Build an online course

A course is a set of lessons your students work through at their own pace, grouped into modules. Each lesson can hold a video, some writing, a worksheet only buyers can download, and a quiz. Lessons can open a set number of days after somebody buys, so people move through steadily instead of watching everything on the first evening.

Before you start

• Your lesson videos uploaded to YouTube or Vimeo. The app does not host video; you paste the embed link.
• A cover picture and, if you like, a photo of the instructor.
• Your lesson titles. A fitness coach might plan three modules: "Getting started", "Weeks 1 to 4", "Weeks 5 to 8".

Steps: create the course

1. Open Products and choose the Courses tab.
2. Press Create New. The New Online Course form opens on the Details tab.
3. Type the Name and a Description. The description is what a sales page built from the course argues from, so give it a sentence more than feels necessary.
4. Open Pricing. Choose One-time payment and enter the Price (USD), or choose Free.
5. Open Cover. Under Cover image, press Add and choose the picture. Under Instructor, add the Instructor photo and type the instructor's name. You can change both later in the course's How it looks card.
6. Open Lessons. Type the first Module 1 title, then the first lesson's title.
7. Press Add lesson for each lesson in the module, and Add module for the next module.
8. Press Save product. Until at least one lesson has a title, the button reads Next: add lessons and takes you to the Lessons tab instead.

Steps: fill in a lesson

1. On the lesson's row, press the word empty (or "2 added" once it has content) to open it.
2. Under Video, paste the embed link from YouTube or Vimeo, for example https://www.youtube.com/embed/….
3. Under What this lesson says, write the part students come back to read.
4. Under Worksheet, press Attach a file to add a checklist, a plan or a recipe card. Only buyers can download it.
5. Next to Opens … days after they buy, leave 0 to open it at once, or enter a number, for example 7, to open it a week after purchase.
6. To test what they learned, press Add a quiz. See Add a quiz to a lesson.
7. Use the grip icon to move a lesson up, and the bin to remove it.

Steps: change a course later

1. Open Products › Courses and click the course.
2. The Ready to sell? card lists what is missing: a name and description, at least one lesson, a price (or Free), a cover image, an instructor, and a page that sells it. A red warning line is something to finish first; a line marked "recommended" is optional.
3. Edit the modules and lessons in the Lessons card and press Save course.
4. Change the cover and instructor in How it looks and press Save.
5. Change the name, description, price and how long access lasts in Details and price, then press Save.

What happens next

• Buyers find the course in their customer account under My library, with a progress bar and Start the course.
• Each lesson shows its video, text, worksheet and quiz. A delayed lesson says when it opens, for example "Opens in 3 days".
• Students press Mark as finished on each lesson. Finishing every lesson can issue a certificate automatically. See Award certificates and badges.
• Saving a course keeps students' progress, even when you add or reorder lessons.

For agencies

Build the course inside the client's account with Sub-accounts › Open, so it is sold into the client's own Stripe account.

Troubleshooting

The button says "Next: add lessons" and the form will not save. A course needs at least one lesson with a title. Add one on the Lessons tab.

A lesson I added is missing after saving. Lessons without a title are dropped when you save. Give every lesson a title.

The video does not play for students. Use the embed link, not the page address. On YouTube, choose Share, then Embed, and copy the address inside src="…".

A student says a lesson is locked. It has a delay. It opens the set number of days after they bought, and the lesson tells them when.

Students see "The course is being put together". The course has no lessons saved. Add lessons and press Save course.

Related

• Add a quiz to a lesson
• Sell your course
• Award certificates and badges
• What your customers see in their account