The 2 Different Ways to Host a Course or Membership in ShinePages
Selecting the right option for you right from the start can saves you a rebuild later, so let's walk through the 2 options available:
ShinePages Support
Last Update 6 days ago
If you're planning to sell a course or run a membership inside ShinePages, there are two different ways to build out the actual course/membership content or "members only pages" your members will access.
One is best for simpler or self-paced courses without the need for progress tracking (Option 1). The other is better for tracking user's progress, or to drip, unlock or schedule content as you wish. (Option 2)
Picking the right one from the start saves you a rebuild later, so let's walk through both options:
OPTION 1: Create your Members-Only Pages in a FUNNEL or WEBSITE
You can restrict any pages inside a funnel or website so that only logged-in members can see them. (From the Page Settings, set the "Page Access" to Members Only and select the Member Group or Groups - see: https://help.shinepages.com/article/how-to-set-page-restrictions)
This option works well for a simple, self-paced course where members move through the material on their own, in whatever order they like.
Plan availability: It is strongly recommended to build courses in this way on the GROW plan or above. It's technically possible to build a very small, simple mini-course this way on the LAUNCH plan, if you're only working with a handful of pages (as you can technically set Website or Funnel pages as "members-only" on this plan), but we don't recommend building your course strategy around that route and you may quickly bump into the Launch Plan's "page limit" of 20 pages.
This is a simple, flexible way to gate content behind a login.
This option works well for a simple, self-paced course where members move through the material on their own, in whatever order they like.
What it DOES NOT DO:
- Members cannot mark a page as "complete"
- You cannot see which pages a member has finished and which they haven't
- You cannot drip content out over time, schedule it to unlock on a future date, or require one page to be completed before the next one unlocks
See lessons on How To Set Up a Course in this way.
Plan availability: It is strongly recommended to build courses in this way on the GROW plan or above. It's technically possible to build a very small, simple mini-course this way on the LAUNCH plan, if you're only working with a handful of pages (as you can technically set Website or Funnel pages as "members-only" on this plan), but we don't recommend building your course strategy around that route and you may quickly bump into the Launch Plan's "page limit" of 20 pages.
OPTION 2: Create your Course or Membership Content in a CIRCLE
The other option is to build your course or membership content inside a "Community Circle". This is the more robust option, and the one we recommend for anything more complex than Option 1.
Inside a Circle, you DO GET REAL, ROBUST COURSE FUNCTIONALITY:
See Overview article on the Community Circle
Plan availability: Full Circle functionality, including drip, scheduling, and unlock-on-complete, requires the CONNECT plan or above OR purchased one of our Communities/Circles Add-On Options. This is the setup we recommend if you want your course or membership to feel structured and guided rather than just a stack of pages behind a login.
Inside a Circle, you DO GET REAL, ROBUST COURSE FUNCTIONALITY:
- Members can mark individual lesson pages as "complete"
- You can see exactly where each member is in your content
- You can drip content out on a schedule, so lessons release over time instead of all at once
- You can unlock a lesson only after a member has marked the previous one complete, creating a guided, sequential path through your material
- You can set certain pages behind a separate "paywall"
See Overview article on the Community Circle
Plan availability: Full Circle functionality, including drip, scheduling, and unlock-on-complete, requires the CONNECT plan or above OR purchased one of our Communities/Circles Add-On Options. This is the setup we recommend if you want your course or membership to feel structured and guided rather than just a stack of pages behind a login.
Styling/Layout Differences
Beyond functionality, the two options look different too.
A CIRCLE COURSE has a static left-hand navigation menu that stays in place across every lesson page. It sits alongside your content rather than taking up a column of the page itself, so your lesson content has more room to breathe and reads beautifully in mobile view.
Members-only pages in a FUNNEL or WEBSITE do NOT have this built-in course navigation. Any navigation has to be built manually into the page design itself using a "column" of a content block for navigation. (Note:You can set that column as a "Global Column" which will display the same content across all pages with that Global Column shown.)
A CIRCLE COURSE has a static left-hand navigation menu that stays in place across every lesson page. It sits alongside your content rather than taking up a column of the page itself, so your lesson content has more room to breathe and reads beautifully in mobile view.
Members-only pages in a FUNNEL or WEBSITE do NOT have this built-in course navigation. Any navigation has to be built manually into the page design itself using a "column" of a content block for navigation. (Note:You can set that column as a "Global Column" which will display the same content across all pages with that Global Column shown.)
Which One Should You Choose?
| 1) Funnel/Website | 2) Circle | |
| Best for: | Simple, self-paced content | Structured, guided courses |
| Progress tracking: | No | Yes |
| Mark pages complete: | No | Yes |
| Drip or schedule content: | No | Yes |
| Unlock lessons on completion: | No | Yes |
| Navigation: | Manually build using a column on page | Static, built-in, left or right hand navigation |
| Minimum plan: | GROW | CONNECT |
OVERVIEW:
- If you're building a simple free download or mini-course with just a few pages, creating your members-only pages within a (FUNNEL or WEBSITE) can get the job done.
- But for anything you want members to actually progress through, with structure, tracking, and a real course feel, building it in a (CIRCLE) on the “Connect Plan” is what we recommend.
EXTRA NOTE on The Connect Plan (over and above the course benefits mentioned above). “Ideal for creators building memberships, courses, or client communities”. Include features pertaining ie. More videos, more community members, more email subscribers etc.
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IMPORTANT NOTE: ENGAGEMENT WIDGETS such as Discussion boards, Comment Area widgets or Wall/Forum widgets may be added to and used with EITHER of the two options. You can add these to a course/membership set up in a Funnel/Website OR a course/membership set up in a Circle. See more on our Community Interactive Widgets