business is built around helping business and technical professionals build and deliver their first course or workshop. I care more about client transformation than completion rates. I care about conversations more than data analytics. I care about serving my clients more than managing technology.

That’s why I chose Podia.

Podia consistently allows me to focus on what matters most: creating meaningful learning experiences, building lasting relationships with my customers, and growing a business around my expertise instead of around my software.

After years of using the platform, I still believe that’s one of the smartest business decisions I’ve made.

If you are exploring platforms for your courses, workshops, digital products or community, the best way to evaluate Podia is to experience it yourself.

Start a free 30-day trial today and see whether it’s the right fit for your business.