Course Guide

Course Features Guide

What the Course Features Do

The Course / Lesson features let you use VideoHub360 as a course platform without creating a separate LMS system.

In this setup:

Courses are created from Series.
Lessons are created from regular VideoHub360 videos.
Topics are handled through VideoHub360 categories.
Instructors are connected to the course or inherited from lesson authors.
Paid access is controlled through the Videohub360 membership system.

This makes it possible to create free courses, paid courses, course libraries, and membership-based learning areas using the existing VideoHub360 content system.

Enable Course / Lesson Features

In WordPress, go to VideoHub360 > Settings.

Find Enable Course / Lesson Features and turn it on.

When this setting is enabled:

Series can be used as Courses or Learning Tracks.
VideoHub360 videos can include lesson-specific fields.
Course landing pages become available for series terms.
The Course Catalog template and course catalog shortcode can display courses.
Course-related dashboard features become available when the dashboard menu includes them.

Create a Course

Courses are created from Series.

In WordPress, go to VideoHub360 > Series.
Add a new series.
Enter the course name and description.
Fill in the available course fields.
Save the series.

The series archive becomes the course landing page when Course / Lesson Features are enabled.

Course Fields

When course features are enabled, each series can include course details such as:

Course Subtitle
Short Description
Course Level
Course Duration
Instructor User ID
Course Featured Image
Required Membership
CTA Button Text
CTA URL
Course Order

Use these fields to control how the course appears on the course page and in the Course Catalog.

Course Level

The course level can be used to help visitors filter and understand the course difficulty.

Common values include:

Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced

The Course Catalog can use these levels for frontend filtering when filters are enabled.

Course Duration

Use Course Duration to describe the size or length of the course.

Examples:

6 modules / 18 lessons

4 hours

Self-paced course

This is display text only, so enter the duration in the format that makes the most sense for the course.

Course Featured Image

Use Course Featured Image to choose the main image shown for the course.

This image can appear on:

The course landing page
Course cards
The Course Catalog
Course-related widgets or templates

For best results, use a clean image with enough space around the subject so it looks good in cards and responsive layouts.

Course Order

Use Course Order to control the order of courses in the catalog when the catalog is sorted by default course order.

Lower numbers appear first.

Example:

1 for the first course
2 for the second course
3 for the third course

Create Lessons

Lessons are created as regular VideoHub360 videos.

Go to VideoHub360 > Add New Video.
Enter the lesson title.
Add the lesson description or content.
Add the video source or video file details.
Assign the lesson to the correct Series.
Fill in the lesson fields.
Publish or update the video.

The assigned series determines which course the lesson belongs to.

Lesson Fields

When Course / Lesson Features are enabled, VideoHub360 videos can include lesson-specific fields such as:

Module Title
Module Number
Lesson Number
Lesson Duration
Resource URL
Resource Label
Free Preview Lesson

These fields help organize lessons inside the course curriculum.

Organize Lessons into Modules

Use Module Number, Module Title, and Lesson Number to organize the curriculum.

Example setup:

Module Number	Module Title	Lesson Number	Lesson Title
1	Course Foundation	1	Welcome and Course Overview
1	Course Foundation	2	Define Your Course Outcome
2	Course Planning	1	Build Your Lesson Outline
2	Course Planning	2	Prepare Your Course Resources

The course curriculum uses these values to group and order lessons.

Add Lesson Resources

Use Resource URL and Resource Label when a lesson includes an extra resource.

Examples:

Resource Label: Download Worksheet
Resource URL: link to a PDF worksheet
Resource Label: View Checklist
Resource URL: link to a checklist page or file

Only add a resource when the lesson needs one.

Create Free Preview Lessons

Use Free Preview Lesson when you want a lesson inside a paid course to be available to non-members.

Edit the lesson video.
Turn on Free Preview Lesson.
Save or update the lesson.

When a lesson is marked as a free preview, visitors can view that lesson even if the parent course requires a membership.

Use this for lessons such as:

Course introduction
Sample lesson
Preview module
Welcome video

This helps visitors understand the course before purchasing access.

Create a Free Course

To make a course free, leave Required Membership empty on the course.

Recommended setup:

Required Membership: leave empty
CTA Button Text: Start Learning
CTA URL: leave empty or link to the first lesson

A free course does not need a WooCommerce product.

Create a Paid Course

Paid courses are controlled through memberships.

Create or edit the course under VideoHub360 > Series.
Find Required Membership.
Enter the required membership plan key.
Save the course.
Create a WooCommerce product that grants that membership plan.
Link the course CTA to the product page, checkout page, or pricing page.

Common membership plan keys include:

basic_monthly
basic_yearly
pro_monthly
pro_yearly
lifetime

You can also use:

any

Use any when any active membership should unlock the course.

Sell Course Access with WooCommerce

WooCommerce products can grant Videohub360 membership access when the paid membership system is enabled.

Go to Products > Add New.
Create the product for the course or membership offer.
Set the product as Virtual if no physical product is shipped.
Set the price.
Find the VH360 Membership Mapping box.
Choose the membership plan.
Set the duration.
Choose the grant type.
Publish the product.

When a customer purchases a mapped product and the order reaches the required paid status, the customer receives the mapped membership access.

Sell One Course

Use this model when one WooCommerce product should unlock one course.

Example:

WooCommerce product: Course Launch Blueprint
Product membership plan: basic_monthly
Course Required Membership: basic_monthly
Course CTA Text: Enroll Now
Course CTA URL: the WooCommerce product page or checkout link

After purchase, the customer receives the membership plan required by the course.

Sell a Course Library Membership

Use this model when one membership should unlock multiple courses.

Example:

WooCommerce product: Creator Academy Monthly
Product membership plan: pro_monthly
Course Required Membership: pro_monthly

Every course that should be included in the membership can use the same required membership value.

If multiple membership plans should unlock the same course, use:

any

This allows any active membership to access the course.

Sell Lifetime Course Access

Use this model when a customer should pay once and keep access.

Example:

WooCommerce product: Creator Academy Lifetime Access
Product membership plan: lifetime
Course Required Membership: lifetime

For courses that should be available to lifetime members and other active members, set the course Required Membership to:

any

Add a Course Catalog Page

The theme includes a Course Catalog page template.

Go to Pages > Add New.
Create a page named Courses or Course Catalog.
In the page template setting, choose Course Catalog.
Publish the page.

The template displays the Course Catalog when Course / Lesson Features are enabled.

Use the Course Catalog Shortcode

You can also display courses with this shortcode:

[vh360_course_catalog]

Example with search, filters, sorting, and result count enabled:

[vh360_course_catalog limit="100" show_search="yes" show_filters="yes" show_sort="yes" show_result_count="yes"]

Useful shortcode attributes include:

columns
limit
hide_empty
orderby
order
show_filters
show_search
show_sort
show_result_count
search_placeholder
show_instructor
show_lesson_count
show_access_badge
show_description

Use the Elementor Course Catalog Widget

If Elementor is active, use the VideoHub360 Course Catalog widget to add a course catalog to an Elementor page.

The widget renders the course catalog and includes controls for options such as:

Columns
Limit
Hide empty courses
Search
Filters
Sorting
Result count
Instructor display
Lesson count display
Access badge display
Description display

If Course / Lesson Features are disabled, the widget will not display courses.

Customize the Course Catalog Header

The Course Catalog page template has Customizer controls for the catalog header.

Go to Appearance > Customize and open the header/template header settings area.

The available Course Catalog header settings can include:

Show or hide the Course Catalog header
Course Catalog header title
Course Catalog header description

Use these settings to change the text shown above the course catalog template.

Add Courses to the Frontend Dashboard

The frontend dashboard can include a Courses section when Course / Lesson Features are enabled.

Go to Appearance > Menus.
Open the menu assigned to the Dashboard Menu location.
Add the course-related dashboard item if available.
Save the menu.
Visit the frontend dashboard as a logged-in user.

Users with permission to create content can create and manage their courses from the dashboard when the Courses section is available.

Create Courses from the Frontend Dashboard

From the dashboard Courses section, users can add course details such as:

Course Name
Course Description
Course Subtitle
Short Description
Course Level
Course Duration
Course Featured Image
Required Membership
CTA Button Text
CTA URL
Course Order

Frontend-created courses are saved as series and can be used the same way as admin-created courses.

Create Lessons from the Frontend Dashboard

Users can create lessons from the frontend dashboard video creation flow.

When Course / Lesson Features are enabled, the video form can show course and lesson fields.

To create a lesson from the dashboard:

Open the dashboard create video area.
Add the lesson title and video details.
Assign the video to the correct course series.
Fill in the lesson module and lesson order fields.
Mark the lesson as a free preview if needed.
Submit or update the video.

Course Page Display

A course page can show:

Course title
Course subtitle
Course image
Course level
Course duration
Access badge
CTA button
Curriculum / lesson list
Instructor information
Related courses

The exact display depends on the course fields, available lessons, and active theme/plugin templates.

How the Course CTA Works

The course CTA button is controlled by CTA Button Text and CTA URL.

Use the CTA URL for:

WooCommerce product page
Pricing page
Checkout link
Membership signup page
First lesson URL

If you leave the CTA URL empty, the course template can fall back to the course or lesson flow depending on the available course content.

For paid courses, it is usually best to link the CTA to the product page, checkout page, or pricing page.

Recommended Course Setup Examples

Free Course

Required Membership: leave empty
CTA Button Text: Start Learning
CTA URL: leave empty or link to the first lesson
WooCommerce product: not needed

Single Paid Course

Required Membership: basic_monthly
CTA Button Text: Enroll Now
CTA URL: WooCommerce product page or checkout link
WooCommerce product grants: basic_monthly

Membership Course Library

Required Membership: pro_monthly or any
CTA Button Text: Join Membership
CTA URL: pricing page or membership product page
WooCommerce product grants: pro_monthly

Lifetime Access Course Library

Required Membership: lifetime or any
CTA Button Text: Get Lifetime Access
CTA URL: lifetime product page or checkout link
WooCommerce product grants: lifetime

Test the Setup

After creating courses and lessons, test as different users:

Visit the Course Catalog as a logged-out visitor.
Open a free course and confirm lessons are visible.
Open a paid course as a logged-out visitor and confirm locked lessons show the membership gate.
Open a free preview lesson inside a paid course and confirm it is viewable.
Log in as a customer without membership and confirm paid lessons remain locked.
Purchase a mapped WooCommerce membership product.
Confirm the order reaches the correct paid status.
Log in as the customer and confirm the course unlocks.
Confirm the course curriculum order is correct.
Confirm the Course Catalog search, filters, and sorting work.

Troubleshooting

The Course Catalog does not show courses

Confirm all of the following:

Course / Lesson Features are enabled in VideoHub360 > Settings.
Courses have been created under VideoHub360 > Series.
Lessons are assigned to the correct series if the catalog is set to hide empty courses.
The page uses the Course Catalog template, [vh360_course_catalog] shortcode, or Elementor Course Catalog widget.

A course appears empty

Confirm the lessons are published VideoHub360 videos and are assigned to the correct series.

If the course catalog or course page is set to hide empty courses, a course without published lessons may not appear.

Lessons appear in the wrong order

Edit each lesson and confirm these fields are set correctly:

Module Number
Lesson Number

Use lower numbers for earlier modules and lessons.

A paid course is not locking

Confirm the course has a value in Required Membership.

Also confirm the paid membership system is enabled and the membership plan key matches the plan granted by the WooCommerce product.

A customer bought the product but cannot access the course

Confirm all of the following:

The WooCommerce product has VH360 Membership Mapping configured.
The product grants the same plan key required by the course.
The WooCommerce order is Processing or Completed.
The customer is logged into the same account used for purchase.
The customer’s membership is active and not expired.

A free preview lesson is still locked

Confirm the lesson itself has Free Preview Lesson enabled.

Also confirm you are editing the correct lesson video assigned to the paid course.

The course CTA goes to the wrong place

Edit the course and check CTA URL.

For paid courses, link this field to the product page, checkout page, or pricing page.

For free courses, you can leave it empty or link directly to the first lesson.

The Elementor Course Catalog widget does not display anything

Confirm Course / Lesson Features are enabled in VideoHub360 > Settings.

Then confirm at least one course exists under VideoHub360 > Series.

The Courses dashboard section is missing

Confirm Course / Lesson Features are enabled and the dashboard menu includes the course-related dashboard item.

Also confirm the user has permission to create or manage the relevant frontend content.