Moodle Engineering

WordPress and Moodle Integration Built on Moodle Web Services.

Connect your WordPress site to Moodle for user provisioning, paid enrollment, single sign-on and completion data, built by engineers who work on Moodle directly.

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View Our Experience

Shipped on Canvas LMS and Moodle
API, webhook and SSO engineering
Written findings before any build

enrollment-syncHealthy

WordPress course siteCatalog · course pagesBrowsing
WooCommerce checkoutorder.completed webhookPaid
LMS APIIdempotent enrollment callEnrolled
Learner dashboardSSO session handed offLearning

Nightly reconciliation catches anything a webhook missed.

Overview

Moodle is flexible, which makes integrations easy to get wrong

Moodle exposes most of what an integration needs through its web services layer, and it can be extended with plugins when it does not. That flexibility means there are many ways to connect it to WordPress: auth plugins, enrollment plugins, external database sync, web service calls and SSO bridges. Many sites end up with two of these at once, competing.

Moodle is one of the platforms where ZionStar has direct project experience. We pick one integration path, document it and remove the leftovers.

Web services, tokens and capabilities

WordPress talks to Moodle through the REST endpoint at /webservice/rest/server.php using a token tied to a dedicated service user. We create an external service that exposes only the functions the integration needs and grant the service user only the matching capabilities, so a leaked token cannot be used to administer the site.

Common functions include core_user_get_users_by_field to find an existing learner, core_user_create_users to create one and enrol_manual_enrol_users to enroll them. When the standard functions are not enough, for example to apply a cohort and group in one transaction, we write a small local plugin that exposes a custom web service function.

http

POST /webservice/rest/server.php wstoken=TOKEN&moodlewsrestformat=json &wsfunction=core_user_get_users_by_field &field=email&values[0]=learner@example.com POST /webservice/rest/server.php wstoken=TOKEN&moodlewsrestformat=json &wsfunction=enrol_manual_enrol_users &enrolments[0][roleid]=5&enrolments[0][userid]=812&enrolments[0][courseid]=34

Look up a learner by email, then enroll them. Role ID 5 is Moodle's default student role; confirm it on your site.

Identity, authentication and SSO

Moodle users have an auth method, a username and an optional idnumber field. We store the WordPress user ID or your CRM ID in idnumber and match on it first, which avoids duplicates when learners change email addresses.

For single sign-on, Moodle supports SAML and OAuth 2 / OpenID Connect through standard or well-maintained auth plugins. We configure one identity source for both sites, map attributes explicitly and test edge cases such as suspended accounts and learners who existed in Moodle before SSO was introduced.

Enrollment methods and paid courses

Moodle has its own enrollment plugins, including manual, self, cohort sync and payment-based methods. When WooCommerce is selling the course, we usually let WordPress handle payment and use manual or cohort enrollment through web services, so there is one checkout and one place to issue refunds.

Refunds, cancellations and expired subscriptions call the matching unenrollment or suspend the enrollment, depending on whether you need to keep the learner's grades and activity.

Moodle customization and administration

Some requirements belong inside Moodle rather than in WordPress: custom completion rules, certificate templates, course formats, reports or a theme that matches the marketing site. We build these as Moodle plugins and themes that follow its upgrade path, and we test SCORM packages and quizzes after Moodle version upgrades.

Scope

Moodle Integration Scope

Supported through standard Moodle features

User lookup and creation through core web service functions
Manual and cohort enrollment from WooCommerce orders
SSO through SAML or OAuth 2 / OIDC auth plugins
Custom web service functions in a local plugin
Completion and grade data pulled for reporting

Depends on your hosting and version

Plugin installation on hosted or managed Moodle services
Web service and token configuration permitted by your host
Behavior differences between Moodle major versions
Event-based outbound notifications, which may need a plugin

How it works

Moodle Integration Steps

Shorter than a full LMS project because Moodle's API is well understood.

Audit both sites

We review WordPress plugins, Moodle auth and enrollment methods, and web service settings.
Deliverables
Conflict list
Current data flow
2

Configure a scoped service

We set up a restricted external service, token and service user.
Deliverables
Service and capability configuration
3

Build, test and backfill

We implement the sync, test it on a Moodle staging copy and repair existing mismatches.
Deliverables
Integration code
Backfill report
Runbook

Experience

Multi-LMS Engineering

Proctor360 required integration across several learning platforms. It was not a WordPress project.

Proctor360

Multiple LMS platformsLTI
Context
An online proctoring product used inside several learning management systems.
Technical challenge
Delivering one product experience across institutions that each run a different LMS.
Implemented solution
Multi-LMS integration engineering, so the product works inside each customer's learning platform.
Discuss a similar requirement

FAQ

Moodle Questions

Something we haven't covered? The assistant answers from this page and can book an engineer.

Ask the assistant

Should Moodle or WooCommerce handle payment?

If your marketing and catalog already live in WordPress, WooCommerce is usually simpler: one checkout, one refund process and one tax configuration. Moodle's payment enrollment works well for sites without a separate storefront.

Can you work with a hosted Moodle?

Yes, within what the host allows. Some managed services restrict custom plugins or web service settings, so we check those limits first.

Will the integration survive Moodle upgrades?

Core web service functions are stable across versions, and custom code is written as a standard plugin. We still test on a staging copy before every major upgrade.

Can existing Moodle users be linked to WordPress accounts?

Yes. We run a matching job on idnumber and email, report conflicts for manual review and then write the link to both sides.

Can learners see Moodle progress on the WordPress site?

Yes. Completion and grade data can be fetched through web services and shown in a WordPress learner dashboard, cached to limit API calls.

Get started

Request a Moodle Integration Review

Share your Moodle version, hosting and WordPress setup, and what is not working.

Tell the assistant what's breakingYour LMS, the plugins involved and what learners or admins see. Ask it anything about the integration first if you like.
Confirm your work emailA one-time code proves the address. Never share passwords, API keys or LMS admin logins in chat.
Pick a timeChoose an open slot for your technical assessment. An engineer reviews your setup before the call.

ZionStar AssistantReplies instantly

Hi — I can help with Moodle WordPress Integration. What's happening between your WordPress site and your LMS?

Orders complete in WooCommerce, but some learners never get enrolled.

That's usually the order-to-enrollment hand-off — a missed webhook or a duplicate account. Let's book a technical assessment; I'll need your name and work email.

Example conversation

Start with the assistant

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Run Moodle and WordPress as One Learning System.

We will review your current setup and propose one clean integration path.

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