Products and formats
How to create a product, choose its format (course, series, blog, shortcut or embedded page), what each status shows and the General screen.
The product is what you sell and what the student accesses. For example, the course "Excel from Scratch". It sits in a showcase and holds the modules and lessons. The product status decides who sees the card; who enters the product is decided by the enrollment.
How it works
The most important rule: access is always per product. The student never gets access to a module or a lesson alone.
A new product starts as a draft, in the Courses format, inside the showcase where you created it. See the full picture in How content is organized.
The formats
You choose the format in Settings → General, inside the product, under Format.
| Format | Choose it when | What the student gets |
|---|---|---|
| Courses | A classic course | Lessons in modules. A module can be of the Bonus type. The type changes neither access nor progress. |
| Series | A streaming-style catalog | The same structure, access and progress as a course. The episodes appear streaming style. |
| Blog | Articles, news or a flat library | Lessons in a single list, without modules. They are grouped by taxonomies, such as categories and tags. |
| Shortcut | The same product should appear in another showcase | A shortcut to the Destination product. Not a copy: it opens the original, and access and progress belong to it. |
| Embedded page | The content lives on another site | The page at the Embedded page address, inside the student area. |
For the Embedded page, the Adjust height automatically option makes the frame follow the content's height. Without it, the frame fills the screen. Use this option when the page loads Cademí's resizing script.
The statuses
A product has four statuses. The status sits in the badge on the row and in the product header. When editing, it is under Product visibility.
| Status | Student who has the product | Student who does not | Administrator preview |
|---|---|---|---|
| Published | Sees the card and opens it | Sees a locked card | Sees it |
| Unlisted | Sees the card and opens it | Does not see it | Sees it, even without access |
| Hidden | Does not see the card. The product's own address still opens | Does not see it | Does not see it |
| Draft | Does not see the card | Does not see it | Sees it |
How to choose:
- To show the product only to those who have it, use Unlisted.
- To keep the product off every showcase and open it only through a link you place, use Hidden.
- A Draft is not a private link. A student who already has the product and opens its address reaches the published lessons.
Heads up: this is where most mistakes happen. Diego publishes the product, but every lesson stays in draft. Result: the student sees the card, opens it and reads that the content is being edited. Publishing the product does not publish the lessons. To publish the product, its modules and its lessons at once, use Publish All.
The locked card and the offer URL
Whoever does not have a published product sees a locked card. On click, the student goes to the product's Offer URL: your sales page or checkout. Without it, the click leads to a closed door.
The Expected delivery points to the delivery that click should sell. That way the sale is attributed to the right offer. See Deliveries.
A free product has neither a lock nor an offer.
Step by step
Create a product
- Open Content → Products.
- Open the showcase.
- Click New product. If Diamond funnels are enabled on the account, click New → Product.
- Fill in Product name.
- Click Create.
- Click the product to open the Lessons screen.
On the Lessons screen, you build the modules and lessons. See Modules and lessons.
Build the whole structure at once
- At the top of the list, click Quick builder.
- Under Choose the showcase, use an existing showcase or create a new one.
- Under Name the product, type the name.
- Under Define the structure, choose how many modules and how many lessons in each.
- Click Create product.
The modules and lessons are born ready for you to fill in.
Configure the General screen
Open the product and, under Settings, click General. The screen has four panels:
- Settings: Name, Thumbnail, Accent color and Format. The thumbnail is the cover in lists and showcases. The recommended size is 1280x720 px, JPG or PNG up to 1 MB.
- Support: turns Comments and Questions on or off for this product. The account needs those channels turned on.
- Offer: Offer URL and Expected delivery.
- Free product: Release this product for free opens the product to every registered student. Release rule picks the release schedule those students follow. Access time sets the duration. See Drip content.
Save with the bar at the bottom.
Change the status
- In the list or in the product header, click the status badge and pick the new one. Publish All is in the same menu.
- Or open ... → Edit and choose under Product visibility.
Duplicate
- Open the list's ... menu or the ... menu of the product header.
- Click Duplicate.
The copy's name ends in "(copy at", with the time and the date. The copy starts as a draft. It does not follow the original: edits and progress do not pass from one to the other. For the same product in two showcases, use a shortcut. See Connected lessons, copies and shortcuts.
Delete and restore
- Click ... → Delete. In the header, the button is Delete.
The product goes to the trash, with its modules and lessons. Deleting does not remove enrollments or progress.
To bring it back, open the Trash in Content → Products and click Restore. The product returns to its showcase and to the enrollments that still cover it.
Good to know
Tabs and groups.
The product header has three tabs: Lessons, Exams and Drip content. It also has two groups. Reports holds Lessons and Ranking. Settings holds General, Product page, Lesson page, Taxonomy (blog only), Terms of acceptance and Certificate. To change the product name, click it.
What a product is missing.
The Issues filter shows what is missing: No lessons, No cover and No offer. With No offer applied, click the row. The Increase your sales form opens, with the Offer URL and the Expected delivery.
Shortcut and embedded page.
A product in Shortcut or Embedded page has no lessons of its own. Switching a course to a shortcut does not delete its modules. They just stop showing while the format is another one.
What grants access.
The product status gives nobody access. Access comes from an enrollment, through a delivery or by hand.
Frequently asked questions
Can I sell just one module or one lesson?
No. Access is always to the whole product. To open the parts over time, use Drip content.
The student bought it and cannot see the product.
Check the product status. Then check the showcase and the group: if one of them is in draft, it hides the product. Last, check the student's enrollment.
A published course looks empty or "being edited".
Publish the modules and lessons, or use Publish All. The product and each lesson have their own status.
Showcases and groups
How to organize products into showcases and groups in the student area. Creating, sorting, publishing, appearance, access and the navigation model.
Modules and lessons
How to build a product's modules and lessons: creating, sorting and publishing, the lesson editor, the supported video players and what completes a lesson.