# How to sell online courses with files, a community and updates

URL: https://komerza.shop/sell/online-courses
Updated: 2026-10-31

> To sell online courses on ShopFast, upload the lessons and workbooks as files that students download the moment they pay, and add a private Discord role or Telegram group for the community. ShopFast has no lesson player, progress tracking or quizzes, so if your course needs those, a dedicated course platform may suit you better.

An online course is a promise of a result, and the files are only part of it. Before you pick where to sell, decide
what kind of course you're making: a download students keep, a course built around a community, monthly access to a
growing library, a coaching program, or lessons taken inside a player with quizzes. The first four fit ShopFast well.
The last one doesn't, and this page is plain about why.

## Can you sell online courses on ShopFast?

Yes, if your course is delivered as files and community access rather than inside a lesson player. Here's the honest
breakdown:

| What your course needs | On ShopFast |
| --- | --- |
| Video lessons, workbooks and templates | Yes: files delivered by private download links |
| A private community | Yes: a Discord role or Telegram group granted on payment |
| Monthly or yearly access | Yes: memberships with auto-renew |
| New lessons for past students | Yes: updates sent to everyone who owns the course |
| Live calls or one-to-one coaching | Sold as a service; the calls run on the video tool you already use |
| Lessons watched in a built-in player | No |
| Progress tracking, quizzes, lesson checklists | No |

If your course depends on students watching inside a player, ticking off lessons and passing quizzes, a dedicated
course platform may suit you better. If your students are happy to download the material and learn alongside a group,
you can sell online courses from your own ShopFast store, with checkout, delivery and community access in one place.

## Course formats that work as downloads

- **Self-paced download course.** Video lessons, a workbook and templates the student keeps. Simple to make, simple to
  deliver, and nothing to maintain unless you update it.
- **Course plus community.** The same files, plus a private Discord server or Telegram group where students ask
  questions and share their work. For many topics, the community is what students stay for.
- **Membership library.** Monthly access to a library that grows: you post new lessons as updates, and the group stays
  open while the membership runs.
- **Coaching program.** Live sessions sold as a service, the course files as support material, and a group for the
  cohort.

## How to sell video course files

Video is where course delivery usually goes wrong, so package it with care:

- **Use MP4 (H.264).** It plays on nearly every phone, tablet and computer without extra software.
- **Number the files** in viewing order (`01-setup.mp4`, `02-first-project.mp4`) and group them into one ZIP per
  module, so a slow connection doesn't mean one giant download.
- **Add a Start here PDF** with the outline, what to do after each lesson, and how to join the community.
- **Include captions** as `.srt` files, and the slides or a transcript for people who learn by reading.

When a student pays, the order page shows a private download link made for their order. The same link is in the
receipt email and their library. You set how long links stay valid and how many downloads each order gets; for video,
allow enough downloads for a dropped connection or a second device. More in
[automatic delivery for digital products](/guides/instant-delivery). Workbooks and companion PDFs follow the same
advice as [selling ebooks](/sell/ebooks).

## Sell a course with a community on Discord or Telegram

Add a **Discord role** to the course product and students get the role the moment they pay, which opens your private
channels. They lose it on a refund, or when a membership ends ([sell Discord roles](/sell/discord-roles)).

**Telegram access** works the same way for a private group or channel. After payment the student gets a single-use
invite that only they can use, and it expires if they don't. Access can end with the option's duration, after a fixed
number of days, or never, and it's removed on a refund or chargeback
([Telegram access setup](https://shopfa.st/docs/guides/telegram-access), [sell Telegram channel access](/sell/telegram-access)).

That's the course-plus-Discord setup many creators are after: one checkout, and the student lands in the files and the
group at once.

## Sell course access by the month

If you add lessons regularly or run monthly live sessions, sell access as a **membership**. Students can turn on
auto-renew, which charges their saved card each period and retries a declined card
([auto-renew](https://shopfa.st/docs/selling/auto-renew)). When a membership ends, the Discord role or Telegram access ends with it, so
your group stays made up of current members. Compare one-time and recurring setups in
[sell subscriptions online](/sell/memberships-and-subscriptions).

## Sell a coaching program

Coaching is easiest to buy as a package. Sell the sessions as a **service** product
([sell digital services](/sell/digital-services)), and the course files and community as their own product. Then
put them together in a **bundle**: on delivery it opens into its parts, so the client gets the downloads, the group and
the service in one order. Run the calls on the video tool you already use, and use the product's message to tell
clients how to book their first session.

## Add lessons without losing track of students

In **Catalog → Updates**, post a changelog and an optional new file to everyone who owns the course, by email, Discord
DM and Telegram. Filter by option or purchase date when a lesson is only for one cohort. Each update shows under
What's new in the student's library ([updates to owners](https://shopfa.st/docs/guides/updates-and-watermarks)). When the next course is
ready, email campaigns reach the students you already have.

## Set a refund policy students trust

A course mixes things you can take back with things you can't. A full refund stops the download links and removes the
Discord role and Telegram access, but files already downloaded stay downloaded. Write a policy that matches how your
course works, put it on the product page, and apply it the same way to everyone. Buyers in the EU, EEA and UK confirm at
checkout that they want delivery right away, which waives their withdrawal right for digital content
([buyer protection](https://shopfa.st/docs/selling/buyer-protection)). Wording ideas are in
[refund policy for digital products](/guides/refund-policy), and ways to price a course, from one payment to
monthly access, are in [how to price digital products](/guides/price-digital-products).

## Step by step

1. **Package the lessons.** Export each lesson as an MP4, number the files in viewing order and add a Start here PDF with the course outline. Group them into one ZIP per module.
2. **Create the course product.** In Products → Add product, create a file product with the course name, the full outline, who it's for and preview images, then upload the modules.
3. **Add the community.** Add a Discord role or Telegram access to the same product, so every student joins the private group the moment they pay.
4. **Write the welcome message.** Use the product's message, which every buyer receives, to say where to start, when live calls happen and how to ask questions.
5. **Connect payments and test.** Connect your own gateway or crypto wallet in Money → Payments, then press Simulate first sale on Get started to check the order and downloads as a student sees them.

## Questions sellers ask

### Can students watch lessons inside ShopFast?

No. ShopFast delivers lessons as files students download, by private links made for each order. There's no lesson player in the browser, so if streaming matters to your course, a dedicated course platform may fit better.

### Does ShopFast track progress or run quizzes?

No. There's no progress tracking, no quizzes and no lesson checklists. Courses that work well on ShopFast are ones students download and keep, often with a community where much of the teaching happens.

### Can I give students access to a private Discord server?

Yes. Add a Discord role to the course product and buyers get it the moment they pay. The role is removed on a refund, or when the membership ends if you sell access by the month.

### Can I charge monthly for a course?

Yes. Sell it as a membership with auto-renew: the student's saved card is charged each period, with retries when a card is declined, and the Discord role or Telegram access ends when the membership does.

### How do I add lessons after launch?

Post an update in Catalog → Updates with a changelog and the new file. Everyone who owns the course gets it by email, Discord DM and Telegram, and it shows under What's new in their library.

### What happens to a student's access after a refund?

A full refund stops the download links, removes the Discord role and ends Telegram access. Files a student already downloaded can't be taken back, so say in your refund policy how you handle that.


komerza.shop is a guide site published by ShopFast (https://shopfa.st). It is not affiliated with the Komerza platform.

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