Webcastcloud supports two types of courses:
- Channel Course
- New Course
The main difference is how the course content is created, organised and made available within your content library.
Channel Course
A Channel Course is best when you already have a Channel containing related content and want to present that content as a course.
The existing Channel remains the primary container for the videos and other content, and the course is mapped to that Channel.
A key benefit of a Channel Course is that the individual videos or content items can also remain available separately throughout your Webcastcloud site. This means the same content can be offered both:
- As part of the complete course; and
- As individual content items within your Content Library.
The access rules for the course and the individual content items can also be different.
For example, the complete course may be paid or restricted to a particular member group, while individual videos within that course could separately be:
- Free
- Locked to authenticated users or selected member groups
- Paid individually
- Available under different access or pricing rules
This gives you greater flexibility to reuse and monetise the same content in different ways, without needing to upload duplicate versions.
A Channel Course is a good option for:
- Conference or event content
- Webinar series
- Training libraries
- Collections of related educational videos
- Content you want to offer as both a complete course and individual library items
- Content where the course and individual videos require different access or pricing rules
How content is added
For a Channel Course, the videos are uploaded and managed as normal content and added to a Channel.
When creating the course, you select the existing Channel you want to use.
You do not need to upload the videos again within the Course Wizard.
Can the videos also appear in the Content Library?
Yes.
Content included in a Channel Course can also be made available individually within your Content Library.
This makes a Channel Course useful when you want the same content to be accessible in more than one way -for example, as individual webinars within the library as well as part of a structured course.
Example
You already have a Channel called 2026 Annual Conference containing 12 recorded sessions.
If you now want members to work through those sessions as a course, you can create a Channel Course and map it to the existing 2026 Annual Conference Channel.
There is no need to recreate or re-upload the content.
New Course
A New Course is designed for creating a dedicated learning program where the course itself is the primary container.
Content is organised directly within the course into structures such as:
- Chapters
- Modules
- Lessons/Videos/Content
A New Course is better suited to structured training, education programs or courses where users are expected to progress through a defined learning journey.
How content is added
Content for a New Course should be uploaded within the Course Creation Wizard.
The Course Wizard creates and manages the underlying course structure and content.
You should therefore not create a separate Channel and upload the course videos outside of the Course Wizard first.
Can the course videos also appear in the Content Library?
No.
Content uploaded specifically within a New Course is intended to be consumed as part of that course and is not separately displayed within the standard Content Library.
This helps keep dedicated course material contained within the learning experience.
Which course type should I use?
| Channel Course | New Course | |
|---|---|---|
| Best used when | You already have related content in a Channel | You are building a new structured learning program |
| Primary container | Channel | Course |
| How content is uploaded | Upload content normally and add it to a Channel | Upload content within the Course Creation Wizard |
| Use existing content | Yes | Course content is created as part of the course |
| Content available individually in the library | Yes, if configured to be visible | No |
| Course structure | Based on the selected Channel and its content | Organised into chapters, modules and lessons |
| Typical use case | Webinar series, conference recordings, training collections | Formal training, certification programs, structured learning |
Using an existing Channel
If you have already created a Channel and uploaded the content you want to use, the simplest option is generally to create a Channel Course and map the course to that existing Channel.
A New Course should instead be created from the beginning using the Course Creation Wizard, with the course content uploaded and organised from within the wizard.