# Customize course space settings

https://help.circle.so/p/courses/course-setup/customize-course-space-settings

Category: [Courses](https://help.circle.so/p/courses) › [Course setup](https://help.circle.so/p/courses/course-setup)

---

_Last updated: July, 2026_

This article will guide you through the options for effectively managing course space configurations.

## Access course space settings

You can access the course space settings through the course management page.

1. Click **Courses** on the left sidebar and select **Courses**.

2. Click the **More actions (three dots)** icon on a course entry and select **Edit course**.

 ![](https://assets-v2.circle.so/31fsryiyiua1hufim53bg8vhul2v)

You can also access course settings directly from the space:

1. Navigate to the space from the sidebar.

2. Click the **Space settings (three dots)** icon in the top-right corner of the space.

3. Hover over  **Settings** , and select  **Customize**  or  **Options**  from the menu.

 ![](https://assets-v2.circle.so/3p9l62g9udvpiu3zs56nkep0i83e)
## **Lessons**

The lessons tab contains the course curriculum, where you can build and manage lessons, quizzes, and course sections.

📚 For more information about the course editor, see the following articles:

- [**Building a course curriculum**](/p/courses/course-setup/building-a-course-curriculum)

- [**Create course content using the lesson editor**](/p/courses/course-setup/create-course-content-using-the-lesson-editor)

- [**Set up quizzes**](https://help.circle.so/p/courses/course-setup/set-up-quizzes)

 ![](https://assets-v2.circle.so/zavb05mrrfn3ikp4kqqpfj2rbnu9)
## **Customize**

You can use the **Customize** tab to make changes to general information and space access.

### **Update general information**

You can update the course [**space icon**](https://help.circle.so/p/basics/spaces/set-up-a-space-icon), name, and space group location in this section.

 ![](https://assets-v2.circle.so/hiuene99hp0usjtxbz9bvdwjp2fl)

### Hide space from the sidebar

You can hide the space from the sidebar, which allows you to declutter it while keeping only the essential ones visible.

When you enable the **Hide space from sidebar** toggle, the space will be completely hidden from the sidebar for everyone, including you and other community admins. However, you, your members, and visitors can still access the hidden space via its direct URL.

> ❗  **Important:** Access to the space's content is determined by the space's access configuration and whether the individual is a member of the space. For instance, if you hide a private space from the sidebar in a public community, non-members or visitors who attempt to access it via a direct link will encounter a lock screen instead of the space's content.

📚 To learn more about this setting, please see [**Managing space access and visibility**](https://help.circle.so/p/basics/spaces/managing-space-access-and-visibility#hide-space-from-the-sidebar).

### Course type

Select from three course delivery methods:

- **Self-paced:** The course starts when a member enrolls, and all lessons are available immediately. Members can complete the course at their own pace.

- **Structured:**  The course starts when a member enrolls, and sections are released gradually over a specific duration from that date.

- **Scheduled:** The course starts on a fixed date, and sections are released on specific dates relative to that start date.

📚 To learn more about dripped courses, see [Utilizing the drip feature for structured and scheduled courses](https://help.circle.so/p/courses/course-setup/utilizing-the-drip-feature-for-structured-and-scheduled-courses).

### **Manage space access**

To manage access to your course space, we offer three access options you can choose from:

- **Open:** This option allows anyone in your community to join the course space without restriction. This is an ideal option for providing free and open access to the space.

- **Private:**  With private access, only community members who are added by the admin or moderator, or those who have purchased paywall access, can join the course space. We recommend this option when you intend to restrict access to paying members.

- **Secret:** With this option, keep the space hidden by default for all the non-space members. Only the space members can see and access the secret course space.

Furthermore, instead of displaying the space icon that you have set, you can choose to show a lock icon to non-space members. This allows you to effectively communicate the privacy status of the space to non-members. To do this, toggle on the **Show lock icon to non-members of this space** option.

📚 To learn more about space access, see [**Managing space access and visibility**](/p/basics/spaces/managing-space-access-and-visibility)[**.**](/p/basics/spaces/managing-space-access-and-visibility)

> 💡 **Tip:** You can quickly see the current access status and directly navigate to this section by clicking the dropdown icon beside the space name in the header and selecting **Access**.

 ![](https://assets-v2.circle.so/l3s80p5dvdgujyk5c80cuyygu329)

**Lock screen page**

When you set a space to **private** , you can choose your own landing page to display to non-space members and visitors in web browsers or the Circle desktop app. This page can feature hero sections, testimonials, pricing blocks, and more, making it perfect for highlighting the space’s value, promoting memberships, or guiding visitors to take the next step.

 ![](https://assets-v2.circle.so/cnh8dgw7dtdoi39ggxgz8w3f4sa5)

📚 [**Learn more about how to set up a lock screen page**](https://help.circle.so/p/basics/spaces/setting-up-a-lock-screen?locale=en#set-up-a-lock-screen-page-web-and-desktop) **.**

### Manage topics

Topics make it easier for members to discover courses that align with their interests or educational goals within the directory.

In the **Course topics** section, you can assign up to 20 topics to help you organize this course within the course directory. When you assign a topic here, it will appear on the topic navigation bar at the top of the course directory. Going forward, this course will appear when the directory is filtered by topics assigned to it.

In the **Course topic** section, you have the following options to manage your topics for this space:

- **Add a topic:** To add a topic, click in the field or type the topic's name and select it from the list.

- **Remove a topic:** To remove an existing topic, click **Remove** ( **X** icon) next to the topic you want to remove. To remove all topics from the space, click **Remove all** (🗑️ icon).

- **Create a new topic:** To create a new topic and add it to the space, type the name in the field and select the **Create topic** option. 

 ![](https://assets-v2.circle.so/7rq76cg0xi4z6wbn1ybrfkuugxd3)

📚 For more details on topics and configuration settings, please refer to our guide [**here**](https://help.circle.so/p/basics/spaces/create-topics?locale=en).

### **Add a course space mobile thumbnail**

Adding a [**mobile thumbnail**](/p/courses/course-setup/add-a-thumbnail-image-to-the-course-space)[](/p/members/courses)will let you display a thumbnail on the course card in the course directory.

To upload the image, go to the **Images** section, and next to the **Mobile thumbnail** option, click **Upload**.

> 📷 Recommended image size: **16:9** aspect ratio with minimum image dimension **800x450 px**.

📚 For more information about the space thumbnail and space directory, see the following articles:

- [**Add a thumbnail image to the course space**](/p/courses/course-setup/add-a-thumbnail-image-to-the-course-space)

- [**Create course content using the lesson editor**](/p/courses/course-setup/create-course-content-using-the-lesson-editor)

## **Paywalls**

You can directly link your course space under one of your existing paywalls or create a new paywall for the course space.

To add this space to your paywalls, click the **Link paywall** dropdown and select a paywall from the list. Alternatively, you can create a new paywall for this by clicking on **Create a paywall** from the dropdown list.

📚 For more information on restricting access to your space using a paywall, see [**Gate spaces behind paywalls**](/p/payments/paywall-setup/gate-spaces-behind-paywalls)[**.**](/p/payments/paywall-setup/gate-spaces-behind-paywalls)

 ![](https://assets-v2.circle.so/70n6tk8l5zs11seao4m3z8huxwaj)

## **Mobile lock screen**

This section lets you configure the lock screen visible on **Circle’s mobile apps** when a space is set to **private**. This is particularly helpful if a **paid membership is required** to access the space, as the lock screen can guide potential members through the process of joining.

On the mobile lock screen, you can display a concise message with a banner, description, and a call-to-action button that links to a custom URL such as a paywall or sign up form.

> ❗️ **Important:** If no **lock screen page** has been set for web and desktop, the mobile lock screen will be displayed by default on web browsers and the Circle desktop app.

To get a visual idea of what this lock screen looks like, take a look at the example below:

 ![](https://assets-v2.circle.so/hff86uwd71z7ta8v42oagg1gym6e)

📚 To learn about the mobile lock screen setup in detail, see [**Setting up a mobile lock screen**](https://help.circle.so/p/basics/spaces/setting-up-a-lock-screen?locale=en#set-up-a-mobile-lock-screen-mobile-apps) **.**

## **Members**

Manage members of this space by adding, removing, or giving them moderation privileges using this tab.

> 💡 **Tip:** You can also use the invite member option directly from the space settings menu by clicking the dropdown icon beside the space name in the header and selecting **Invite member**.

You can also see when members joined the space, the last time they were active in the space, and if they got access to this space via a specific paywall.

> 🚨 **Important:** Please note that when you directly add members to spaces and space groups, they will be added using the [**invite access**](/p/audience/onboarding/understanding-invite-access-and-paywall-access-methods) method and will have lifetime access to these spaces until they leave voluntarily or are removed by admin.

> ℹ️ **Note:** We save each student’s course progress even when they leave or are removed from the course space. When they rejoin the course space, their saved learning progress will be restored so they can continue learning from where they left off. However, please note that the course progress will be removed if their member account is deactivated.

📚 For more information, see [**Manage members within spaces and space groups**](/p/audience/member-management/manage-members-within-spaces-and-space-groups)[**.**](/p/audience/member-management/manage-members-within-spaces-and-space-groups)

 ![](https://assets-v2.circle.so/mtabz1dmjt7n0qrczo7wizvc7tx0)

### **Add to waitlist (when course space is in draft mode)**

You can add members to the course waitlist when the course is in draft mode. Members on the waitlist cannot see the course space until you publish the course.

Members can be added to the waitlist via paywalls, invitation links, bulk invites, or manually using this tab.

## **Options**

Configure additional options for the course space from this tab.

### Lesson order enforcement

Ensure your members follow the curriculum sequence by enabling the **Lesson order enforcement** toggle. This feature requires students to complete each lesson in the order before progressing to the next.

When enabled, all lessons except the first will be locked. Members must complete the first lesson to unlock the next one. This process continues sequentially, with each subsequent lesson becoming accessible only after the previous lesson is completed. This helps maintain a structured learning path and ensures that students build on their knowledge progressively.

> ℹ️  **Note:** You can utilize the lesson order enforcement option for all types of courses. For scheduled or structured courses, the same behavior will apply: students must complete the previous lesson before accessing the next one, even if the lesson is already dripped.

### **Notifications**

You can enable in-app notifications to be sent to all admins and moderators of the course space whenever a new comment is posted in the lesson. To manage this notification, toggle **Notify course admins about new lesson comments.**

### **Permissions**

To [**hide the member count button**](/p/basics/spaces/hide-members-count-in-spaces-and-space-groups) from the space header, turn on the **Hide member count** toggle.

### **Course labels**

You can override the global  **Lesson**  and  **Section**  headings to better fit a specific course’s content.

You can choose from the labels below to match your course structure:

- **Sections** can be labeled as **Chapter, Level, Module, Part, Path, Phase, Section, Stage, Track, Unit,** or **Week,** or kept as the default label, **Section**.

- **Lessons** can be labeled as **Activity, Assignment, Challenge, Class, Day, Exercise, Lecture, Lesson, Session, Topic, Tutorial,** or **Workshop,** or kept as the default label, **Lesson**.

### **SEO**

To optimize your course space for [**SEO**](/p/administration/site-management/customizing-seo-information):

- Customize the course space URL slug.

- Add meta title and description.

- Add Open Graph information to preview your space content when sharing links.

> 📷 Recommended Open Graph image dimension: **1200x630 px** with a **1.91:1** aspect ratio.

## Workflows

You can create new workflows directly from this tab to automate actions based on dynamic events or perform bulk actions for specific members. Here, you also have access to all your existing workflows within the community.

To create a new workflow, click **New workflow** in the top-right corner. You can choose from one of the templates or set up a custom workflow to meet your specific needs.

📚 For more information on workflows, check out our guides [here](https://help.circle.so/p/workflows).

## **Ready to build your course curriculum?**

📚 Check out the following article to learn more about building your course curriculum:

- [**Building a course curriculum**](/p/courses/course-setup/building-a-course-curriculum)