> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.sherpo.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Courses
> Build and sell structured courses with chapters, lessons, and progress tracking inside Sherpo.
The **Course** product lets you create structured learning experiences using video, slides, text, and downloadable materials. Everything is hosted on your Sherpo site. Each course and lesson can be free or paid and includes progress tracking, completion data, and integrated checkout.
If you want to see how **Courses** appear to users, check this guide:
Learn how users unlock and complete Course products.
***
## Create a course product
1. Go to **Products → New product**.
2. Enter a **title**, **subtitle**, and short **description**.
3. Select the **Course** tile (video icon).
4. Click **Create product** to open the workspace.
From here, use the **Settings** tab if you wish to rename your course, add a poster, publish it, and/or change specific settings such as progress tracking.
Before publishing, make sure you set a price. Courses support the same pricing options as other Sherpo products.
For details on the Overview, Basic info, and Settings tabs, see:
Edit your product’s info, description, and settings from the dashboard.
***
## Build your Course product page
Under **Page Builder**, you can fully customize how your Course page looks using Sherpo's powerful, lego-like builder.
### Course-specific blocks
Inside your Course page builder, you will see a **Pages block** where all lessons and chapters reside, alongside the "Get" and "Content" blocks. Like in every other Sherpo product, these blocks are mandatory and cannot be deleted or hidden. If not populated, they will simply not render.
All of this is included by default in the **Aside Column**, which displays the blocks on the right. You are free to remove them from the column and position them wherever you prefer. Sherpo simply ensures that all mandatory blocks are present before allowing you to update the page.
### Product-specific blocks
All product Page Builders include an additional **Product** block category. These blocks are specific to the product type and power the core functionality of the page.
These blocks usually include:
* **Get** — The purchase or unlock interface for the product.
* **Summary** — A compact overview of product metrics or highlights.
* **Review** — Displays review ratings and feedback from customers.
* **Pages** — Lists internal pages such as lessons, episodes, or product sections.
* **Content** — Displays the files or content included in the product.
Like other mandatory blocks, some of these may already be included in your layout and cannot be deleted, but you are free to move them anywhere within your page.
### Page builder
The rest of the Page Builder behaves exactly like the Site Builder. If you want to discover more about our blocks and building pages, check this out.
Build and customize your page by stacking and composing blocks. Powerful under the hood, simple to use.
***
## Manage lessons and chapters
Open the **Lessons** tab to build your course structure.
* **Add Chapter** creates a named section and its first lesson. Chapters group related lessons together.
* **Add Lesson** creates a new lesson inside a chapter or as a standalone lesson.
Each lesson can include video, slides, text, and downloadable materials.
At a glance, you can see each lesson’s title, video duration, file size, and visibility status. You can add or reorganize lessons and chapters at any time.
***
## Add a new lesson
Click **Add Lesson** to create a new lesson page.
Each lesson has two tabs:
1. **General** for basic info and visibility.
2. **Content** for the lesson material itself.
You can rename lessons at any time.
***
### General tab
Use the General tab to define the public-facing details of your lesson.
* Add a **poster** image (recommended 16:9, up to 5 MB). This appears as the lesson thumbnail and as a static frame before the video plays.
* Enable **Publicly available** to make the lesson accessible without purchase.
Publicly available lessons are accessible to anyone, and their videos can be indexed by search engines.
This is useful for introductions, previews, or teaser lessons.
***
### Content tab
Add the main content of your lesson here.
* **Video** uploads support `.mp4` and `.mov` files up to 5 GB. Sherpo hosts and optimizes them automatically.
* **Slideshow** uploads accept `.pdf` files up to 250 MB and display them inline.
* **Description** supports rich text, embeds, transcripts, and lesson notes.
After uploading slides, you can enable **Downloadable slides** to let users download the PDF. Downloadable slides do not include PDF security. If you need watermarking, upload the file as an extra resource instead.
When finished, click **Create** or **Save as Draft**.
For videos, slides, and files to upload correctly, first update the lesson and wait for the uploads to complete.
***
## Add a chapter
Chapters help organize lessons into sections.
1. Click **Add Chapter**.
2. Enter a **chapter name**.
3. Click **Add Chapter** to save and create the first lesson.
Lessons can be moved up, added before or after others, or moved into a chapter if they were created outside one.
***
## Drafts and publishing
Lessons can be either **Draft** or **Published**.
* Draft lessons are hidden from users but visible in Admin mode.
* Publishing a lesson makes it immediately available in the course.
You can publish or unpublish lessons at any time.
When editing a draft, click **Update** to keep it unpublished or **Update and Publish** to make it live.
***
## Course settings
### Course-specific
Under **Settings → Course-specific**, you can control progress tracking and course behavior.
### Progress tracking
* **No tracking** disables progress indicators.
* **Manual** lets users mark lessons as complete.
* **On lesson open** marks lessons as complete when opened.
* **On content completion** marks lessons as complete when a video finishes or slides reach the final page. Available on Pro and Ultra plans.
Progress is tracked per user and displayed in both the dashboard and the course view.
***
## Add files and links
Files and links work the same way as in Download products:
Learn how to add files and links to your Course.
They will appear under the "Content" block.
***
## Video security
Videos uploaded to Sherpo are protected by default.
### Core protections
* **Paywall enforcement** restricts video access to users who have unlocked the course.
* **Tokenized playback** uses short-lived, session-bound URLs that cannot be reused.
* **Domain restrictions** ensure videos play only on your Sherpo site or verified custom domain.
These protections keep your content accessible only to legitimate customers.
***
## Publish and sell
When your course is ready:
1. Set all lessons to **Published**.
2. Configure pricing in **Prices** and add coupons if needed.
3. Click **Publish** under **Settings**
### Customer experience
Once published:
* Visitors can view the course chapters, lessons, and pricing.
* Customers unlock all lessons immediately after purchase.
* Access is scoped to each user account.
* Progress tracking syncs automatically.
* Sales appear under **Product → Sales**.
***
## Best practices
* Keep lesson videos under **15 minutes**.
* Add short summaries to each lesson description.
* Use **On content completion** for video-first courses.
* Update lessons over time. Changes apply instantly.
* Use public lessons as previews to improve conversions.
***
## FAQ
Each lesson supports one main video. For multiple clips, merge them into one file or split them across lessons.
The Course Page Builder works exactly like the Site Builder. You can stack, reorder, and customize blocks to design your product page. Course-specific blocks such as "Pages", "Get", and "Content" are mandatory and cannot be removed, but you can position them anywhere within the layout. If a mandatory block is empty, it will not render on the live page.
Yes. You can move lessons up, add lessons before or after others, and move standalone lessons into chapters. Changes apply instantly.
Not currently.
Sherpo records lesson completion based on your selected tracking mode.
Yes. Mark lessons as **Publicly available** to use them as free previews.
Yes. Lessons can be moved to Draft or deleted at any time.
Yes. Quizzes and certificates are available under **Assessment**.