Courses

Build a course

Status: Available Create a course, add sections and lessons, set it free or paid, and publish. A course is structured learning content: sections that hold lessons, where each lesson can be a video, a file, or text. You build courses in Courses (/admin/content/course). Create the course 1. Open Courses (/admin/content/course). 2. Click Create Item. 3. Fill the basics, all required: - Title: the course name. - Sub Title: a short line shown under the title. - Description: what the course covers. - Featured Image: the image shown on the course card and detail page. 4. Set the Type to free or paid (see below). 5. Set Status to Published when you're ready for members to see it. 6. Save. You can also add learning outcomes: short bullet points listed on the course page describing what members will get out of it. Add sections and lessons A course is organized as sections, and each section holds lessons. Sections Each section has a Title, a Description, and a Sequence number that sets its order in the course (lower numbers come first). Lessons Inside a section, add lessons. Each lesson has a Title, a Sequence (its order within the section), and a Type that decides what content it holds: | Lesson type | What you provide | |---|---| | Video | A video, either hosted with the built-in video provider or an external one like YouTube, Vimeo, Wistia, or an embed. You choose the video type and give the video URL. | | File | One or more downloadable resource files attached to the lesson. | | Text | Written lesson content, entered directly. | You can also mark a lesson as a preview lesson, which makes it viewable without enrollment. This is useful for giving prospective members a taste of a paid course. Free or paid The course Type field decides how members get in: - Free: members enroll directly, no purchase needed. - Paid: the lessons are locked until the member has access through a product or plan. The next article, Sell or free-enroll a course, covers both paths in detail. Progress tracking and certificates As members work through a course, TribeCrafter tracks their progress: which lessons they've completed and an overall completion percentage. When a member finishes a course, a completion certificate can be issued for them. Both happen automatically as members move through the lessons; you don't manage them by hand. Publish Set Status to Published so members can find and enroll in the course. A draft course stays hidden. The section and lesson counts on the course are computed for you and may take a few minutes to catch up after you add content. Related - Sell or free-enroll a course - How access & monetization works - Create a one-time product - Create a subscription plan

Sell or free-enroll a course

Status: Available Sell a paid course through a product or plan, or let members enroll directly in a free one. How members get into a course depends on its Type. A paid course is unlocked through a product or plan; a free course lets members enroll directly. You set the type when you build the course (see Build a course). If products vs plans aren't clear yet, read How access & monetization works first. Paid courses: sold through a product or plan A paid course is never sold on its own. There's no price field on the course. Instead, you include the course in a one-time product or a subscription plan, and members get the course when they buy that product or subscribe to that plan. 1. Build the course and set its Type to paid (see Build a course). 2. Create or edit a product (/admin/content/product) or plan (/admin/content/plan). 3. Add the course to what that product or plan unlocks: either all courses or this specific course. When a member buys the product or subscribes to the plan, they're enrolled in the course automatically. You don't add them by hand. If you include several courses in one product or plan, the member is enrolled in all of them. As with groups and blogs, "all courses" overrides specific picks for courses, the same override rule from How access & monetization works. Free courses: direct enrollment If a course's Type is free, members can enroll in it directly, with no product, no plan, and no payment. They open the course and join it themselves. This is the one case where members get content without buying anything. It's handy for an intro course, a lead-in to your paid material, or a fully free community. Enrollment and completion tracking Once a member is enrolled (either way), TribeCrafter tracks their journey through the course: - Progress: which lessons they've completed and an overall completion percentage, updated as they go. - Completion: when they finish, the course is marked complete and a certificate can be issued. A member's enrollment also has an access status. For a paid course, that access stays active while their product or plan grants it; if a subscription lapses or a time-limited product expires, the enrollment can move to expired and the lessons lock again. Free-course enrollments aren't tied to a purchase, so they stay in place. Related - Build a course - How access & monetization works - Create a one-time product - Create a subscription plan