A printable checklist for moving off LearnDash, in three parts: before the import, before you switch, and the week after. It is written for Turgor Exam Engine, but most of it applies to any LMS migration. The full walkthrough is in how to migrate from LearnDash.
Disclosure: we make Turgor Exam Engine, and we are not affiliated with LearnDash LLC. Check any claim about LearnDash against its own documentation.
Before the import
- Full backup of files and database, and a restore you have actually tested.
- WordPress 6.7+ and PHP 8.1+ on the server.
- A staging copy, if your host offers one.
- A list of every LearnDash add-on you use, and what you will replace each one with.
- A list of pages that use LearnDash shortcodes such as
[ld_course_list]or LearnDash Elementor widgets. The migration’s content check finds these too. - Your counts from LearnDash: courses, lessons, topics, quizzes, questions, enrolled students. You will compare against them.
- Read the preflight report and settle anything under “do not import yet”.
- Find quizzes with sorting, matrix sorting, assessment or essay questions. They import but won’t open until those questions are replaced with single choice, multiple choice, fill in the blank or free answer.
Before you switch LearnDash off
- The import finished every stage: questions, quizzes, courses, attempts.
- Counts match LearnDash for courses, lessons, topics, quizzes and questions.
- Question fidelity check is clean, especially the “correctness” line: no question whose correct answer moved.
- Progress comparison is clean: students’ course percentages match LearnDash.
- Enrolments include students who got access through LearnDash groups.
- Code check shows no theme or plugin calling LearnDash functions without a guard. An unguarded call becomes a fatal error once LearnDash is off.
- URL check recorded your addresses, so you can confirm them after the switch.
- You have opened three real courses as a test student and they look right.
Switch day
- Deactivate LearnDash and its add-ons from the migration screen (one step, nothing deleted).
- Run the URL check again: every address unchanged.
- Replace LearnDash shortcodes and widgets in pages.
- Close the door on re-importing, so a stray click can’t overwrite courses you now edit in Turgor Exam Engine.
- Clear the page cache and any CDN cache.
The week after
- Watch support email for “my progress is gone” or “I can’t open my course”. Check that student’s enrolment and progress first.
- Recreate certificate designs; certificates already awarded stay in LearnDash, so keep a copy if students may ask for them.
- Test a purchase end to end: checkout, access granted, course opens.
- Re-submit your sitemap in Google Search Console if any URLs did change.
What does not migrate
| Item | What to do |
|---|---|
| Certificates (designs and already awarded) | Recreate designs in Pro; export or keep a record of awarded ones |
| Assignments and their grades | Export before switching if you need the records |
| Essay answers and hand-given marks | Export before switching if you need the records |
| Group progress summaries | Group access still becomes enrolment; per-group rollups aren’t rebuilt |