How-to

Require lessons in order

Alva Courses has a course-level setting, Require lessons to be completed in order, that keeps every lesson locked until the one before it is finished. It is checked when a student records progress, not only when the player draws the lesson list, so nobody unlocks the course by jumping ahead.

Turn it on

1. Open Shopify admin, then Alva Courses, and select the course.
2. Open the Settings tab and find the Lesson Progression card.
3. Switch on Require lessons to be completed in order.
4. Save, then open the storefront course player as a student to confirm later lessons stay locked.

Which control to use

Use the per-lesson checkbox when only part of the course is sequential and a bonus or resource lesson should stay open — see require completion before the next lesson. Use the course setting when the whole curriculum is one path and one forgotten checkbox would leave a gap in it.

Add a quiz step

A quiz step is a lesson that contains only a quiz, so a sequence can run Lesson 1 → Quiz 1 → Lesson 2. On the Course tab, click Add Quiz Step in the section where it belongs, name it and click Create, then open the new lesson and write the questions. Students must pass it to complete that lesson, and the next lesson stays locked until they do.

A required quiz with no questions locks the course

Nobody can pass an empty quiz, so a lesson that requires one can never be completed — and nor can anything after it. Alva Courses warns you on the Course tab, and refuses to publish the course, until you either add a question or clear Required to complete lesson on that quiz.

What students see

Lessons the student has not reached are marked Locked in the lesson list and cannot be opened; opening one shows This lesson is locked with Complete the previous lesson to unlock. Finishing that lesson unlocks the next immediately.

See also

Pair sequencing with drip-fed lessons, quizzes, or a curriculum built in sections.

Last updated 2026-09-07