If you've embedded external content in your lesson, but see an error message or a white screen when viewing the lesson, you can follow the troubleshooting guide below to quickly get to the bottom of the issue.
In this article:
Confirm that the content is iframe compatible
Take a look at your Source URL
"Zip file must contain at least one html file" error
Multimedia not playing or working on a mobile browser on Android
Confirm that the content is iframe compatible
The course builder uses an iframe, or inline frame (an HTML element that allows another HTML document to load within your page), to embed the content into your course; so in order for something to work in a lesson it must be iframe compatible.
Sometimes, content or websites are not iframe compatible. You can use this free tool to confirm whether or not the material you're trying to use is iframeable.
- Google (the website) is an example of a site that cannot be embedded with an iframe. If you try to save a URL that is not iframeable, you will receive an error message.
- Some platforms (like Google docs) are compatible with iframe, but require a specific set up in the document. In this case, you will see an error message informing you that there are specific setup requirements.
Learn how to Configure a Google Doc to Allow iFraming.
Take a look at your source URL
The source URL you're using for the lesson also plays an important role in how your content will work.
There are two levels of security you will see on a webpage: HTTPS (secure) or HTTP (non-secure). Thinkific is an HTTPS, or secure, site. You cannot link to non-secure websites or pages from an HTTPS page.
What this means is that if you include a link to a non-secure (or HTTP) site in your lesson, and a learner visits your Thinkific site (for example, https://yoursite.thinkific.com), they'll end up in the course player under Thinkific's secure HTTPS - and any lessons containing a non-secure link will show as a white screen.
Therefore, the best option is to always use HTTPS links wherever possible.
Note: Some sites may not have an https option (in these cases, visiting the webpage will give you a security message). Most sites do have this option however, so it shouldn't come up too often. If it does, use http links for your Thinkific site instead.
"Zip file must contain at least one html file" error
If you are seeing this error, it is because your content has not been zipped properly, and our uploader is unable to find the HTML file that your content is built on.
To fix this issue:
- Make sure that your content is included in the zip file's root directory. This means that as soon as you open your zip file, you should see an HTML file available (typically named index.html or story.html).
When selecting the files to add to a zip folder, ensure that you can see the story.html (or index.html) file on the screen when zipping the content.
Embedded content not playing or working on a mobile browser on Android
Mobile browsers on Android devices have stricter controls around the embedded content and how it can play audio or video.
If a lesson loads automatically and the embedded content tries to automatically play media or start a presentation (including presentation-level autoplay) without a tap on the content from a user, the browser may block it. When this happens, the lesson can appear as a blank or gray screen. This is expected Android behavior and doesn’t usually occur when the content is opened directly or viewed in desktop mode, where these restrictions are more relaxed.
To prevent this issue, make sure that any embedded file is saved or exported without autoplay enabled, including autoplay settings at the presentation or player level (not just individual videos). As a temporary workaround, learners can access the lesson using the Thinkific mobile app or switch their mobile browser to the desktop site, which may allow the content to load. Note that these workarounds do not replace disabling autoplay as the long-term solution.
If you're still having trouble with your embedded content, get in contact with the Support team.