Are LearnDash Pages Automatically Private?

Many course creators think their LearnDash course pages are automatically private, but that’s not always the truth. Sometimes, visitors to your website might be able to access lesson or topic pages, even if they haven’t signed up.

This can lead to confusion among visitors, make your course look unprofessional, and even give away parts of your content for free.

This usually happens because of default settings in WordPress or your LMS that don’t fully hide pages unless you set them up correctly.

The good news is that there are solutions. By reviewing your page visibility configurations, updating course access settings, and utilizing the right membership tools.

Need help with this? Book our free consultation today, and we’ll help you set everything up the right way.

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Why Some Course Pages Might Be Public

When you create course pages using LearnDash, they follow WordPress’s default settings. That means unless you change the visibility, those pages are public by default, just like regular blog posts or pages.

So even if someone isn’t enrolled, they might:

See the course pages in the search engine results.
Open the page and view part of the content.
Get access to text that should be for enrolled users only.

This isn’t a mistake—it’s how WordPress works unless you manually change the settings.

Read this: Who Can Create Courses in LearnDash?

How to Make LearnDash Pages Private

To protect your course content and make sure only enrolled users can view it, here’s what you should do:

Set the Right Access Mode

When creating or editing a course, go to Course Settings > Access Mode and choose:

Closed – You control who enrolls. Best for paid or private courses.
Buy Now / Subscription – Locks the content until someone buys or subscribes.
Free – Lets users enroll without payment but still keeps lessons locked unless enrolled.

Use a Content Protection Plugin

Install a plugin like MemberPress, Restrict Content Pro, or WooCommerce Memberships. These plugins help control who sees what and work well with LearnDash.

Check Each Lesson and Topic

Even if your course is set to private, each lesson and topic must also be linked correctly. Make sure they are all part of the course with restricted access. Otherwise, they might still be public.

Best Practices to Keep Course Content Secure

Use “Closed” access mode if you want full control.
Use an SEO plugin like Yoast or Rank Math to stop search engines from indexing course pages.
Log out and test your site as a visitor to check what’s visible.
Block access to direct page URLs using plugin rules or user roles.
Avoid adding too much content in previews or descriptions that appear before login.

Example: What Happens Without the Right Settings?

Imagine you create a course called “Basic Digital Marketing.” You set the course to Free but forgot to protect the lesson pages. Those pages may show up on Google, and visitors might read parts of your lessons, even without enrolling.

If you instead set the access mode to Closed and use a protection plugin, only enrolled users will see the content. This protects your work and keeps your course professional.

Read this: What Role to Post in LearnDash?

Final Tip: Test Everything Before Launch

Before going live:

Log out of your WordPress account.
Try visiting course pages directly or searching for them online.
If anything is visible when it shouldn’t be, fix the access mode or use a content protection plugin.

Protect your course content and keep it exclusive to your learners. Join us today and take advantage of a 75% discount on the original LearnDash license, plus expert support to secure every page of your course.

Are LearnDash Pages Automatically Private?