> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://learn.nexudus.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Courses > How to build online courses from sections and lessons, control who can access them, and manage course enrolments. ## Overview **Courses** are structured, self-paced programmes that customers follow on your members portal. Each course is made up of **sections** that group its **lessons**, and you control when each lesson unlocks and how customers complete it. Use courses for onboarding, house rules, compliance training, wellness programmes, or any content customers should work through step by step. ## How to access Navigate to **Community → Courses** in the dashboard. Each row shows the course's image, **Title** (with its summary and category), the date it was **Added on**, and a **Published** or **Unpublished** badge. Use **Add course** to create one. ![The Courses list](https://mintcdn.com/nexudus/Pe3pLOykvGoZdleH/images/platform/content/content-courses.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Pe3pLOykvGoZdleH\&q=85\&s=d324d6d891b1061874f0d0a3cf687455) ## Key concepts | Term | What it is | | - | - | | **Course** | The overall programme customers enrol in. Holds the details, access type, and publishing settings. | | **Section** | A group of lessons that marks a milestone in the course — for example *Your first session*. | | **Lesson** | A single unit of content a customer completes. | | **Course member** | A customer enrolled in the course. Their progress is recorded lesson by lesson. | ### Planning a course Before you build, decide who the course is for and what they should be able to do by the end. A beginners' meditation course, for example, might aim to get customers meditating daily. Then plan each section as a step toward that goal, and fill it with short lessons that each cover one idea. ## Creating a course ![The Details tab of a course](https://mintcdn.com/nexudus/Pe3pLOykvGoZdleH/images/platform/content/content-courses-details.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Pe3pLOykvGoZdleH\&q=85\&s=1d395b77b9c2906d290ca6b74bacb8eb) **1. Add the course** Go to **Community → Courses** and click **Add course**. **2. Fill in the course details** Enter a **Title** and choose a **Host** — the customer presenting the course. Optionally add a **Category**: pick an existing one or type a new one. Categories group courses on the members portal. If you manage several locations, also choose the **Location** — a network location makes the course available at every location in that network. **3. Add the content** Under **Course content**, write a **Course summary** (up to 400 characters, shown in course listings), a **Full course description** (shown under *What's this course about?*), and an **Overview** (shown under *What you'll learn*). Upload a **Large image** (1500×1125px or larger) and a **Small image** (250×250px or larger). **4. Save** Save the course. The **Lessons** and **Members** tabs appear once it has been saved. ## Adding sections and lessons Open the course and go to the **Lessons** tab. Lessons are listed under their sections, with badges showing whether each one is active and its unlock and completion types. ![Sections and lessons on the Lessons tab](https://mintcdn.com/nexudus/Pe3pLOykvGoZdleH/images/platform/content/content-courses-lessons.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Pe3pLOykvGoZdleH\&q=85\&s=f342908ead613c0fd9f98c797a834a6c) * **Add a section** — click **Add new section** at the bottom of the list. An empty section shows *Drag an item here to add it to the section* until you add lessons to it. * **Add a lesson** — click **Add lesson**. Give it a **Title**, choose its **Section**, and add a **Lesson summary**, the **Lesson contents**, and an optional **Image**. Leave **This lesson is active** ticked to show it to customers. * **Reorder** — drag lessons by their handle to reorder them or move them between sections. Use the arrows beside a section's name to move it up or down. * **Edit or delete a section** — use the icons beside the section's name. A section has its own **Section summary**, **Image**, unlock settings, and a **This section is active** switch. ### Unlock and completion Each lesson — and each section — has an **Unlock type** that controls when customers can open it. Lessons also have a **Completion type** that controls how they're marked as done. ![Unlock and completion settings for a lesson](https://mintcdn.com/nexudus/Pe3pLOykvGoZdleH/images/platform/content/content-courses-lesson.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Pe3pLOykvGoZdleH\&q=85\&s=57acbc581b166191b991595e9918dbbe) | Unlock type | The lesson unlocks… | | - | - | | **Immediate** | As soon as the customer joins the course. | | **Sequential** | Once all the previous lessons are completed. | | **Timed** | A set number of days after joining, set in **Unlock this lesson after**. | | Completion type | The lesson is completed… | | - | - | | **Visited** | The first time the customer opens it. | | **Button** | When the customer presses the completion button. | | **YouTube** | When the customer has watched all the videos in it. | | **Blocking** | Never — the lesson can't be completed, so it holds back any sequential lessons after it. | > [!NOTE] > > The first lesson in a course is always available immediately, whatever its unlock type. ## Publishing a course Courses are published from the **Availability** section of the **Details** tab. Tick **This course is published**, then choose an **Access type**. ![Availability settings for a course](https://mintcdn.com/nexudus/Pe3pLOykvGoZdleH/images/platform/content/content-courses-availability.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Pe3pLOykvGoZdleH\&q=85\&s=8c3f228dc4e4718eed52e72bd1d77190) | Access type | Who can access the course | | - | - | | **Public** | Anyone can find the course on the members portal and sign up. | | **Hidden** | The course isn't listed on the portal. Customers can only sign up through its link. | | **Private** | The course isn't listed, and customers can't sign up themselves — only customers you add on the **Members** tab can access it. | | **Paid** | Customers who enrol are signed up to the **Plan** you select. If the plan has a price, their enrolment stays **Pending** until the plan is paid for. | The **Course link** section shows the course's **View link** for sharing — the only way into a **Hidden** course. ### Publishing settings | Setting | What it does | | - | - | | **Show course overview to users who have not yet joined this course.** | Lets customers preview the overview before they sign up. | | **Feature this course on the home page after users log in** | Promotes the course on the logged-in home page. | | **Create a discussion board group for members of this course.** | Creates a [discussion group](https://learn.nexudus.com/platform/content/community-groups.md) for the course's members. | ## Managing course members The **Members** tab lists every customer enrolled in the course, with a status badge: * **Approved** — the customer can access the course. * **Pending** — the enrolment is waiting for approval, for example until a paid plan is paid for. * **Blocked** — the customer's access has been removed. ![Course members and their status](https://mintcdn.com/nexudus/Pe3pLOykvGoZdleH/images/platform/content/content-courses-members.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Pe3pLOykvGoZdleH\&q=85\&s=c2dff6f6cfe4dfed3150e503f80a4b27) Customers who sign up on the portal are added automatically. To enrol someone yourself — the only way into a **Private** course — click **Add member** and choose the **Customer**. Enrolments are approved automatically unless the course is linked to a paid plan. Open an enrolment to change it: tick **This customer's access has been approved.** to approve a pending enrolment, or **This customer's access has been blocked.** to remove someone's access. ## Copying a course To reuse a course's structure, tick it in the list and choose **Make a copy** from the **Bulk actions** menu. The copy, named *\ (Copy)*, includes all the sections and lessons — useful when several courses share content or when you want to offer the same course on different terms. ## Tips * Keep each lesson to one idea. Shorter lessons are easier to finish and make progress feel steady. * Alternate informational lessons with practical ones that ask customers to do something. * Use **Sequential** unlocks to guide customers through a course in order, and **Timed** unlocks to pace a programme over days or weeks. ## Related * [Articles](https://learn.nexudus.com/platform/content/articles.md) — lighter-weight published content * [Discussion groups](https://learn.nexudus.com/platform/content/community-groups.md) — community spaces for course members * [Announcements](https://learn.nexudus.com/platform/content/announcements.md) — telling customers a new course is live * [Plans](https://learn.nexudus.com/platform/billing/plans.md) — the plans used for paid courses This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.