lynda.com
What lynda.com Is (and Isn’t)
Right away: lynda.com is no longer a standalone site you can visit or sign up on. The platform that used to be called lynda.com was completely merged into LinkedIn Learning back in 2019–2021, and today all of lynda’s content lives under the LinkedIn Learning brand. If you go to lynda.com now, you’ll be redirected to LinkedIn Learning.
Originally, though, lynda.com was one of the early major players in online education. It began as a video tutorial library focused on business, technology, and creative skills, aimed at people who wanted to learn practical software, design, and professional skills on their own schedule.
The Origin Story
Lynda.com was started in 1995 by Lynda Weinman and her husband Bruce Heavin in California. At first it wasn’t even an online course site—it was more like an extension of Lynda’s teaching and books. Over time it evolved into one of the first subscription-driven online video training libraries.
In the early 2000s, it shifted into full-time online education and steadily expanded its catalog. By the mid-2010s, lynda.com had thousands of video courses taught by industry professionals covering software, creative tools, business strategy, IT skills, and more.
From lynda.com to LinkedIn Learning
The big turning point came in 2015 when LinkedIn, the professional networking site, bought lynda.com for about $1.5 billion. A year later, LinkedIn itself was acquired by Microsoft.
After the acquisition, LinkedIn started integrating lynda’s content with its own services and technology. Over the next few years, the company gradually transitioned everything from lynda.com into a new platform called LinkedIn Learning. That transition wrapped up around 2019–2021, at which point the lynda.com site was shut down and all users were migrated to the LinkedIn Learning experience.
So when people talk about lynda.com today, they’re really talking about LinkedIn Learning—the same content library but rebranded and expanded inside LinkedIn’s ecosystem.
What You Find in LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn Learning offers a broad library of video courses. There are:
- Business skills, like project management, leadership, and marketing
- Technology training, including coding, IT support, and cloud tools
- Creative topics, such as graphic design, photography, and video editing
There are thousands of courses—often reported as over 15,000 or more—and the platform keeps adding new content regularly.
The whole idea is self-paced learning: you watch a course when you want, pause it, rewind tricky parts, and move through at your own pace. It’s designed to help you build practical skills you can apply in your job or career.
How the Learning Experience Works
LinkedIn Learning is a subscription service. When you sign up, you get access to all the courses in the library for that period. That’s similar to how lynda.com worked back in the day.
The platform itself is web-based, and there are apps too. Users can:
- Search for courses on particular tools or topics
- Track progress and pick up where they left off
- Create playlists or collections of courses
- Earn certificates of completion that can be added to your LinkedIn profile (optional)
If you connect Learning to your LinkedIn profile, the platform also personalizes recommendations based on your job role, skills you’ve listed, and trends in your industry.
Who Uses LinkedIn Learning
The original idea for lynda.com was that anyone could use it—from students to freelancers to experienced professionals. LinkedIn Learning continues that mission, but in practice its main audience tends to be:
- Professionals looking to upskill or learn new software
- Companies subscribing for staff training
- Students or job seekers building competencies to stand out in hiring
Libraries and universities also often provide access to users for free through institutional subscriptions, though in some cases they now require a LinkedIn profile to log in.
How It Compares to Other Platforms
Lynda’s legacy lives on in LinkedIn Learning, but the learning space around it is crowded. Compared to platforms like Udemy, Coursera, or edX, LinkedIn Learning is:
- Focused on practical, job-oriented skills
- Subscription-based rather than per-course purchases
- Integrated with LinkedIn’s professional network
Some users prefer this model because of the breadth of content and the professional focus, while others may prefer individual course purchases or academic offerings from competitors.
Why the Transition Matters
For people who used lynda.com in the past, the move to LinkedIn Learning was significant. It means:
- Your old course history and account got migrated
- The platform interface and recommendations are tied into LinkedIn
- You now get extra career features like certificates added directly to your professional profile
The core learning library remains, and many of the classic lynda instructors and courses are still part of LinkedIn Learning’s catalog.
Key Takeaways
- lynda.com doesn’t exist anymore as a standalone site; it’s fully integrated into LinkedIn Learning.
- The platform began in 1995 as one of the first online video training libraries.
- LinkedIn bought Lynda in 2015 and made it part of its learning services.
- Today, LinkedIn Learning has thousands of courses in business, technology, and creative fields.
- Learning is on-demand, subscription-based, and integrated with LinkedIn’s professional tools.
FAQ
Is lynda.com still a website I can use?
No. If you try to visit it now, you’ll be sent to LinkedIn Learning instead, which hosts all the former lynda.com content.
Do my old lynda.com courses still exist?
Yes. Your history and courses were migrated to LinkedIn Learning.
Is LinkedIn Learning free?
It’s subscription-based. Some workplaces, schools, or libraries provide access for free through their own arrangements.
What kinds of courses are available?
Thousands—covering business strategy, tech tools, creative software, leadership, and more.
Can I get a certificate?
Yes. LinkedIn Learning provides certificates of completion that you can optionally display on your LinkedIn profile.
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