Yoga programs, cooking classes, a four-week nutrition plan, a software tutorial – if you teach with videos, the Courses module turns them into something you can sell. A course is a set of lessons, each with a YouTube video, a description and files to download. You sell it through an ordinary product, so it goes through your normal checkout, discounts and orders.

Buyers open the course in their store account under **My courses**. Access follows the order: a paid order opens the course, and a full refund closes it again.

## Turn it on

Open **Settings → Modules** and enable **Courses** (Pro plan). A **Courses** entry appears in your sidebar, and your store account gets a **My courses** page.

## Create a course

Open **Courses** and choose **Add course**. Everything is on one page, saved together with **Save course**.

| Field | What it does |
|-------|--------------|
| **Course title** | The name buyers see in My courses and on the course page |
| **Status** | **Draft** while you're building it: only your team can open it. **Published** shows it to everyone with access |
| **Sold by** | The products that give access to the course – see below |
| **Address** | The end of the course link, `/account/courses/<address>`. Leave it empty and it's made from the title |
| **Short description** | A line or two shown on the course card in My courses |
| **Description** | What the course covers and how to start, shown below the lessons |
| **Cover image** | The picture on the course card |
| **Course files** | Downloads shown next to every lesson – a workbook, a shopping list, recipes |
| **Lessons** | The lessons, in the order students should take them |

## Sell it through a product

A course isn't a product itself. You create a product the usual way – price, images, description, tax – and pick it in **Sold by**. Anyone who buys that product in a paid order gets the course.

- **Several products can sell the same course.** Handy for a regular price and an early-bird price, or a course sold on its own and inside a bigger package.
- **Bundles count.** If a bundle contains a product that sells the course, buying the bundle opens the course too.
- **One product can sell several courses.** Link it to each course it should open.

> **Tip:** Make the product non-shippable and give it a clear name like "Gut Reset – 4-week online course". Buyers see the product name on their order and receipt, so it should say what they're getting.

## Add lessons

Choose **Add lesson** for each lesson and fill in:

- **Lesson title** – for example "Welcome and how to use the course".
- **YouTube video** – paste the link to the video. Leave it empty for a lesson that's only text and files.
- **Lesson description** – notes, steps or a transcript, with formatting.
- **Lesson files** – downloads that belong to this lesson only.

Use the arrows on a lesson to move it up or down. Students go through the lessons in this order, and each lesson ends with a **Next** button to the following one.

### Upload your videos as unlisted

Upload each video to YouTube as **Unlisted**, not Public. An unlisted video doesn't show up in YouTube search or on your channel, so the only way to find it is through your course. Don't use **Private** – private videos only play for accounts you invite, so your students would see an error.

> **Good to know:** An unlisted video isn't locked. Someone who has the link can share it. For most courses that's fine. The files, the lesson notes and the structure are what people pay for, and they stay behind the sign-in.

## Add files

Files can be PDFs, spreadsheets, audio or anything else you'd give a student. Upload them in **Course files** (shown with every lesson) or in a lesson's **Lesson files** (shown with that lesson only), and give each one the name students should see.

Files are never shared by a public link. Every download checks that the student still has access, so once you refund an order or revoke access, the files stop downloading too.

## Check it before you publish

While the course is a draft, use **Preview** in the course editor to open it exactly as a student will see it. You see it because you're on the store team, and a note at the top reminds you it's a preview. When everything looks right, set the status to **Published** and save.

## How buyers reach the course

After a buyer pays:

1. **The order confirmation page** shows a **Go to course** button. If your store was built before courses existed, the button appears after you [upgrade your storefront](/help/storefront/upgrade-your-storefront).
2. **They get an email** with a link to the course. There's one email per course, sent once per order.
3. **They sign in to their store account** with the email they ordered with, and the course is under **My courses**.

The account is the same customer account they use for orders – see [Customer accounts](/help/orders/customer-accounts). If they checked out as a guest, signing in with the same email is enough, and the course is already there.

The buyer needs to sign in with the **same email they ordered with**. If someone bought with their work address and signs in with their personal one, My courses is empty, and the page says which email they're signed in with.

> **Tip:** Want the course email to sound like you? Edit the **Course Access** email under **Emails** – see [Email notifications & automation](/help/account/email-notifications).

## Manage students

Open a course and switch to the **Students** tab. Everyone who bought one of its products is listed, with their order numbers, plus anyone you've given access by hand.

### Give access by hand

Type an email in **Give access by email** and choose **Give access**. Use it for buyers from before you moved to YNS, gifts, giveaways, or your own team. When the course is published, the person also gets the course email with the link.

### Revoke access

Choose **Revoke** next to a student to take their access away. It works even when they bought the course: the order stays as it is, but the course disappears from their account and the files stop downloading. Revoked people stay on the list, so you can choose **Give access** to bring them back.

### Refunds

You don't need to do anything when you refund. Access comes from paid orders, so a fully refunded or cancelled order no longer opens the course. A partial refund keeps access – see [Issue refunds and handle returns](/help/orders/refunds-and-returns).

## Let the AI Assistant build it

The [AI Assistant](/help/getting-started/ai-assistant) can work on your courses too. Ask it to "create a course called Gut Reset with four lessons", "change the video in lesson 2", or "who has access to Gut Reset?". It always asks you before it gives or takes away anyone's access. Files still need to be uploaded in the course editor.

## FAQ

### Can I use Vimeo or my own video files?

Not yet. Lessons play YouTube videos. Upload them as unlisted so they don't show up publicly.

### Can I give a course away for free?

Yes. Give people access by hand from the **Students** tab. They get the course email with the link once the course is published.

### What happens if I delete a course?

Its lessons and files are deleted, and buyers lose access to it. Their orders stay as they are. If you only want to stop showing it for a while, set it back to **Draft** instead.

### What happens if I unpublish a course?

It disappears from My courses for everyone, and nobody can open it except your team. Access isn't lost: publish it again and every student sees it again.

### A buyer says the course isn't in their account.

Check three things. First, that the order is paid – a bank transfer that hasn't arrived yet doesn't open the course. Second, that they signed in with the email from the order. Third, that the course is **Published**. If they really can't use that email, give access to the address they use with **Give access**.

### Can someone share their login?

They could, like any account. The course is tied to the email, and every page and file checks access, so revoking access stops it straight away.

## What's next

- Create the product that sells the course in [Add a product](/help/products/add-a-product).
- Offer the course with other products in [Create product bundles](/help/products/bundles).
- Explore other capabilities in [Modules](/help/getting-started/modules).