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Elearning Templates: 3 Best Free Design Templates to Save You Hours

5 minute read

Kirstie Greany Elucidat
By Kirstie Greany

Head of Customer Marketing

Why start from scratch, when there are elearning templates to do the heavy lifting? Here are the best ones that our learning consultants swear by.  Whether you’re planning a project, storyboarding your content or building your course – elearning templates are a huge time saver.


free elearning template

  1. What is an elearning template?
  2. Three free elearning templates
  3. Top elearning templates – at a glance

What is an elearning template?

An elearning template is a file that contains pre-formatted or part-designed elements that you can adapt and customize to fit your project. Using elearning design templates is a great way to save time at the planning stage and introduce interesting and aesthetically-pleasing elements to your courses that may otherwise take a lot of design resource to produce from scratch. Not only that, but it also helps to reduce the learning curve for new authors, allowing anyone to get to grips with the process and create awesome elearning in a fraction of the time. 

You can access elearning templates for every stage of the project, from planning and storyboarding, through to design. Following an elearning template can help you to follow elearning best practices, ensure your projects are consistent and experiment with different formats, including microlearning and gamification. Utilizing a design template for your elearning courses also ensures consistent branding, colors and fonts across all materials for a professional-looking output every time. 

Designing an awesome template is not a small task. Elearning template design takes knowledge and experience. At Elucidat we are lucky to have our wonderful learning consultants who are always brimming with elearning template ideas. We wanted to share with you the best elearning templates we’ve tried and tested – and use on all our projects. Enjoy!

Three free elearning templates

1. Elearning project plan template

The most successful elearning projects start with a rock-solid plan. You’ll save time later on by getting clear on the learning objectives, project goals and needs from the start.

Our learning consultants use this elearning template on every single project. It sets out the essential steps for creating a bulletproof elearning project plan. It’s tried and tested, and will set you up for success!

“I can already see this is going to be a game-changer for me” – a recent participant in our Digital Learning Skill-Up program said about the planning template.

One section of the project planning template:

Download the free Elearning Project Plan template.

2. Learning design storyboard template

If you’re planning to simply convert your powerpoint into elearning, hold fire! Is that going to be the most engaging experience for your audience?

First, you need to come up with an elearning design concept. Then, before you touch your authoring tool, complete a storyboard to nail your structure and content. We recommend collaborative storyboarding to get your team and any subject matter experts aligned. Then, you can hit the ground running when you start to build out your course.

This elearning storyboard template will help you to align stakeholders around a common goal and speed up production. Most importantly, it’ll prevent you from losing great designs to boring content!
Elearning storyboard template
Get the storyboard template now.

All templates in Elucidat come with a downloadable storyboard, including tips on how to complete it.
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3. Elearning course templates

Building out your course from an elearning template can save you heaps of time. There are lots of template libraries out there – but many of these will leave you with cookie-cutter, generic content. And, they can get expensive at scale.
Look for elearning templates that act as a starting point, but give you the flexibility to adapt it to your brand and specific project.
elearning course templates
If you’re looking for Instructional design templates we’ve got you covered. We’ve built 20+ elearning templates, with expert learning design guidance baked in. Landing Summer 2020, Elucidat’s Learning Accelerator will recommend the best template for your project, based on your goals and needs. Then, you just add content.

There are 20+ available templates right now, for free – just ask and we’ll make switch them on in your Elucidat account (or sign up for a free trial). Learn more.

Three free elearning templates available in Elucidat:

  • Microlearning: Quick Onboarding

This single scrolling page template is designed to help you onboard new hires in a very focused way. The template is set up for you to outline key equipment they need and tasks they should complete. It encourages the use of video examples and will help you set expectations with your new people quickly.

Example of this template in action

microlearning quick onboarding
  • Microlearning: Top tips

This linear elearning is ideal for busy employees who need to improve in specific areas but don’t have time for a lengthy course. The template is built for focus. It starts with reflective questions, offers succinct tips and examples and then gets users to identify their top actions. It also uses social polling to see what their peers are prioritizing.

Example of this template in action

  • In-depth learning: Process

This menu-based elearning template is great for in-depth process training. It breaks the content into distinct topics that give an overview and then drill down into the detail. It includes examples and knowledge checks, before helping them embed and practice what they’ve learnt with a scenario.

Example of this template in action

Want to try out these elearning templates?

You can now take these elearning templates for a spin in your Elucidat account! Not an Elucidat customer? No problem. You can test drive Learning Accelerator by signing up for a free trial.
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Top elearning templates – at a glance

The free training design templates we mentioned here are just the tip of the iceberg. It was a tough call to decide on the top three. So for those of you who would like more, here’s a quick overview of the full shortlist. And, to get you even more inspired, check out these 10 awesome elearning examples. We cover storytelling, microlearning, assessments, and much more! 

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Elearning template What’s it for
1.Elearning project plan template This project plan template is sure to help you deliver your best work yet. It all starts with a solid plan, and this template will get you there.
2.Learning design storyboard template Use our storyboarding template to align your whole team and make sure you go into production with something more engaging than a powerpoint.
3. Elearning course templates The quickest and easiest way of producing training is by using a course template or even better: a template! Our Learning Accelerator feature offers ready-made templates with learning design baked in every step of the way. You just add content. It can’t get any faster than this.
4. Authoring tool comparison template This handy authoring tools comparison template will take the pain out of picking the right platform for your team. We’ve also completed the Elucidat column for you so you can see how we stack up!
5. Conceptualize elearning template Using your goal as a starting point, this easy to follow elearning template will walk you through turning your vision into awesome training. Find out how to map your content, cut down to the most important elements, and turn your key points into engaging online learning experiences.

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Written by Kirstie Greany

Read more articles by Kirstie Greany