LMS Developer-Build a CEU/Online Course Platform with Certificates, Live Sessions & CRM Integration

We're launching an online continuing-education institute serving care and healthcare professionals. Our students earn CEU credits toward their professional requirements, so the platform has to reliably deliver courses, verify completion, and issue compliant certificates. We already have our branding, course content, and business requirements documented — we need an experienced LMS developer to build the platform. Project Scope:
We're building a continuing-education (CEU) learning platform that sells and delivers courses, tracks completion, and issues certificates. This is a real LMS build, not a simple course page. It needs to support two kinds of courses: On-demand (self-paced) courses: -Student watches video lessons → completes a required survey/quiz → certificate is issued automatically Live (Zoom-based) courses: -Student registers → receives an automated confirmation and timed reminder emails -Attendance is verified using Zoom join/leave data (registration alone does NOT equal completion) -An admin manually reviews and approves attendance before the certificate is released Certificates & compliance: -Automatically generated completion certificates that display required compliance details (vendor number and course approval number) -Certificates issued only after the correct completion path is met (survey done, or live attendance approved) Store & payments: -Individual course purchases and subscription options (Stripe) -Group/bulk purchasing for employers is a later phase — build with that in mind, but not required at launch User roles: -Student/Licensee, Admin, and Instructor roles at launch -Employer/group-buyer role planned for a later phase Integrations & standards: -Integration with GoHighLevel (our CRM) so student data and tags flow through correctly -Brand-matched design consistent with our other sites (branding provided) -WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility and mobile-first design -SCORM / xAPI / cmi5 support is desirable Platform / Tech Stack:
We're open to your recommendation, but we're leaning toward WordPress with a proven LMS layer (e.g., LearnDash, Tutor LMS, or LifterLMS) given the need for certificates, live-session handling, and Stripe. If you'd recommend a different stack to meet these requirements, tell us why. The must-haves are: reliable certificate generation, Zoom attendance handling, Stripe payments, and GoHighLevel integration. Skills & Tools Required: -Proven LMS development experience (LearnDash, Tutor LMS, LifterLMS, or equivalent) -Certificate generation with dynamic/compliance fields -Zoom integration — pulling attendance/join data, or building an attendance-verification workflow -Stripe payments (one-time + subscriptions) -GoHighLevel or comparable CRM integration -WordPress / PHP / custom development as needed -Accessibility (WCAG 2.1 AA) and mobile-first design Timeline:
This is a phased build. We'd like the core platform (on-demand courses, certificates, Stripe, CRM, brand design) live first, then live/Zoom sessions and compliance features in a second phase, and scaling features (subscriptions, reporting, employer seats) after that. Please give us your realistic estimate for the core phase, and how you'd sequence the rest. Budget:
This is a phased project with a total budget in the range of $1,500–$3,000 across all phases, structured so the core platform launches first and later phases follow as the business grows. We're also looking for an ongoing maintenance relationship after launch (retainer or hourly) — so this is steady, long-term work for the right developer, not a one-and-done job. To Apply, Please Include: -Portfolio / live examples of LMS or course platforms you've built — ideally ones with certificates and paid courses -A specific example of Zoom integration or attendance verification you've implemented (this is the trickiest part of our build — tell us how you'd approach it) -Your experience with certificate generation that includes required compliance fields -Examples of Stripe and CRM integration work -Your recommended tech stack for this project and why -A realistic timeline for the core phase and how you'd sequence the later phases -A note on your communication style and update frequency Please begin your reply with the word “Learning “Management System” so we know you've read the full post.