Can You Hide a Course in LearnDash

Can You Hide a Course in LearnDash?

ByBabar Ali LearnDash Tips

Many course creators face the problem of needing to control who sees their online courses. Not every course is meant to be public—some are still in progress, others are for specific groups, or reserved for internal training. 

When courses appear too early or to the wrong audience, it can confuse users, look unprofessional, and affect your learning structure.

The solution is to manage visibility settings wisely. With the right tools, you can easily hide specific courses, control access, and make sure only the right people can view the content. Here’s how you can do it step by step.

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Use “Private” or “Closed” Course Access Settings

  • Go to your course settings in the dashboard.
  • Set the course access mode to “Closed” or “Private.”
  • This stops the course from being available to the general public.
  • You can still manually assign the course to specific users or groups.

Read this: What are LearnDash features?

Hide Courses from Course Grid or Listings

If you’re using a course grid or course archive on your website:

  • Add a specific category or tag to the course (like “hidden”) and exclude it from the grid.
  • You can do this by customizing your grid shortcode or using a plugin like “Content Views” to manage visibility.
  • This way, even if the course exists, it won’t show up in the public course list.

Use Membership Plugins for Access Control

To manage who can see or access your course:

  • Use plugins like MemberPress, Restrict Content Pro, or Paid Memberships Pro.
  • Assign courses to specific membership levels.
  • Only logged-in users with the right membership role can see or access the course.
  • This is ideal for client-specific training or premium group access.

Read this: Can You Assign One LearnDash Lesson to Multiple Courses?

Protect with Group Enrollment

If you want to limit visibility to selected learners only:

  • Create a group in LearnDash and assign the hidden course to it.
  • Add users manually to the group or automate group access via registration.
  • Only the assigned group members will see the course in their dashboard.

Unpublish or Set Course to Draft

When a course is still in development:

  • Simply set its status to “Draft” or “Pending Review” in WordPress.
  • This removes the course from all user views.
  • Publish it only when everything is ready and tested.

Use Shortcodes to Control Course Display

You can use visibility shortcodes to control where and how your course appears.

  • For example: [ld_course_list category_name=”public”]
  • By organizing your courses under different categories, you can decide which appear on the main site.

Always Test Before Going Live

Always test by logging in as a student or using incognito mode to confirm the course is truly hidden. Double-check access settings to avoid unintentional visibility before launch.

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Babar Ali, CEO of our LearnDash solutions, specializes in LMS setup, automation, and customization to enhance online learning. With expertise in WordPress and digital education, he ensures seamless and efficient e-learning experiences.

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