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— How-to

Require completion before the next lesson

Alva Courses lets you gate a curriculum so lessons unlock in order. Turn on "Require completion before next lesson" and learners must finish each step before the next one opens — ideal for structured, build-on-the-basics courses.

How it works

Sequential gating is a per-lesson setting. When you require completion on a lesson, the lesson immediately after it stays locked in the storefront player until the learner marks the gated lesson complete. Leave the setting off and the lesson is freely accessible at any time.

Turn on sequential gating

1. Open the lesson in the builder

In the Shopify admin, open Alva Courses, select the course, and click the lesson you want to gate in the drag-and-drop builder. The lesson editor opens.

The lesson editor with the "Require completion before next lesson" toggle.

2. Turn on Require completion

In the lesson editor, switch on Require completion before next lesson. The lesson that follows will stay locked until this one is marked complete by the learner.

3. Repeat down the curriculum

Enable the setting on every lesson you want learners to take in order. Leave it off on any lesson — for example a bonus or resource lesson — that you want freely accessible at any time.

4. Save and preview

Save the lesson, then open the storefront course player as a learner to confirm later lessons stay locked until the gated lesson is completed.

What learners see

In the storefront course player, locked lessons appear greyed out in the sidebar lesson list and can't be opened. Once the learner completes the required lesson and its tick turns green, the next lesson unlocks automatically.

See also

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Last updated 2026-05-22