How to sell an online course from your own website while it's hosted elsewhere
You can sell an online course from your own website without building a member area. Split the job in two: your site, on your own domain, does the persuading (who it's for, the curriculum, a sample, the price), and a course or digital-product platform does the selling and the access. The buy button is the join between them.
Why split it this way
A course needs two very different things. Selling needs a fast, clear page you control, on your own address, that search engines and AI assistants can read. Delivering needs logins, video hosting, progress, receipts, refunds and tax handling. Anticode does the first well and none of the second: published Anticode sites have no visitor accounts or member areas. Platforms like Gumroad, Lemon Squeezy and Whop sell digital products and give buyers access, so let them carry that part.
| Job | Your Anticode site | Your course platform |
|---|---|---|
| Sales page and curriculum | Yes | Usually a basic product page too |
| Your own domain | Yes, on paid plans | Varies by platform |
| Checkout and receipts | No, it links out | Yes |
| Logins and lesson access | No | Yes |
| Refunds and sales tax | No | Depends on the platform; check its terms |
| Emails to students | No | Yes, or your email tool |
What to have ready
- The course set up on your platform first, with its product page, price and access working. Buy it yourself with a discount code to check the student experience.
- The curriculum as a list of modules, each with a title, a line on what the student can do afterwards, and the length.
- One free sample: a lesson, a worksheet or a short video. Since published pages can't embed players, host the sample on YouTube or Vimeo and link to it, or offer the worksheet as a lead magnet.
- Answers to the questions buyers ask: how long access lasts, what if it's not for me, do I need any software, is there a certificate.
Build the sales page
- Describe it in a sentence: "a course sales page for a six-week sourdough course, with who it's for, the curriculum, the instructor, pricing, an FAQ and a buy button". Anticode plans the sections and lays them out in one of its design systems.
- Hold the curriculum in a CMS collection if it will change. One entry per module, with title, outcome and length; edit it in the dashboard rather than re-asking for the page each time. The collection also gets its own pages, such as
/modules/and one per module. - Add the payment link. In Connectors, paste the checkout address from your platform. Buy and pricing buttons open it in a new tab. There's one payment link per account, so if you sell two courses, point it at your storefront at the platform instead of one product.
- Connect your domain. On a paid plan, add your own domain to the site and verify it with a CNAME or TXT record; the certificate is issued automatically.
- Check the page on a phone, run the release checklist, publish, and click the buy button on the live site to make sure it opens the right checkout.
Launch and after
Announce to your list from your own email tool, linking to the sales page, not the checkout, so people read before they buy. Watch the site's views by source in the dashboard to see which channel sent readers, and the platform's dashboard for sales; Anticode never sees payments made at your provider's checkout. When students write in, answer the repeat questions on the sales page's FAQ.
What goes wrong
- The buy button opens the wrong product
- The one account-wide link points at another product. Point it at a storefront if you sell more than one thing.
- Buyers ask where to log in
- Say on the sales page and in the receipt that lessons live on the platform, with its name.
- The price on the page and at checkout differ
- You changed it in one place. Change both on the same day, page first.
- Few sales despite traffic
- Usually the page doesn't show enough of the course. Add a real sample and the full module list.
Limits
There are no member areas, logins, drip schedules, quizzes or certificates on Anticode sites, and no embedded video. Payments happen at your provider's checkout. If you eventually need real accounts on your own code, the Next.js export includes customer and staff roles, but you'd run it yourself. See also selling digital products on a website, Gumroad and the online course creators guide.
Questions people ask
Can students log in to my Anticode site to watch lessons?
No. Published sites have no visitor accounts. Lessons and logins live on your course platform; your site sells and links to it.
Can I sell more than one course?
Yes, but every buy button opens the same checkout, because there's one payment link per account. Point it at your storefront listing all courses.
Why have my own sales page if the platform has one?
Your own domain and page are yours to shape, index and keep if you ever change platform. The platform page then only has to take the payment.