When searching for an e-learning theme for your LearnDash websites, you are sure to have come across these two names – Pathshala and more recently, eLumine. As you know, both have been conceptualized and created by WisdmLabs.
Today we shall have a look at how these two themes differ as well as the reason why eLumine will soon be replacing Pathshala as the flagship e-learning theme.
From Pathshala to eLumine
Pathshala was launched with the aim of making e-learning easy at the front- and back-end. Drag-and-drop page builders, custom color options for adding an individualistic style, all these helped instructors design beautiful courses at the Admin end. However, the user interface was not as sleek as could be desired.
Not that it was bad, but you know, there’s always room to improve, right?
They say, to be excellent, you have to be your own worst critic. We took that to heart and analysed all of the things that could be fixed in Pathshala. After a lot of research of other themes, comparisons, and brainstorming sessions, we figured out the features that we wanted our new theme to have and set to work accordingly.
This was the start of eLumine.
Over the past few weeks, as the buzz around eLumine started to grow, one recurring question we were asked was, what are the differences between these two themes? For you see, at first glance, Pathshala and eLumine appear to be very similar (which they are not). Pathshala has always been a LearnDash-centric theme; eLumine was built primarily for LearnDash too, but it also works well with a host of other LMS plugins.
In addition, there are some significant dissimilarities between the two e-learning themes. Here we shall discuss all the major and minor differences between the two. Feel free to weigh in on the discussion whenever you like to!
Differences between Pathshala and eLumine
For any e-learning theme, the primary considerations are user interface, functionality, responsiveness, and compatibility. Let’s compare both themes on the basis of these four characteristics.
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User Interface
One of the most important features of a theme, this is the factor that how long your students are going to stay engaged in the course. Unfortunately, this aspect has been sidelined for quite some time now, with most e-learning theme developers focusing on providing the best and the most advanced functionalities to course instructors and teachers.
Pathshala remedied this to an extent by providing polished layouts for LearnDash. However, it did not improve upon the native layout of the LMS, due to which student engagement did not improve significantly. In addition, it did not alter the layouts of any other integrations, which is why there was often a disconnect in the minds of the users.
eLumine, on the other hand, has successfully revamped all native layouts and packs excellent course, lesson, and shop page layouts. The front-end interface is designed purely from the students’ perspective, which ensures that they retain their level of interest throughout the course and do not drop away in the middle of it. And there’s more! Not only does it revamp the look and feel of your LMS, but also has custom layouts for all integrations, like BuddyPress, bbPress, WooCommerce, etc., maintaining complete uniformity in the website.
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Functionality
Functionality-wise, Pathshala has always been robust. Its drag-and-drop page builder and easy navigation menus have made course and page creation easy.
eLumine goes a step further. Not only does it support all the functionalities of Pathshala, but also additional features like, a course feedback system, dynamic sidebars fitting across multiple screen sizes, a new ‘Introduction Video’ feature that lets instructors summarise the course in one small video at the start, one-click backup, and more.
In addition, it features a completely revised LearnDash quizzing system that makes even quiz-taking fun for students!
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Responsiveness
Aesthetics is one part of the theme, the other is its technical design, which makes the theme universally robust.
Pathshala works on an older version of Bootstrap, as compared to eLumine. Built on Bootstrap 4, the latter is highly responsive which in turn, boosts your website speed significantly.
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Compatibility
As e-learning is not a standalone activity, theme compatibility with various other plugins for gamification, social networking, emailers, and more, is a must. Pathshala supports a host of external plugins that can be used to extend the functionality of the e-learning website, as does eLumine.
The eLumine difference is that it takes the meaning of seamless compatibility to a whole different level. Apart from its robust connect with integrations like WooCommerce, BuddyPress, bbPress, BadgeOS, Instructor Role for LearnDash, Content Cloner, etc., eLumine also customizes their layouts so that they fit the website harmoniously. The WooCommerce Shop page is configured to display the ‘List’ and ‘Grid’ views as required and the product details when the user hovers over the product image.
Out-of-the-box compatibility helps you enjoy all the features of the integrated plugins, without compromising on the aesthetic appeal of the website, with eLumine.
Taking the Final Call
Pathshala has been one of the most popular e-learning themes since its inception, three years ago. It has grown with time as our understanding of the student-teacher requirements and perspectives grew. However, we have not been oblivious to the need of a truly learning-centric theme in the field and that thought was the inspiration for eLumine.
A theme that is powerful and yet aesthetically appealing, feature-rich, yet engaging; that’s eLumine. What Pathshala initiated, eLumine has fulfilled. Pathshala was a glossy wrapper on top of LearnDash; eLumine fits your website like a second skin, and that makes all the difference in the world.
If you ask for our opinion, eLumine is the clear winner in all aspects of e-learning theme design. Advanced features, better code architecture, and cleaner display all contribute to top-of-the-line website performance, enhancing the e-learning experience for teachers as well as students!
What are your thoughts? Which theme would you opt for? Let us know in the comments section below!