Ghost Themes •
Last updated: May 1, 2026

How to add Course?

Zora Ghost Theme

Table of Contents

This guide walks you through the process of adding a course in Ghost CMS, covering everything from setting course details to managing access and tags.

01) Add Course Information

Important: Ensure you are creating a Post and not a Page when adding a course.

Start by entering the core information about your course:

  • Course Title: The main name of your course.
  • Course Description: Provide a clear, concise overview of what the course covers.
  • Featured Image: Upload a course cover image (recommended size: 1200x630px).
  • Meta Information: Add any additional meta details necessary for SEO and organization.

Using Ghost Public Preview for Course Description

We recommend enabling the Ghost Public Preview feature when adding your course description. This option allows non-members or visitors to preview the course overview without full access.

Why use Ghost Public Preview? For premium courses, if you do not enable Public Preview, visitors won’t be able to see the course description unless they are members with access. Enabling this option makes the course more visible and appealing to potential students.

In our setup, we have used the Ghost Public Preview option to ensure the course description is visible.

02) Add Tags

Tags are essential for organizing and linking lessons to their parent course.

Required Internal Hashtags

Each course must include two internal hashtags:

  • #course — this tag is required for all courses
  • A unique course tag (e.g., javascript-basics, web-design, python-fundamentals)

Example: #course javascript-basics

Adding Public Tags and Categories

You can also add public-facing tags or course categories to improve discoverability and grouping.

Example: programming, web-development, beginner

Important Tagging Rules

  • The #course tag is mandatory for the course to be recognized by the theme.
  • Use a unique, descriptive course tag (e.g., javascript-basics instead of just javascript).
  • Public tags are allowed and should be placed after the internal #course tag.
  • The same course tag must be used on all lessons that belong to this course.

03) Course Access Settings

Ghost CMS supports multiple access levels to control who can view your course content:

  1. Public Access: Use this setting for free courses that everyone can view and access.

  2. Members Only Access: This restricts access to users who have subscribed to any membership tier. Recommended for some premium courses.

  3. Paid Members Only Access: This grants access only to paid subscribers. Recommended for premium, all-access courses.

Tip: For premium courses, always assign the correct membership tier to control who can access your content effectively. We recommend using “Members Only” for selected premium courses and “Paid Members Only” for all-access passes.

04) Course Header Style

Choose how the course featured image is positioned on the course page.

Go to Settings > Design > Theme Settings and find “Course Header Style”:

  • Image on Right (default): Course content on left, featured image on right. Best for text-heavy courses.
  • Image on Left: Featured image on left, course content on right. Best for visual courses.

Tip: Keep consistency across all courses for a professional look.

05) Add Author Information

Every course should clearly specify the author’s name. This helps learners know who created the content and adds credibility.

Summary

  1. Create a Post, not a Page, to add course content.
  2. Add course title, description, and featured image (enable Ghost Public Preview for visibility).
  3. Include the mandatory internal tag #course and a unique course tag.
  4. Add public tags/categories if desired, placing them after the internal tags.
  5. Set course access based on membership tiers (Public, Members Only, Paid Members Only).
  6. Choose course header style in Theme Settings.
  7. Assign an author name to every course.

Following these steps will help you maintain a consistent and well-organized course catalog on your Ghost CMS site.

The course will automatically display:

  • A lesson sidebar showing all lessons linked to this course
  • Lesson count badge
  • Progress tracking for students
  • Breadcrumb navigation

If you need any assistance or have questions, feel free to reach out to your site administrator or consult the Ghost documentation.