Migrate from Skool to Reign.

The move has four phases, and only one of them is long. Collecting member emails is quick if the Skool admin gives you every address; if it does not, the pinned opt-in link runs alongside the other phases. Installing Reign, BuddyNext, Learnomy and WB Gamification on staging is a short job, and the free Reign Demo Installer gives you a starting layout.

Rebuilding the classroom is the long phase. Its length depends on how many courses and lessons you recreate in Learnomy and how many videos you move, so rebuild the course members use most first. Then run both sites side by side until members are active on the new one. That period is set by your members, not a calendar, and billing moves last.

If you would rather not do the work yourself, the Wbcom team can run the whole move and give you a timeline once they have seen your courses.

Members who are used to one simple screen will notice that your site has a menu, a profile, a feed and a classroom. That is more, and it can feel like more to learn. The answer is to brief them with a single short guide that shows three places: the feed, the classroom and their profile.

They will also notice that their points and levels are gone. Skool does not export them, and WB Gamification awards points from real activity on the new site. Tell people before the move, and give the early movers a reason to feel ahead, such as a founding-member badge. Most members accept a fresh start when they know about it.

Lessons should open in the order they expect. Walk through the classroom as a student before you announce, and fix anything that is out of order.

Collect emails first. If you cannot export every address, post an opt-in link inside the community and pin it. Every sign-up is a member you can now reach. Build the new site on staging while the community carries on as normal.

Open the new site to a small group of regulars first and ask them to go through the classroom. Then announce it to everyone, keep Skool live, and post in both places. Show what the new site adds, such as search and a profile page that is yours.

Pick the cut-over when the classroom is complete, payments work and the active members have moved. A new course launch is a natural moment. After that, make the old community read-only and pin a post that points to the new address.

Your pricing becomes your decision. You can keep one flat price or add a free level and a premium level, using Learnomy memberships with Stripe or PayPal checkout, or BuddyNext Pro paid plans. Reign is a flat theme licence with no per-member fee and no share of your sales; see the pricing page.

The site is also yours to grow. Add Jetonomy for forums and Q&A that stay findable, MediaVerse for photos and video, Eventonomy for live sessions with RSVPs, and later a member directory or a job board. All of it uses the same login, so nobody registers twice.

Search is the last gain. Public pages, lesson previews and forum topics sit on your domain, so people can find you without being inside a login.

Members report posts and you review them in the BuddyNext moderation queue, which is free. If you add Jetonomy, it has its own queue. Auto and bulk moderation are BuddyNext Pro.

Check that WB Gamification rewards the behaviour you want. Points for real activity such as replies and finished lessons make the leaderboard mean something; points for everything make it noise. Set the rules deliberately and review them after the first weeks.

Skool's strength is that it is simple. If your members love that, if you want no site to maintain and you are happy with the hosted terms, staying is a reasonable choice. A WordPress site needs hosting and someone to look after it.

The move fits best when you want your own domain, more control over pricing, a classroom that sits beside forums, media and other features on one login, or search traffic. Weigh those against the effort. The guide to building an online community helps you decide.