How to Moodle

How to Moodle

How to Moodle

From MoodleCloud to Moodle Premium

Where do you go if you’ve reached the limits of MoodleCloud? What should you do if you want a customised theme, more plugins, or more space? MoodleCloud has plenty to offer, but what can you expect if you step up to a managed service? What are the benefits? What’s the process? And the most important question of all: what will it cost?

MoodleCloud vs Premium hosting

MoodleCloud is a no-frills, out-of-the-box, cost-effective way to get Moodling. Simple but functional, it’s a great way to get your learning online. But once your site starts to grow, you’ll want the plugins and customisation options to match. And the bigger you get, the more space you’ll need… Premium Moodle hosting allows you to:

  • Use your own unique URL and theme branding

  • Add as many database plugins as you want

  • Host unlimited users in the disk space you pay for

  • Free version upgrade per 12-month term

  • Get the Quick Fix Promise for free basic support

Finding your Premium Moodle hosting level

Your MoodleCloud plan will have a corresponding Premium hosting level. All levels are listed here, along with instructions on how to find your true GB usage. There is a one-off setup fee to create your site on our servers, and the start-to-finish process is documented here.

MoodleCloud to Moodle migration pathway

Your site needs to be in maintenance mode to allow all data to be totally in sync. You’ll also need to request a backup from the MoodleCloud support services, but once we have that in hand, the process is very simple:

  • New Moodle ‘shell’ installed on ELD servers

  • Backup requested from MoodleCloud

  • Migration started, URL assigned, and plugins installed

  • Course and site setup configuration applied

  • Site tested and made live

A few things to keep in mind:

1. Start-to-end timings rely on how long it takes to get a backup from MoodleCloud, but once that’s in hand, you can be live on our servers within an hour.

2. We can manage the MoodleCloud backup process on your behalf if you’re happy to give us (temporary) access to your current MoodleCloud environment.

3. All sites are set up on a temporary domain; if you know what domain you want to use after migration (or are already using it), we can update this as part of the process.

4. If you’re currently using a MoodleCloud domain but aren’t sure what you want to use after migration, you can use the ELD domain until you’ve made that decision.

Bolt-on support services

Like Moodle, our approach is modular – pick only what you need, only when you need it, and build a unique agreement that fits both your budget and e-learning strategy. We have plenty of support options that offer peace of mind in both the long and short term, and you can add these to your agreement whenever you want.

MoodleCloud FAQs

Moodle comes in three flavours, each with its own capabilities: core Moodle (out-of-the-box with no optional plugins), standard Moodle (out-of-the-box + optional plugins), and multi-tenancy Moodle (out-of-the-box + optional plugins + built-in multi-tenancy functions).

While ‘core’ always explicitly refers to basic, non-optional functionality, ‘Moodle‘ is shorthand for standard Moodle as well as a catchall for everything else in the Moodleplex…

MoodleCloud is a core Moodle + hosting package provided by Moodle HQ. It’s a no-frills solution that doesn’t allow for a free personalised URL or optional plugins, so customisation is restricted. It’s a SaaS model solution, so costs are based on user numbers with an associated gigabyte/GB allowance for storage.

Moodle Premium is a core Moodle + optional plugins + hosting package where customisation is unrestricted (including URLs), user numbers are unlimited, and costs are based on a resource model, i.e the volume (in GB) of course files you need to store, like the training materials, PDFS, images, saved student/learner submissions, etc.

If you are using your own URL with MoodleCloud, then yes.

If you are using a MoodleCloud URL, then this will change when you move off the MoodleCloud domain.

If you already know the URL you want to use, we can apply it as part of the migration process.

Read more about URLs/DNS here.

There’s a page here giving some context (in non-technical terms) to the Moodle journey, and this page will help you figure out what type of support you might want along the way.

As long as you’ve completed our signup requirements, within 24 hours of written acceptance of Quote (M-F).

The only delay might be waiting for MoodleCloud to pass over your backup, but once we have that in hand, you can be live on our servers within an hour.

Got general questions about how things work? Our FAQ page covers the basics.

Want to ask something specific? You can raise a ticket directly in our Helpdesk system.

Prefer a contact form? Fill in the details, and a ticket will be raised automatically.