Seeking: WordPress LMS Developer for African EdTech Platform Build

Seeking: WordPress LMS Developer for African EdTech Platform Build Posted by: Justin Omari | COSMA Timeline: 12-16 weeks, starting immediately Budget: Fixed-price engagement (USD 1,000–1,500 depending on scope confirmation) Engagement model: Full build through public launch, no ongoing retainer The Project We're launching a fully mobile-first learning platform built on WordPress, purpose-built for the East African market. The platform will deliver structured professional education content through a modern, responsive interface with native iOS and Android apps, integrated local payment methods, and comprehensive progress tracking. We are seeking one experienced WordPress contractor to execute a complete technical foundation — from core platform setup through public launch. This is a discrete, fixed-scope project to build the skeleton infrastructure. Content creation and ongoing operations are handled by our core team. We are NOT building custom code. We are assembling and integrating proven, production-tested plugins and infrastructure. Your job is configuration, not invention. Technical Stack & Scope Core Platform (Weeks 1–4) ● WordPress 6.x hosted on Cloudways (managed DigitalOcean, Johannesburg region) with Cloudflare CDN ● LMS engine: TutorLMS Pro for course delivery, lesson drip, quizzes, and auto-generated certificates ● Commerce layer: WooCommerce + WooCommerce Subscriptions for monthly and bundled pricing (all-access, per-subject, level-based, quarterly bundles) ● Theme: Kadence (lightweight, WooCommerce-optimised) ● Branding: Full Top CPA brand implementation (logo, colour palette, typography, custom homepage) Your deliverables: ● Provision and configure Cloudways account; set up staging environment ● Install and configure WordPress core, Kadence theme, TutorLMS Pro ● Structure TutorLMS course hierarchy: 3 levels (Foundation, Intermediate, Final) with 15 total subjects ● Configure WooCommerce for Tanzanian Shilling (TZS) currency, tax rules, and product catalog ● Set up subscription products in WooCommerce: per-subject monthly, all-access monthly/quarterly, level bundles Payment Gateway Integration (Weeks 3–6) — CRITICAL PATH ● Primary: Selcom Pay (official WooCommerce plugin) supporting M-Pesa, Tigo Pesa, Airtel Money, HaloPesa, Visa/Mastercard, bank transfer ● Backup: DPO Pay for redundancy (both gateways live at checkout) ● Sandbox testing: 20+ transactions across each payment method to verify end-to-end flow ● KYC coordination: Guide the internal team through Selcom onboarding process (documentation, timeline, credentials handoff) Your deliverables: ● Install and configure Selcom WooCommerce plugin in sandbox environment ● Install and configure DPO Pay gateway as secondary option ● Build test checkout flows for all payment methods ● Document sandbox-to-production transition checklist for internal team Authentication & Sign-In (Weeks 2–3) ● Phase 1 (Launch): Email/password (WordPress core) + Google Sign-In via Nextend Social Login plugin ● Phase 2 (Mobile app launch, Month 4): Apple Sign-In support via BuddyBoss or Nextend Pro ● Admin 2FA: Enforce two-factor authentication on all admin, editor, and instructor accounts (Wordfence or Two Factor Authentication plugin) Your deliverables: ● Configure Nextend Social Login with Google OAuth 2.0 credentials (client-side setup) ● Set up WordPress registration fields: name, email, phone (+255 format), NBAA registration number (optional), exam level ● Enable Wordfence Premium and configure admin 2FA enforcement ● Test login, registration, and checkout flows with social sign-in Video Content Delivery Infrastructure (Weeks 3–5) ● Video provider: Bunny Stream (adaptive bitrate HLS, African edge nodes, signed URLs, optional DRM) ● Embedding: Native TutorLMS video block integration with Bunny Stream signed-URL shortcodes ● Offline capability: BuddyBoss App will support lecture download over Wi-Fi for offline playback ● Adaptive bitrate: 240p–1080p auto-scaling for variable Tanzanian mobile bandwidth Your deliverables: ● Create and configure Bunny Stream account; document API credentials ● Build custom WordPress shortcode or TutorLMS extension for embedding Bunny signed URLs with expiration tokens ● Create video upload workflow documentation (contractor → Bunny → TutorLMS lesson embed) ● Test video playback on real Android devices at 4G speeds and degraded network conditions Native Mobile Apps — BuddyBoss (Weeks 8–14) ● Framework: React Native (cross-platform iOS + Android in one codebase) ● Branding: Fully customised as Top CPA; zero BuddyBoss branding visible to students ● Sync: Real-time content sync with TutorLMS; courses, lessons, quizzes, progress, and certificates auto-populate ● App Store deployment: Submission to Apple App Store and Google Play Store under Top CPA's developer accounts ● Store presence: Searchable in both app stores; installable by name 'Top CPA' Your deliverables: ● Assist with Apple Developer Program enrolment (USD 99/year) and Google Play Developer account setup (USD 25 one-time) ● Procure BuddyBoss Platform Pro and subscribe to BuddyBoss App plan (managed by internal team; you provide technical oversight) ● Provide Top CPA with brand assets (logo, colour palette, app icon 1024×1024, splash screen, screenshots) ● Work with BuddyBoss design team: review app mockups, provide feedback on UX ● Internal testing: Run TestFlight (iOS) and Play Store internal track builds; verify content sync, quiz functionality, offline downloads ● Coordinate final app store submissions (BuddyBoss handles submission; you verify pre-launch checklist) Security, Backups & Compliance (Weeks 5–7) ● TLS 1.3 enforced; HSTS headers; no mixed content ● WAF: Cloudflare at edge + Wordfence Premium at application layer ● Backup: Daily Cloudways automatic backups (14-day retention); weekly off-site encrypted backup to Wasabi S3 (UpdraftPlus) ● Email security: SPF, DKIM, DMARC records configured for top-cpa.com domain ● Data protection: Tanzania Data Protection Act 2022 compliance; published privacy policy; data retention schedule Your deliverables: ● Configure Cloudflare WAF rules and DDoS protection ● Install and configure Wordfence Premium; enable brute-force protection and IP blocking ● Set up UpdraftPlus Premium with Wasabi S3 backend; schedule weekly off-site backups ● Configure DNS records (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) for reliable transactional email delivery ● Test backup restoration to staging environment (document time-to-restore) ● Security hardening audit: disable PHP execution in uploads, restrict wp-config.php, disable file editing in admin ● Produce security runbook and disaster-recovery checklist for internal team Analytics, Monitoring & Observability (Weeks 6–8) ● Google Analytics 4: Full funnel tracking (visitor → signup → trial → paid customer) ● Error monitoring: Sentry.io (free tier) for PHP errors and BuddyBoss app crashes ● Uptime monitoring: UptimeRobot (1-minute interval checks on homepage and checkout) ● Performance: GTMetrix / Google PageSpeed Insights baseline; optimised load times for East African connectivity Your deliverables: ● Create and configure GA4 account; set up conversion tracking for signup and paid subscription ● Install Sentry.io and configure error notifications ● Set up UptimeRobot monitoring; configure SMS alerts for downtime ● Optimise WordPress page speed: enable WP Rocket page caching, minification, lazy loading ● Create initial performance baseline report ● Build Looker Studio dashboard template connecting GA4, WooCommerce Analytics, and manual data sources (internal team populates) Email Infrastructure — Three-Provider Setup (Weeks 4–5) ● Internal domain email: Google Workspace (gmail, calendar, drive, meet on top-cpa.com domain) ● Transactional mail: SMTP2GO via WP Mail SMTP Pro (account signup, password reset, payment receipts, automations) ● Marketing campaigns: Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) for newsletters and drip sequences ● SPF, DKIM, DMARC all configured for deliverability Your deliverables: ● Configure Google Workspace domain verification and MX records ● Set up SMTP2GO; update WordPress Nodemailer credentials ● Add Brevo sender domain and DKIM records ● Unified SPF record combining all three providers ● DNS configuration and verification testing (mail-tester.com validation) ● Send test emails to Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo to verify deliverability Hosting, Domain & Infrastructure (Weeks 1–2) ● Domain: top-cpa.co.tz (already registered; you inherit) ● Hosting: Cloudways managed WordPress on DigitalOcean Johannesburg (2 GB plan, ~80 ms latency to Dar es Salaam) ● CDN: Cloudflare free tier for static assets, image optimisation, SSL, DDoS protection ● DNS: Unified DNS provider (currently Cloudflare); you manage all records Your deliverables: ● Access Cloudways account and provision 2 GB DigitalOcean Johannesburg droplet ● Set up staging environment (separate Cloudways droplet or subdomain) ● Point domain DNS to Cloudflare nameservers ● Configure Cloudflare SSL, caching, image optimisation, and bot management ● Document hosting access credentials (securely shared with internal team) ● Create hosting/scaling runbook (when to upgrade from 2 GB → 4 GB → 8 GB) Testing & QA (Weeks 9–12) ● Functional testing: Course creation, lesson enrollment, quiz submission, progress tracking, certificate generation ● Payment flows: All 4 mobile money methods + card + bank transfer in sandbox ● Mobile testing: BuddyBoss app install, content sync, offline download, quiz submission ● Performance testing: 50–100 concurrent simulated users; verify sub-2-second video stream start ● Security testing: Wordfence scan, SSL grade verification (aim for A+), password strength enforcement, 2FA functionality ● Regression testing: Final smoke test of all core flows before public launch Your deliverables: ● Create and execute a comprehensive QA checklist (shared with internal team) ● Document any bugs found and prioritisation (launch-blocker vs. post-launch) ● Sign-off on release readiness for each phase Documentation (Ongoing) ● Contractor playbook: How-to guides for content publishing, quiz creation, student user management, payment reconciliation, backup/restore procedures ● Emergency runbook: Downtime mitigation, payment gateway failover, video streaming issues, backup restoration ● Handoff documentation: Access credentials, vendor contacts, renewal dates, emergency escalation paths Requirements Essential: ● 5+ years of production WordPress experience ● Deep hands-on expertise with WooCommerce and subscription products ● TutorLMS or similar LMS plugin (LearnDash, Moodle) implementation experience ● Comfortable working with payment gateway APIs (Stripe, PayPal experience acceptable; no experience with Selcom OK if willing to learn) ● Strong understanding of WordPress security best practices and performance optimisation ● Experience hosting on managed WordPress platforms (Kinsta, WP Engine, Cloudways, etc.) or ability to self-manage LEMP stack ● Comfortable with DNS, SSL, email deliverability (SPF/DKIM/DMARC) ● Communication: You can explain technical decisions in plain language to non-technical stakeholders Preferred: ● Prior African e-learning or fintech project (familiarity with mobile money, bandwidth constraints, connectivity variability is a plus) ● BuddyBoss or React Native app coordination experience ● Bunny Stream or similar CDN video integration ● Experience with subscription business models and SaaS metrics Non-negotiable: ● You can commit to a fixed 12–16 week delivery with clear milestones ● You provide weekly progress updates (written or brief video sync) ● All work is version-controlled (GitHub); code and credentials securely handed over at project end ● You're timezone-flexible (communication with COSMA founder in Europe/Africa time zones) What We Provide ● Fixed engagement: USD 1,000–1,500, paid in two tranches (50% on project kickoff, 50% on public launch sign-off) ● Clear scope: This specification is the contract; scope changes are documented and priced separately ● Vendor relationships: We handle KYC with payment gateways, app store developer accounts, and SaaS vendor relationships; you focus on technical integration ● Async communication: We work async-first (email, Loom videos, shared docs); scheduled calls are 1× per week, 30 minutes ● Access: Cloudways, Selcom sandbox, Bunny Stream, Google Workspace, all SaaS credentials provided ● Retention: If the project succeeds and we go to market, we'll re-engage you on an ad-hoc basis for discrete features or upgrades (no retainer expected during Year 1) Please include: 1. A brief cover note explaining your relevant experience (5–7 sentences) 2. Your portfolio or GitHub profile (show recent WordPress work, especially payment gateway or subscription integrations) 3. Hourly/project rate and availability (start date) 4. Any questions about scope or timeline 5. Timezone and typical working hours (async OK, but useful to know for sync meetings) What happens next: ● We'll review submissions and shortlist candidates (target: 3–5 interviews) ● First-round call (30 min): Walk through the technical spec; clarify any questions ● Second-round call (30 min): References, collaboration style, problem-solving approach ● Decision within one week; engagement starts immediately Why This Matters This platform will serve thousands of professional exam candidates across East Africa. Your technical foundation enables an entire learning community to access education that was previously unavailable, unaffordable, or geographically out of reach. Beyond the fixed fee, this is a portfolio piece that demonstrates your ability to deliver a production-grade, multi-component system in a resource-constrained, high-growth market. Posted by Justin Omari on behalf of COSMA. We are an equal opportunity employer. COSMA is committed to building inclusive, accessible learning systems across Africa.