DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF A FULL-STACK LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM WITH SECURE AUTHENTICATION, ONLINE PAYMENT, AND COURSE PROGRESS TRACKING

Abstract: This paper presents the design and development of a full-stack Learning Management System (LMS) intended to provide an integrated platform for course management, digital learning, authentication, online enrollment, payment processing, and learner progress tracking. The system is implemented using the MERN technology stack, with React.js and Vite on the client side, Node.js and Express.js on the server side, and MongoDB Atlas for persistent data storage. Clerk is used for user authentication, while Stripe supports online payments and webhook-based payment confirmation. Cloudinary is used for course thumbnail media storage. The platform supports educator-oriented course creation with chapters and lectures and student-oriented course discovery, purchase, enrollment, video learning, and progress management. RESTful APIs connect the client and server, while database models maintain course, purchase, enrollment, and progress information. Functional testing of the implemented workflow demonstrates that the major learning cycle— from authentication and course publication through payment, enrollment, lecture access, and progress tracking—can be handled within a unified web application. The work demonstrates how contemporary full-stack web technologies and third-party services can be combined to construct a practical and deployable LMS.

Keywords: Learning Management System, MERN Stack, React.js, MongoDB Atlas, Clerk Authentication, Stripe Payment, Webhook, Course Progress Tracking