Creating a Course

A course is the top-level container for everything a student will work through. Once the course exists, you build out the actual curriculum by adding modules and lessons inside it. This page covers just the course shell — the cover, copy, pricing, and publish state.

This guide covers a self-paced course, where students buy once and work through the lessons on their own schedule. If you want to run a scheduled group program instead — with content that unlocks over time, live sessions, and installment pricing — see Cohort courses.

How to create a course

1. Go to Courses in your dashboard sidebar, then click Courses (the list view).
2. Click the Create Course button (top right of the page). If cohort courses are available to you, you'll be asked What kind of course is this? — choose Self-paced to continue with this guide.
3. Fill in the details:
   • Title — A clear name for the course, like "Songwriting Fundamentals" or "Intro to Mixing." Must be between 5 and 200 characters.
   • Price — The one-time price a student pays to enroll, in your configured currency. Enter 0 for a free course.
   • Compare-at price — Optional. Set a higher "was" price to show a markdown. Your storefront displays it struck through next to the price students actually pay — for example, $100 crossed out with $80 shown as the current price. It must be higher than the price.
   • Description — Use the rich text editor to explain what the course covers, who it is for, and what a student will be able to do by the end. This is the main pitch on your public course page, so take your time with it.
   • Cover Image — Upload an image that represents the course. This shows on your public page and in your dashboard list. If you skip it, TribeNest displays a colored tile with the first letter of the course title.
   • Intro Video — Optional. Upload a short video that previews the course. When set, this plays in place of the cover image at the top of the public course page.
   • Published At — A date and time for when the course should go live.
   • Questionnaire — Optional. Add questions students answer as they enroll (covered below).
4. Click Create Course.

You will be returned to the course list once everything saves.

Pricing options

Courses support two pricing modes, controlled by the Price field:

• Free — Set the price to 0. Anyone can enroll without entering payment details. They still go through a short signup step so you capture their name and email.
• One-time payment — Set any price above zero. Students pay once at checkout and keep access to the course indefinitely.

Free courses are a great way to build your email list and introduce people to your teaching style before you ask them to pay for a more advanced course.

Showing a markdown with a compare-at price

If you want to make a discount feel real, set a Compare-at price higher than your actual Price. On your public course page, the compare-at price shows struck through next to the price students pay — a familiar "was $100, now $80" look. Students are always charged the Price; the compare-at price is only there to highlight the savings. Leave it blank if you don't want a markdown, and remember it has to be higher than the price or it won't save.

Adding a questionnaire

A questionnaire lets you learn about your students at the moment they enroll — their goals, their experience level, what they hope to get out of the course. Their answers show up alongside their enrollment so you can tailor how you welcome and teach them.

In the Questionnaire section of the create (or edit) form:

1. Click Add Question.
2. Choose a Question Type:
   • Text (Single line) — A short, one-line answer.
   • Textarea (Multiple lines) — A longer, free-form answer.
   • Select (Dropdown) — A pick-one answer. Add the choices under Options.
3. Type the Question itself.
4. Tick Make this question optional if students can skip it. Otherwise it's required to enroll.
5. Repeat for as many questions as you like. Drag the handle on the left of a question to reorder, or use the trash icon to remove one.

Students fill in the questionnaire during checkout, and required questions must be answered before they can complete enrollment. You can view everyone's answers later — see Managing students.

Publishing vs. saving as a draft

The Published At field controls visibility:

• Leave it blank — The course is saved as a draft. It exists in your dashboard, but it does not appear on your public site and no one can enroll. Use this while you are still building out modules and lessons.
• Set a date and time in the past — The course is live immediately and can be purchased.
• Set a date and time in the future — The course goes live automatically when that moment arrives. This is useful for coordinating a launch with an email announcement.

Drafts show an orange Draft label on the course list. Live courses show their published date instead.

Cover image and intro video tips

• Cover image — A landscape-oriented image (roughly 16:9) works best. Use something visually clear at small sizes, since it appears as a thumbnail in the course list and on your public page.
• Intro video — Keep it short (60 to 120 seconds is plenty). The goal is to give a feel for your style and to make the course page feel alive. The video plays in place of the cover image when both are set.

You can change either of these later from the Edit Course page.

What happens after creating a course

Right after the course is created, it lands in your dashboard list — but it is empty. The next step is to build out the curriculum:

1. Click Manage Course on the course in the list (or open it from the course detail page).
2. Add your first module.
3. Add lessons inside the module.

See Modules and lessons for the full walkthrough.

Related guides

• Modules and lessons — Build the curriculum inside your course.
• Cohort courses — Run your course as a scheduled group program instead.
• Managing courses — Edit details, archive, or unarchive an existing course.
• Managing students — See who enrolled and track purchase status.
• Emails — Announce the launch to your audience with a broadcast.