RMIT University Short Courses: Shopify Plus Transformation

Industry

Education

Founded

1887

A Fully Integrated Education eCommerce Platform with Canvas LMS, Salesforce, and Workday

Helping RMIT Deliver Seamless Online Enrolments at Scale

RMIT University is one of Australiaโ€™s most respected institutions for continuing education. Their Short Courses division needed to modernise the way it delivered online and in-person learningโ€”globally, flexibly, and fast. Sonder Sites was brought in to design, develop, and deploy a fully custom Shopify Plus solution that could integrate with enterprise systems like Canvas LMS, Salesforce, and Workday.

We partnered with RMITโ€™s internal team across a 6-month project to deliver one of the first fully integrated online course platforms built on Shopify Plus.

The Challenge

RMITโ€™s legacy platform (Drupal) was holding them back. They needed:

  • A modern, reliable eCommerce platform

  • Seamless integration with Canvas LMS for auto-enrolments and course management

  • CRM sync with Salesforce and admin processes through Workday

  • Multi-currency, multi-language UX for international students

  • Support for B2B enrolments, group invoicing, and guest checkouts

  • A solution non-technical staff could manage themselves

All of thisโ€”while staying fast, accessible, and compliant.

Our Solution

The new platform supports thousands of enrolments per term and was built to scale with RMIT's growing global demand. We built a fully custom, high-performance Shopify Plus storefront with enterprise-grade integrations and UX design tailored for education commerce.

Shopify Plus Custom Storefront

  • Mobile-first, accessible theme design

  • Dynamic course scheduling and session display

  • Guest checkout and simplified re-enrolment

  • Bundle discounts and invoice-based B2B checkout

Canvas LMS Integration

  • Auto-enrolment post-purchase

  • Realtime updates for cancellations, deferrals, and commencements

  • Seamless learner experience: one payment, instant access


Salesforce & Workday Integrations

  • CRM sync for lead capture and tracking

  • Admin workflows embedded into Workday

  • Reduced double-handling and data silos

Global Readiness

  • Geo-IP language and currency detection

  • Manual override controls for international students

  • Real-time price conversion + Shopify Payments support

Internal Tools & Content Control

  • Fully custom CMS for RMIT staff

  • Editable content blocks for marketing, course descriptions, banners, and more

Agile Collaboration

  • Workshops, user story mapping, and sprint reviews with RMIT team

Delivered via a hybrid Agile/waterfall model for flexibility and oversight


The Results

โœ… Enrolment experience transformed

  • Students can now browse, buy, and learnโ€”all in one seamless flow

โœ… System efficiency boosted

  • No more double data entry across Salesforce, Workday, and Canvas

โœ… Global-ready commerce

  • Fully localised checkout and enrolment for 10+ countries

โœ… CMS adoption success

  • 100% of content updates now handled internally by RMIT staff

โœ… Built for growth

  • Future-proofed design for rolling out to additional faculties

What This Means for You

This case study proves that Shopify Plus isnโ€™t just for DTCโ€”itโ€™s a powerful engine for education, training, and institutional eCommerce.

If you need:

  • Seamless online enrolment tied to your LMS

  • Connected experiences across Salesforce or Workday

  • B2B checkout and admin-friendly control

Letโ€™s talk. Weโ€™ve done it for RMIT. We can do it for you.

๐Ÿ‘‰ Contact Sonder Sites to explore your digital transformation.

A Fully Integrated Education eCommerce Platform with Canvas LMS, Salesforce, and Workday

Helping RMIT Deliver Seamless Online Enrolments at Scale

RMIT University is one of Australiaโ€™s most respected institutions for continuing education. Their Short Courses division needed to modernise the way it delivered online and in-person learningโ€”globally, flexibly, and fast. Sonder Sites was brought in to design, develop, and deploy a fully custom Shopify Plus solution that could integrate with enterprise systems like Canvas LMS, Salesforce, and Workday.

We partnered with RMITโ€™s internal team across a 6-month project to deliver one of the first fully integrated online course platforms built on Shopify Plus.

The Challenge

RMITโ€™s legacy platform (Drupal) was holding them back. They needed:

  • A modern, reliable eCommerce platform

  • Seamless integration with Canvas LMS for auto-enrolments and course management

  • CRM sync with Salesforce and admin processes through Workday

  • Multi-currency, multi-language UX for international students

  • Support for B2B enrolments, group invoicing, and guest checkouts

  • A solution non-technical staff could manage themselves

All of thisโ€”while staying fast, accessible, and compliant.

Our Solution

The new platform supports thousands of enrolments per term and was built to scale with RMIT's growing global demand. We built a fully custom, high-performance Shopify Plus storefront with enterprise-grade integrations and UX design tailored for education commerce.

Shopify Plus Custom Storefront

  • Mobile-first, accessible theme design

  • Dynamic course scheduling and session display

  • Guest checkout and simplified re-enrolment

  • Bundle discounts and invoice-based B2B checkout

Canvas LMS Integration

  • Auto-enrolment post-purchase

  • Realtime updates for cancellations, deferrals, and commencements

  • Seamless learner experience: one payment, instant access


Salesforce & Workday Integrations

  • CRM sync for lead capture and tracking

  • Admin workflows embedded into Workday

  • Reduced double-handling and data silos

Global Readiness

  • Geo-IP language and currency detection

  • Manual override controls for international students

  • Real-time price conversion + Shopify Payments support

Internal Tools & Content Control

  • Fully custom CMS for RMIT staff

  • Editable content blocks for marketing, course descriptions, banners, and more

Agile Collaboration

  • Workshops, user story mapping, and sprint reviews with RMIT team

Delivered via a hybrid Agile/waterfall model for flexibility and oversight


The Results

โœ… Enrolment experience transformed

  • Students can now browse, buy, and learnโ€”all in one seamless flow

โœ… System efficiency boosted

  • No more double data entry across Salesforce, Workday, and Canvas

โœ… Global-ready commerce

  • Fully localised checkout and enrolment for 10+ countries

โœ… CMS adoption success

  • 100% of content updates now handled internally by RMIT staff

โœ… Built for growth

  • Future-proofed design for rolling out to additional faculties

What This Means for You

This case study proves that Shopify Plus isnโ€™t just for DTCโ€”itโ€™s a powerful engine for education, training, and institutional eCommerce.

If you need:

  • Seamless online enrolment tied to your LMS

  • Connected experiences across Salesforce or Workday

  • B2B checkout and admin-friendly control

Letโ€™s talk. Weโ€™ve done it for RMIT. We can do it for you.

๐Ÿ‘‰ Contact Sonder Sites to explore your digital transformation.

Services Provided

๐Ÿงญ Strategy & Planning

  • Stakeholder workshops and discovery sessions

  • Creation of detailed user stories in Jira

  • Roadmap development and sprint planning

  • Risk assessments and communication protocols

๐ŸŽจ UX/UI Design

  • Custom wireframes and interface mockups

  • Accessibility-first, mobile-responsive design

  • Prototyping in Figma

  • Design handoff to development team

๐Ÿ’ป Shopify Plus Development

  • Fully custom Shopify Plus theme from scratch

  • Course catalogue with scheduling logic

  • Guest and B2B purchase flows

  • Custom page and collection templates

  • Responsive layout across devices

๐Ÿ”— Third-Party Integrations

  • Canvas LMS for enrolment and course lifecycle

  • Salesforce for CRM and lead capture

  • Workday for finance and HR integrations

  • Elastic Search integration

  • Adobe Experience Manager compatibility

  • SSO integration and compliance

๐Ÿงพ Checkout & Payments

  • Multi-currency and multi-language checkout

  • Shopify Payments (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Apple/Google Pay, PayPal)

  • Bundle discounts and invoicing logic for B2B

  • Real-time tax and shipping configuration

๐Ÿ“ฆ CMS & Internal Tools

  • Admin-friendly content management tools for non-dev teams

  • Course and product configuration UI

  • Editable content blocks for marketing and operational teams

๐Ÿ” QA & Testing

  • Manual end-to-end testing

  • Real-world user scenario validation

  • Bug tracking and resolution (350+ issues closed)

  • User acceptance testing with RMIT departments

๐Ÿšฆ Go-Live & Hypercare

  • Launch preparation and execution

  • Real-time monitoring and performance optimisation

  • SEO audit and improvements

  • Staff training and onboarding

  • User manuals and internal guides

  • Post-launch hypercare (6 weeks)

๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿซ Training & Support

  • Staff training sessions on Shopify Plus CMS

  • Analytics training for informed decision-making

  • FAQ and help resource creation

  • Support transition plan to internal teams

Upgrade your web
presence with Sonder

We acknowledge the Taungurung and Dja Dja Wurrung people of the Kulin nation,

the traditional custodians of the lands on which we live and work.

Upgrade your web
presence with Sonder

We acknowledge the Taungurung and Dja Dja Wurrung people of the Kulin nation,

the traditional custodians of the lands on which we live and work.

Upgrade your web
presence with Sonder

We acknowledge the Taungurung and Dja Dja Wurrung people of the Kulin nation,

the traditional custodians of the lands on which we live and work.