What Is the Ideal Length for Online Courses?

Are you struggling to determine how long your online course should be? Wondering if your lessons are too long or too short to keep students engaged? You're not alone.

When it comes to online course length, the answer is nuanced. How long should your modules be? What's the perfect lesson duration? These questions don't have one-size-fits-all answers, but there are principles that can guide you toward creating courses that actually deliver transformation without overwhelming your students.

In this post, I'll dive into what determines the ideal online course length and lesson duration, helping you create learning experiences that keep students engaged while delivering the promised transformation.

How Long Should an Online Course Be?

The short answer: just long enough for your students to achieve the promised transformation—no more, no less.

Many course creators make the mistake of deciding on their course structure before mapping out the curriculum. They decide they want a 6-module course with 5 lessons each because it sounds comprehensive or fits neatly into a 6-week program. But here's the problem: when you pre-determine your course structure without first understanding what your learners actually need, you end up with arbitrary constraints that can harm your content.

Instead of starting with a fixed module count, start with the transformation:

1. Define the specific transformation: What will students be able to do, achieve, or become after taking your course?

2. Map the learner journey: What specific steps do they need to take to get there? What concepts must they learn? What actions must they take?

3. Identify potential obstacles: Where might they get stuck or need extra guidance?

4. Create a roadmap based on reality: Some concepts might need a week to master, while others require a month of practice. Your course structure should reflect this reality, not force it into a predetermined container.

When you understand what transformation you're promising, you gain a powerful lens through which to view all your content decisions. This clarity helps you identify what's essential versus what might be fluff or distraction.

Remember: your students are busy people. They're making sacrifices to take your course. Your job isn't to impress them with how much you know—it's to help them achieve their desired outcome as efficiently as possible.

Read more: Crafting Your Online Course's Core Promised Transformation

If content doesn't directly contribute to the promised transformation, consider:

• Moving it to a bonus section
• Saving it for a different product entirely
• Simply leaving it out

What's the Ideal Length for Online Course Lessons?

When it comes to individual lessons, particularly video-based ones, shorter is generally better. Here's why:

The Case for Shorter Lessons (Under 15 Minutes)

Research consistently shows that viewer retention drops significantly after about 10-15 minutes.

For most online courses, lesson videos that average under 10 minutes and rarely exceed 15 minutes tend to perform better in terms of completion rates and knowledge retention.

Shorter lessons offer several benefits:

• They're easier to fit into busy schedules
• They create a sense of progress and momentum
• They allow for more focused learning on a single concept
• They're less intimidating when students open their course portal

When Longer Lessons Can Work

That said, I've seen courses with longer videos (15-30 minutes) perform well under certain conditions:

1. Courses with active communities, coaching support, or structured accountability mechanisms can help maintain engagement through longer content.

2. If you typically create longer-form content and your audience is already comfortable with your style, they may be primed for longer lessons.

3. Some complex topics simply require more time to explain properly.

If you do opt for longer lessons, make sure they're:

• Well-structured with clear organization
• Engaging with varied pacing
• Visually supportive of learning
• Not filled with fluff or tangents
• Accessible in different formats (like a private podcast feed for on-the-go learning)

How to Structure Your Lessons

Each lesson should focus on teaching one core concept or action step. When determining whether to combine or separate content, ask yourself:

• Is this one cohesive task with sub-steps, or multiple distinct tasks?
• Will students need to spend days implementing what they learn, or can they complete it relatively quickly?
• Will combining these topics create overwhelm when students look at their course portal?

A good rule of thumb: each lesson should provide a clear takeaway that students can identify and implement before moving on to the next.

Finding Your Course's Perfect Length

The ideal online course length is ultimately determined by:

1. Your specific topic: Some subjects naturally require more explanation and practice than others.

2. Your unique audience: Consider their prior knowledge, available time, and learning preferences.

3. Your teaching style: Your personal approach affects how quickly you can convey information effectively.

4. The promised transformation: This is the most important factor—your course should be just long enough to deliver what you promised, no more. Click here to learn how to craft your course promise!

Transformation First, Packaging Second

When designing your online course, resist the temptation to start with arbitrary module or lesson counts. Instead:

1. Get crystal clear on the transformation you're promising
2. Map out what students actually need to achieve that transformation
3. Structure your content around that journey
4. Remove anything that doesn't directly contribute to the promised outcome
5. Break remaining content into digestible lessons (ideally under 15 minutes)
6. Implement support systems that help students maintain momentum

This transformation-first approach ensures that your course is exactly as long as it needs to be—no more, no less. The result? Higher completion rates, better student outcomes, and a reputation for creating courses that actually work.

Ready to Create a Course That Delivers?

If you're struggling to determine the right length and structure for your online course, I can help. My Course Audit service provides expert analysis of your existing course materials, with specific recommendations to optimize your content for maximum student transformation.

Or if you're just starting out, my New Course Curriculum Design services can guide you through the entire process of creating a course that delivers on its promises without overwhelming your students.

Click here to learn more about both!

Let's create learning experiences that actually work—no matter how long they need to be.