Use an On-demand online course for a self-paced e-learning or recorded video course that people buy and start at any time, with no dates to attend. You can host the lessons in Cademy, or give learners access details for content hosted on another website.
This guide is for course providers. It covers creating the course, its price and access period, lessons, external hosting, publishing and checking what learners see. A Registration is one learner's place on the course; an Order records the booking and its payment.
Permission needed: You need System Admin access or Course Owner access to the course. Facilitators cannot open the course editor. If an action is missing, ask a System Admin to check your access.
Create the On-Demand Course in Admin
Open the Cademy admin dashboard and select Courses.
Select Create New.
Choose the word your business uses for courses in the service keyword selector. Then select On-demand online course under What is the format?
In Description, enter the course title where you see Add your title here. Use Add Course Images to choose the course images, then replace the description placeholder with what learners need to know before booking.
Select Save and check for Course saved. The new course is saved but stays unpublished.
Continue through Pricing & Delivery, Contents, Settings and Share as described below. Share appears after the course has been saved.
To return later, open Courses, select the course and select Edit Course. In List View on Courses, you can also open the course's three-dot menu and select Edit or Settings. Changing tabs on a new course also tries to save it, and moving around an existing course editor can save outstanding changes, so review your choices before switching pages.
Set the Price, Availability and Access Period
Set Prices and When Each Offer Can Be Bought
In the course editor, open Pricing & Delivery.
For one simple offer, enter the Price. Use 0 for a free offer and check the currency shown. If you already see offer cards, select the offer to edit its price.
For more offers or availability dates, select Custom Offers & Add-ons if the expanded list is not already shown. To add an offer, select Add Price, choose Create an Offer, and enter its Name and Price.
Inside an offer, select More Options to set Available from (optional) or Available until (optional). For on-demand offers, keep Spaces to block at 1 and use the selected quantity for the number of learner places. See Offer Different Prices for One Course (Price Offers).
If you opened an offer dialog, select Update Price for an existing offer or Create Price for a new one.
Below pricing, set Duration to the advertised length of the course. This is separate from the learner's access limit.
Select Save and check for Course saved.
Offer availability dates control when customers can select that price; they do not publish or unpublish the course. Add-ons are optional extras: select Add Price, choose Create an Add-on, enter its name and price, then select Create Price and save the course.
On eligible plans, External Bookings can send a learner from the course page to your own registration or booking system. The external booking is not recorded in Cademy automatically, and any membership requirement is still checked first. Find it in Edit Course → Settings → Booking Options, and read Send Customers to an External Booking Website before turning it on.
Set How Long Learners Keep Access (Access Options)
In the course editor, open Settings, then Access Options.
Under Students should have access to the course, choose Indefinitely / until removed by you or For a limited time. The last word of that label follows the course's service keyword.
For limited access, enter the Number of days.
Select Save and check for Course saved.
Existing learners can be affected. This setting applies to every learner whose place has no expiry date of its own, including learners who already have access. The days count from when the place was paid for or created, so a shorter limit can end an existing learner's access straight away, although the hint on the screen mentions new students only.
To give one learner a date of their own, how the days are counted and what learners see when access ends, read Set or Extend How Long Learners Can Access a Course.
Add Lessons and Course Content
Open the course and select Edit Course, then open Contents. Follow Build and Organise Lessons in an Online Course for the full editor: sections, lessons, content blocks, files and PDFs, quizzes, SCORM packages (learning content made with an external authoring tool), schedules, saving and Preview as Student.
You can collect General or Feedback responses inside lessons with a Form block; see Add Forms to Lessons. Course publishing and lesson publishing are separate: publish the lessons learners should open, then check their release schedules and any requirement to finish an earlier lesson first. See Release Lessons Over Time and Set Due Dates.
Add Recorded Videos, YouTube Videos and Downloadable Files to Lessons
Inside a lesson, add a content block for each item:
Video: upload a recording through the media picker. Record it with any tool that saves a video file, such as a screen recorder, a video call recording or a phone.
Embed: paste the link of a video on YouTube or another site, then select Set Embed or the button for the recognised service, such as Embed YouTube Video. The video stays on YouTube, so its YouTube privacy setting still decides who else can watch it there. Some websites do not allow embedding.
File or PDF: add a document or other file in the block's upload area; the File block does not limit the file type. If the file picker does not show your file, drag it onto the upload area instead. Learners see a file card they can download; a PDF can also be shown inside the lesson.
Learners open these after they book, in the lesson. For the block steps, see the section "Add links, media and other lesson blocks" in Build and Organise Lessons in an Online Course.
Host the Course Content on Another Website (Host Externally)
Use Host Externally when learners complete the course on another website or learning platform instead of inside Cademy.
Open Courses, select the course, then Edit Course.
Open Settings, then Advanced Settings.
Turn on Host Externally.
Under Content Access Details, add the website link, login steps and other instructions learners need.
Select Save and check for Course saved.
Eligible learners see these instructions in Course Access. For a place linked to an order, approval alone is not enough: the order must also meet the payment requirement for course access. This can include a paid deposit or first monthly instalment, or access before invoice or in-person payment when you allow it. Cancelled places and orders refunded in full do not grant access. See Find Your Course Dates, Venue or Joining Link for the conditions and learner steps. Leave Host Externally off when learners complete lessons inside Cademy.
Content Access Details are for externally hosted courses. For a course delivered inside Cademy, see Give Learners Welcome Information and Files After Booking for information learners receive after booking.
Publish, Share or Archive the Course
In the course editor, open Share and use the visibility control. The same control is shown beside each course in List View on Courses. Saving a new course does not publish it.
Public: Visible to all.
Private: Hidden and accessible with a direct link. This option depends on your business plan.
Unpublished: Visible to you and enrolled users.
Pro and Teams plans include private courses. On any other plan or agreement, Private can be chosen only if your account has that feature. See What Each Cademy Plan Includes and Costs. For publishing checks, the course link and embed options, read Publish and Share a Course.
To help people find the course, open Settings → Advanced Settings: Categories & Tags is there, and Search Details holds the Level, the Search engine & social media description and the service keyword.
In List View, the course's three-dot menu also has Duplicate and Add to Collection; see Change a Course Type to duplicate a course. A published course shows Unpublish & Archive, an unpublished course shows Archive and an archived course shows Restore. See Archive or Restore a Course.
Important: Archiving an on-demand course removes learners' access to its content. Restore it if learners need access again.
Test What Learners See (Preview as Student)
Use Preview as Student for a quick check of the saved lessons and course layout.
Open Courses, select the course, then Edit Course → Contents.
Save the course at least once. Preview as Student appears after saving.
Select Preview as Student. You can also use it inside a lesson or Quiz to open that lesson directly.
If Save Before Previewing? appears, choose Save & Preview for your latest changes or Preview Without Saving for the last saved version.
Check the new tab shows Previewing as admin. Progress is not tracked. For a System Admin or Course Owner of this course, Preview as Student opens admin preview even if the same login also has a Registration. Draft lessons are available to admins and marked Unpublished. If the banner is missing, stop and check which page and login you are using.
Check which view opened. When the admin-preview banner is shown, lesson progress and Quiz responses are not recorded, and form submission is disabled. SCORM packages can launch in a temporary session without saving progress, completion or resume information. Draft and scheduled lessons can stay accessible to admins, so this view does not prove learner access rules. Use a separate learner email without administrator access for a faithful learner test.
Real learner tests create records and can use course places or send messages. Follow Test a Course Before Launch for the right Registration, Order or public-booking route and its cleanup steps.
Rename the Start Course and Continue Course Buttons
Pro, Teams and Enterprise plans include Custom Labels (see What Each Cademy Plan Includes and Costs). Open Courses, select the course, then Edit Course → Settings → Advanced Settings. Find Custom Labels to rename Start Course and Continue Course. Select Save and check for Course saved.
These labels apply to Cademy-hosted lessons. The button shown depends on the learner's progress, while the completed View Course action keeps its normal wording. The same section can rename the course's main Booking Button and Forum Name; see Rename Course Buttons and Labels (Custom Labels).
Check Learner Progress and Set Up Certificates
Open Progress on the course dashboard to review lessons, quiz results and form responses. See See Each Learner's Lesson Progress in a Course.
To review one learner, open Registrants, select their Registration and expand Progress. To find learners by completion or recent activity, see Find Learners Who Are Inactive or Have Not Finished.
Before changing a lesson's status, follow Reset or Correct a Learner's Lesson Progress.
Learners find the course under My Courses & Bookings > My Courses. When an expiry date applies, they see Access expires on the course's Content page.
For certificates (CPD means continuing professional development), open Settings → Certificates & CPD and turn on Automatically issue certificate if learners should receive one when they complete the course. Choose Email student when certificate is issued to also email a new certificate. Select Save and check for Course saved. Automatic issuing does not create another certificate when the Registration already has an active one. For manual and additional certificates, see Set Up Automatic Certificates for a Course.
When a learner reports a problem:
A lesson is missing or cannot be opened: Build and Organise Lessons in an Online Course.
The course is missing from their account: Test a Course Before Launch.
No certificate after completing the course: Set Up Automatic Certificates for a Course; for the learner's own steps, Find or Download Your Course Certificate.
To send learners help on starting the course, share Start Your Online Course and See When Lessons Open.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is an on-demand course different from a blended or on-request course?
An on-demand course is self-paced, with no fixed attendance date. A blended course combines scheduled sessions with online learning content. On-request is for individually arranged training; depending on its setup, customers send a request or book an available calendar slot.
Can I sell downloadable documents or spreadsheets?
Yes. Create an on-demand course with a price, then add each file to a lesson with a File block. If the file picker does not show your file, drag it onto the upload area. Learners download it from the lesson after booking.
Can I sell access to my YouTube videos?
Yes. Add each video to a lesson with an Embed block (Embed YouTube Video). People who book open the lessons; the video's YouTube setting still decides who can watch it on YouTube.
Where should I record the course videos?
Use any tool that saves a video file, then upload it with a Video block. Or upload the video to YouTube or a similar site and embed it.
Can I sell a recording of a live session as an on-demand course afterwards?
Yes. Create an On-demand online course, add the recording to a lesson with a Video block (or embed it from YouTube with an Embed block), set the price and access period, then publish the course. Cademy does not add the recording for you, so save it from your video call tool first.
Why can I not see Create New, Edit Course or the visibility actions?
System Admins and Course Owners can create and edit on-demand courses. Facilitators cannot open the course editor. Ask a System Admin for your business account to check your access.
Can I delete an on-demand course?
No permanent delete action is provided here. Use the course menu to archive it. Archiving removes learners' content access; it is not permanent deletion.
Does changing Access Options affect existing learners?
Yes, when their place has no expiry date of its own: a change can shorten, extend or remove their limit. A learner whose Registration has its own Access expires date keeps that date until you change or clear it.
Can I test a SCORM package with Preview as Student?
Yes. When the admin-preview banner is shown, the package uses a temporary preview session without saving learner progress, completion or resume information. Follow Test a Course Before Launch to test a real learner's experience.
Why can I not see Preview as Student?
Save the course, then open Edit Course → Contents. The button appears once the course has been saved.
Are External Bookings and Host Externally the same?
No. External Bookings controls where the customer registers or books. Host Externally controls where the learner completes the course content. A course may use either option or both, depending on its setup and plan.