How to Connect LearnDash to Microsoft 365 & Entra ID (Active Directory)

How and why connect LearnDash to Microsoft 365?

We have a rich history of using both Microsoft and WordPress tools for over a decade. In our work with SMEs, we’ve frequently encountered scenarios where organizations sought to integrate LearnDash with Microsoft 365 for various reasons. Drawing from my experiences with both North American and European workforces, it’s generally observed that IT professionals seldom choose career paths that encompass both Microsoft and WordPress. These domains entail distinct skill sets, cater to different companies, and involve unique approaches to addressing and solving problems.

I have had the opportunity lately to work on some interesting cases of LearnDash integration with Microsoft Active Directory. I’ll be sharing with you my experience.

Connect LearnDash to Microsoft 365: Why Do It?

Microsoft 365 is Almost Everywhere

Let’s face it: Microsoft products are almost everywhere. Whether your organization uses Google Workspace for emails and productivity, or even if you’d rather use Notion to structure your work, it is probable that you also use some tools from Microsoft.

In a rapidly evolving business landscape, choosing Microsoft 365 transcends a mere software decision—it’s betting on a business that has been around since the beginning of modern computers. They have taken on many challenges throughout the years, and in 2024, they are still a leader and key player in IT.

Microsoft tools are not, usually, easy to remove and replace from an organization. I’m not just talking about very well known Word, Excel and PowerPoint. I’m mostly talking about foundational tools like Active Directory (now Entra ID), SharePoint portals, OneDrive directories…

Switching from Microsoft to something else is a journey that few businesses will undertake. It is usually costly, and it requires many changes to daily operations, product management, security, and more.

Why LearnDash?

LearnDash is the best Learning Management System plugin in the whole WordPress ecosystem. Solo educators and SMEs choose LearnDash as their platform for many reasons:

Check this short post on why I still believe in LearnDash in 2024.

Reasons to Connect LearnDash to Microsoft 365

There are many reasons why you could want to integrate your WordPress & LearnDash site with Microsoft Entra ID. Most of the time, organizations we worked with wanted first and foremost to have single sign-on (SSO) between WP and Microsoft. As said earlier, SMEs with Windows computers and Active Directory to manage Windows accounts are numerous. So being able to log into WP without having a separate password is great for users, and tremendously important for security professionals.

Companies also like to connect both tools to automate the provisioning of accounts. No need to create WordPress accounts manually anymore, or to have employees fill-out registration forms. With Microsoft accounts being provisioned directly and automatically into WordPress, you remove the risk of errors and possible a whole lot of user management tasks.

But I’m aware that those were WordPress reasons, not necessarily LearnDash reasons to connect with Microsoft 365. The fun begins when you want to automatically enrol employees to specific LearnDash courses. To go a bit further, you could even want to enrol certain people to certain courses, based on attributes or security groups.

You could also want to use Microsoft Teams for LearnDash notifications, instead of old-school emails. As organizations are implementing Teams more and more, having a central place where employees get all of their notifications is becoming a necessity. Especially for organizations that have lots of non-Microsoft tools.

One last, but not the least, is if you’d want your employees to visualize Power BI dashboards directly into WordPress and LearnDash. Allow HR people to check users progression, success, etc.

As you can see, the possibilities are limitless when you efficiently Connect LearnDash to Microsoft 365.

Tools of the Trade

The best WordPress plugin to connect your WP site to Microsoft products is WPO365. Don’t bother to look for alternatives, you’ll always end up back to WPO365.

Obviously, you’ll need a Microsoft account with a tenant.

You want to use the JSM Show User Metadata plugin. It is great to check the metadata of a user, without coding or accessing the database. It is free, lightweight, and available on the WP repo through your back-office. The JSM Show Post Metadata works the same way for posts of any type.

Common LearnDash <-> Active Directory Use Cases

User Authentication and Single Sign-On (SSO)

• Scenario: Many organizations use Microsoft Active Directory to manage user identities. Integrating LearnDash with Active Directory enables seamless user authentication and Single Sign-On (SSO). Users can log in to LearnDash using their Active Directory credentials, eliminating the need for separate login credentials.
• Benefits: Streamlining the login process enhances user experience, reduces password fatigue, and improves security by leveraging Active Directory’s authentication mechanisms.

Automated User Provisioning and Management

• Scenario: In a corporate setting, employee roles and access permissions often change due to promotions, new hires, or role changes. Integrating WordPress & LearnDash with Active Directory allows for automated user provisioning and de-provisioning based on changes in the Active Directory user database.
• Benefits: Ensures that LearnDash user accounts are always up-to-date, reflecting the current organizational structure. This reduces administrative overhead, minimizes the risk of errors, and ensures compliance with access policies.

Real-time User Sync

• Scenario: Enable real-time or near-real-time synchronization between LearnDash and Active Directory to ensure that any changes in user status (e.g., account activation or suspension) are reflected immediately in LearnDash.
• Benefits: Improves system responsiveness and ensures that access to learning materials is promptly granted or revoked based on Active Directory changes.

Course Enrolment Based on Active Directory Attributes

• Scenario: Organizations often categorize employees into groups based on departments, teams, or other attributes in Active Directory. With integration, LearnDash can dynamically assign users to specific groups and courses based on their Active Directory attributes (e.g., department, job role).
• Benefits: Tailors the learning experience by automatically enrolling users in relevant courses based on their organizational roles. This ensures that employees receive targeted training aligned with their responsibilities, enhancing the effectiveness of the learning platform.

Customized Learning Paths

• Scenario: Utilize Active Directory attributes, such as job roles or skill levels, to automatically assign users to customized learning paths within LearnDash.
• Benefits: Personalizes the learning experience, increases engagement, and aligns training content with individual employee development needs.

Learning Analytics Integration

• Scenario: Combine Active Directory attributes with LearnDash learning analytics to gain insights into user behavior, course completion rates, and overall training effectiveness.
• Benefits: Informed decision-making, allowing for continuous improvement of learning content and strategies based on data-driven insights.

Preparing Your Environment to Connect LearnDash to Microsoft 365

Here’s a simple checklist of things to take care of before integrating Entra ID with WordPress.

I would recommend watching videos from the developer behind the WPO365 plugin, all of which are available on YouTube.

Have a look at the WPO365 documentation and feature page. It is incredibly powerful with the detailed step-by-step necessary to connect LearnDash to Microsoft 365.

Work with a Professional Agency

The task to Connect LearnDash to Microsoft 365 is a difficult one. There are a lot of moving parts, and the world of Microsoft Active Directory, Entra ID and overall security is a complex one.

When you work with experienced specialists of both Microsoft and WordPress / LearnDash solutions, you secure the outcome of your integration project in a timely fashion.

We have done such integrations many times, and will be happy to offer a free consultation. Simply reach out with the details of your project.