If you’re creating an open-access course, that students will be able to access all at once, using your website’s page feature is straightforward. You’ll mainly rely on ‘Page Attributes‘ to set parent-child relationships and organize how your lessons and modules nest under each other. If you’re unfamiliar, ‘Page Attributes’ is a feature that allows you to set hierarchical relationships between your pages, as well as assign page ordering. Your course’s structure will be determined by the blueprint you design.
Creating pages for your course is the same as adding any other webpage to your site. You’ll use various design “blocks” to lay out the text, images, and other elements on each page. Just like we covered in the lesson on creating a sales page.
Each page will need to be published in order to set their parent-child relationships in ‘Page Attributes’.
Types of pages & their structure
- Main landing page: Your course’s main page will have an overview and description. You’ll name it after the course and publish it. Example URL:
mysite.com/coursename/ - Module pages (optional): Use these to group lessons. Each module will be its own page, and you’ll set the main landing page as its ‘Parent Page’ under ‘Page Attributes’. Example URL:
mysite.com/coursename/module1/ - Lesson pages: These pages will contain your course content. They will establish a parent-child relationship with either a module or the main landing page via ‘Page Attributes’. Example URL:
mysite.com/coursename/module1/lessonname/ormysite.com/coursename/lessonname/
Repeat these steps to build out your entire course. Remember, pages must first be published in order to establish their parent-child relationship in ‘Page Attributes’. While it’s possible to create multi-layered nesting (parent, child, grandchild, etc.), be cautious not to make the structure so intricate that it becomes hard for students to navigate. For example, you don’t usually want to create child-pages under Lessons. Keep it to no more than: Course/Module/Lesson and if Modules don’t make sense for your particular course, simply go with Course/Lesson.
Note: Publishing pages won’t notify your followers, which means you can work in peace without attracting premature attention to your content. Search engines also take time to index new pages, so you rarely need to worry about unexpected traffic when you publish a new page. And it’s not likely that students will accidentally find your new course pages if you haven’t added them to a menu.
Choose clear, descriptive names for your modules and lessons, rather than just using numbers. Meaningful names make navigation easier for your students. Additionally, you can use the ‘Order’ field under ‘Page Attributes’ to control the sequence in which the pages appear in various places, such as if you use the Query Loop block to provide a list of lessons.
You have flexibility in guiding students through your course. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach, and you can mix and match the following suggestions:
- Main site navigation: Add the course and its modules or lessons to your website’s main menu. We have support guides on how to create a menu, how to add links to a menu, and how to create drop-down menus.
- Secondary menu: Create a specialized menu for your course that you can add to Module and Lesson pages. Use a ‘Synced Pattern‘ for easy updates across all relevant pages.
Click the dots on the image below for more information about working with the Navigation block:
Opening the List View will make it easier to determine where in your content you’re placing your menu.
From this List View, you can also rearrange items in your menu if you like.
In the editor portion of your screen you can see your menu in action. The style, placement, and functionality of your menu will depend on your own theme and settings. You can click on items to add, remove, move, and apply other edits to your menu in place.
The Settings sidebar on the right also gives you the option add, remove, and move items around, as well as several different setting and style options specific to the Navigation block you have in place.
- Dynamic blocks: These automatically pull in specific pages based on filters, such as parent pages. For example, on the main course page you can display a list or grid of modules and/or lessons. Or on module pages you can display a list of the lessons just in that module. A couple of commonly used dynamic blocks include the Query Loop block and the Page List block. Dynamic blocks also automatically update when you make changes, such as adding new lesson pages or reordering them.
- Custom templates: If you’re using a Block theme, custom templates can be set up using the Columns block to include a sidebar to display all lessons using dynamic blocks.
All of the above block options require that the relevant pages be published first.
Remember, using pages to build your course is no different from creating any other page on your website. The options and suggestions provided in this lesson are just starting points. Feel free to get creative and tailor your course structure to best suit your needs.
Course outline examples
Main Site Navigation Menu
- Home
- About
- Courses
- Course 1 (main landing page)
- Module 1
- Module 2
- Module 3
- Course 1 (main landing page)
- Contact
Course 1 (Open-access course)
- Main Landing Page: mysite.com/course1/
- Overview: Brief description and objectives of the course.
- Module 1: mysite.com/course1/module1/
- Overview: What this module will cover.
- Lesson 1: mysite.com/course1/module1/lesson1/
- Lesson 2: mysite.com/course1/module1/lesson2/
- Lesson 3: mysite.com/course1/module1/lesson3/
- Module 2: mysite.com/course1/module2/
- Overview: What this module will cover.
- Lesson 1: mysite.com/course1/module2/lesson1/
- Lesson 2: mysite.com/course1/module2/lesson2/
- Lesson 3: mysite.com/course1/module2/lesson3/
- Module 3: mysite.com/course1/module3/
- Overview: What this module will cover.
- Lesson 1: mysite.com/course1/module3/lesson1/
- Lesson 2: mysite.com/course1/module3/lesson2/
- Lesson 3: mysite.com/course1/module3/lesson3/
Page Hierarchy Notes:
- The Main Landing Page (“Course 1”) is the parent page for all modules.
- Module Pages are child pages to the main course landing page and serve as parent pages for lessons in that module.
- Lesson Pages are child pages to a module.
Let’s do that again, this time with a fictional course to see what this looks like with proper names:
Example course
Main Site Navigation Menu
- Home
- About
- Courses
- Mastering Digital Photography (main landing page)
- Basics of Photography (module 1)
- Advanced Techniques (module 2)
- Editing & Post-Production (module 3)
- Mastering Digital Photography (main landing page)
- Contact
The example URLs below are color-coded for visibility: maindomain/course/module/lesson/
Mastering Digital Photography (Open-access course)
- Main Landing Page: mysite.com/mastering-digital-photography/
- Overview: An introductory guide to digital photography from taking the shot to post-production.
- Basics of Photography: mysite.com/mastering-digital-photography/basics-of-photography/
- Overview: Fundamentals of photography.
- Lesson 1: “Understanding Your Camera”
mysite.com/mastering-digital-photography/basics-of-photography/understanding-your-camera/ - Lesson 2: “Composing a Shot”
mysite.com/mastering-digital-photography/basics-of-photography/composing-a-shot/ - Lesson 3: “Lighting Essentials”
mysite.com/mastering-digital-photography/basics-of-photography/lighting-essentials/
- Advanced Techniques: mysite.com/mastering-digital-photography/advanced-techniques/
- Overview: Elevate your photography skills.
- Lesson 1: “Long Exposure Photography”
mysite.com/mastering-digital-photography/advanced-techniques/long-exposure-photography/ - Lesson 2: “Portrait Photography”
mysite.com/mastering-digital-photography/advanced-techniques/portrait-photography/ - Lesson 3: “Landscape Photography”
mysite.com/mastering-digital-photography/advanced-techniques/landscape-photography/
- Editing & Post-Production: mysite.com/mastering-digital-photography/editing-and-post-production/
- Overview: Finalize your shots like a pro.
- Lesson 1: “Introduction to Photoshop”
mysite.com/mastering-digital-photography/editing-and-post-production/introduction-to-photoshop/ - Lesson 2: “Color Correction”
mysite.com/mastering-digital-photography/editing-and-post-production/color-correction/ - Lesson 3: “Advanced Editing Techniques”
mysite.com/mastering-digital-photography/editing-and-post-production/advanced-editing-techniques/
Page Hierarchy Notes:
- The Main Landing Page (“Mastering Digital Photography”) is the parent page for all modules.
- Module Pages (“Basics of Photography,” “Advanced Techniques,” “Editing & Post-Production”) are child pages to the main course landing page and serve as parent pages for lessons in that module.
- Lesson Pages are child pages to a module.
As we can see in the example, the URLs can get quite long if you use longer, descriptive names for the course, modules, and lessons. Try to find a balance between clarity and length when it comes to naming, as it’s important for both user navigation and SEO.
What is the primary function of the ‘Page Attributes’ feature in WordPress when setting up an open-access course?
Great work! You’re correct. The ‘Page Attributes’ feature allows you to establish parent-child relationships between pages, which is essential for organizing your course structure. Keep up the good work!
Not quite. The ‘Page Attributes’ feature serves a specific role in organizing your course. Consider revisiting this part of the lesson for a clearer understanding of how ‘Page Attributes’ are used in an open-access course setup.
Back to top