You asked for a simpler, faster way to build courses - and we listened. Welcome to the brand new course builder, designed with your feedback in mind.
This feature is currently in beta, and is available by default on Thinkific sites created on or after January 28, 2026 and on some Thinkific sites created prior to January 28, 2026. We are working on adding features and functionality and releasing it to more customers. Stay tuned for updates if you do not see the option on your site!
About This Feature
The new course builder combines flexibility with simplicity to help you build courses faster. This gives you complete creative freedom - lessons are a blank canvas where you can mix text, images, video, PDFs, and quizzes in the same lesson without juggling multiple lesson types.
- Live preview as you build: Your workspace is a mirror-image of your learner’s experience when they take your course - no more guessing or going back and forth to see what your learners see.
- A cleaner, clearer interface: The streamlined and decluttered experience gives you everything you need - right at your fingertips.
- Faster workflows: Improved performance, auto-save, and smarter controls reduce your setup, build out, and iteration time and keep you moving.
How It Works
The new course builder is designed to make creating lessons faster and more intuitive, without the need to manage multiple lesson types. Instead of creating separate lessons for videos, text, or other content, you can now build everything directly within a single lesson.
Each lesson can support multiple content types, which you can add from a streamlined menu on the right-hand side of the course builder. This allows you to easily add a variety of content to a lesson - such as video, text, images, PDFs, and quizzes - into one cohesive learning experience, allowing you to structure lessons exactly the way you want. Once your content is added, you can edit and rearrange the order.
Previewing your course is also more straightforward in the new course builder - the lesson layout you see while building is exactly what your learners will see when they take the course.
New Course Builder vs. Classic Course Builder
In addition to the new lesson creation format, the new course builder includes several improvements that make building and managing courses easier and more reliable. You’ll benefit from improved performance, with faster load times and smoother navigation, as well as automatic saving.
See the core differences between the two course builders below:
| New course builder | Classic course builder | |
| Lesson creation | Mix and match different types of content within the same lesson | Separate lessons for each content type |
| Supported content types | Text, image, video, PDF, quiz, external content, audio | Text, video, PDF, audio, multimedia, quiz, presentation, download, survey, exam, live |
| Saving changes to lessons | Changes are auto-saved | Changes must be manually saved |
| Course Player design | Updated Course Player with simpler, more modern look and feel | Classic Course Player |
| Previewing lessons | What you see in the course builder is exactly what learners see in the course player | Lessons must be previewed separately |
| Course builder interface | Cleaner, decluttered interface with intuitive block controls | Classic course builder interface |
| Performance | Improved with faster file uploads | Standard |
| Mobile app support | Supported | Supported |
| Custom code/third-party app support | Not supported | Supported |
Which Course Builder To Use
You can use whichever builder works best for your workflow right now! We’d love for you to try out the new course builder, but we understand if your course content has complexities that mean you need to keep using the classic experience for now.
Before you choose, there are a few things you should know:
- You can use both builders to create, publish and sell new courses, but you cannot move or migrate course materials between the two experiences.
- Courses created with the new course builder do not yet support the following:
- Availability on the Shopify integration.
- Some settings options.
- Course reviews or drip schedules.
- Custom code snippets or 3rd party apps extensions to the Course Player.
- Course duplication and copying courses between Thinkific sites.
Features and Availability
This new course builder is still in beta, which means we’re actively adding features and functionality.
To see a full breakdown of the features that are currently available and coming soon, expand the sections below.
Currently available
| Content types | Course & lesson settings | Other features |
| Video | Set course to private and/or hidden | Auto-save for all edits |
| Text | Assign course admins to course | New course player design |
| Image | Assign revenue partners to course | Add courses to bundles |
| Assign affiliates to course | Add courses as order bumps | |
| Quiz | Set individual learner expiry dates for the course | Apply discount coupons |
| External content (embedded in lessons via iframe) | Certificates | Send and approve course publish requests |
| Audio files | Video % completion required | Trigger course welcome and course completion emails |
| Lesson settings: prerequisite lessons, free preview lessons | Email marketing triggers | |
| Video library features (set video thumbnails, video engagement tracking, add captions, make videos private) | ||
| Thinker (AI Teaching Assistant) is available to learners in the new course player (Thinkific Plus plans) | ||
| Site Footer Code supported via opt-in, learn more how to opt-in here: How to Run Site Footer Code on the Learner Hub and New Course Player. |
Coming soon
| Content types | Course & lesson settings | Other features |
| Surveys | Course reviews | Text color & font style for text blocks |
| Advanced quizzes | Drip schedules | Courses can contain more than 25 chapters |
| Exams | Ability to customize course player logo and button copy | Videos can be accessed and uploaded from the video library |
| Assignments | Ability to drop custom code snippets or 3rd party apps extensions to the course player | Courses supported on the Thinkific mobile app |
| SCORM interoperability |
Access the New Course Builder
To access the new course builder:
- From the Admin Dashboard, go to Products
- Select Courses
- Select New course builder
Add Content to the New Course Builder
Adding content to your course is easy with the new course builder! Each lesson is a blank canvas for you to add, mix and match content and media however you desire. Simply select the type of content you'd like to add - text, video, image, PDF, quiz, audio, or external content - and arrange them in any way that you'd like in your lesson.
Learn more about adding content to your course in the new course builder, as well as how to customize your course's settings: How to Add Content and Configure Your Course in the New Course Builder
Updated Course Player
We’ve also updated the Course Player with a cleaner, simpler, more modern look and feel, to ensure a better experience for learners. You can see the Course Player any time by simply clicking the Preview button in the course builder.
Sharing Feedback
We’re actively improving the new builder and want your input! Once you’ve explored the experience, share your thoughts with us directly from the course builder.
To share your feedback:
- Click on any lesson in your course
- Click on the Feedback button at the bottom of the chapter and lesson list on the left-hand side
- Share your feedback!
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are some classic features missing?
The new builder is still in beta. Features are being released in phases to ensure quality, stability, and accessibility.
Will my classic courses stop working?
No. Classic courses will continue to be available, and you can still create and sell classic courses normally until the classic builder is sunset (don’t worry - we’ll give you lots of notice).
Can I switch between builders?
There are a few things you need to know about switching between course building experiences:
- You can use both builders to create new courses, but you cannot swap course materials between the two builder experiences.
- You cannot edit classic courses with the new course builder, and vice versa.
- You cannot start creating a course in the new builder, and then switch to the classic builder.
Does this affect learners?
Learners will see the updated course player experience when they access courses built with the new course builder. Classic courses will continue to play in the existing course player experience.
How does the new course builder work with REST API or webhooks?
Courses created using the new course builder are excluded from almost all REST API endpoints, including courses, chapters, collections, and products. Enrollments into courses created using the new course builder will appear in the enrollments endpoints.
The lesson.completed webhook does not work with the courses created using the new course builder. Other webhooks will work as expected.