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Certificates are a great way to give students a sense of achievement.
But you might not understand how Teachable certificates work in practice. What will they see? What will their experience be like? And what if you need to issue them manually?
By the end of this post, you'll know everything there is to know about Teachable certificates! From templates and customisation, to how students access them.
Let's get started!
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Understanding Teachable Certificates
Teachable certificates are official documents given to students after completing a course. They signify the successful completion of the course and they can be a valuable addition for students for a number of reasons.
You can enable certificates for your course if you're on a Pro plan or above.
What benefits do certificates bring?
Increase course value - Certificates provide tangible proof of achievement, which can increase the perceived value of some courses.
Motivate students - Knowing they'll receive a certificate after completion can drive some students to finish the course and stay engaged.
Build credibility - Offering certificates helps establish your courses as professional and reputable, potentially attracting more future students.
Encourage sharing - Some students of professional courses may share their certificates on social media (LinkedIn) or among their professional networks. That means free promotion for your course.
Support career growth - Since certificates can be added to resumes and LinkedIn profiles, they can help students advance in their career.
Setting Up Your First Certificate
Each course in Teachable has its own certificate, so here's how you set up your first Teachable certificate in your chosen course.
Open your Teachable dashboard.
Go to the Courses section.
Click on the name of your course.
Go to Certificates in the sidebar.
Click New Certificate.
Select one of the three certificate templates (not the Liquid/HTML one!).
Click Next.
Make any changes to the design settings in the sidebar.
Click Finish.
Choose whether you'd like to activate the certificate:
If you'd like the certificate to be issued automatically when students complete the course, click Activate.
If you'd like to only issue the certificate manually, click Not Now.
You should now see your certificate listed inside your course area. You can also preview it by clicking Preview in the main certificates area.
Customising Your Certificate
Pre-Designed Templates
Teachable offers a few pre-designed templates to choose from when you first create your certificate. These templates give you a good starting point, letting you quickly create a professional-looking certificate.
Updating Your Certificate's Content
Beyond the template's default design, you can customise various elements of your certificate by clicking the three dots next to the certificate, then click Edit.
In the sidebar, you'll find the settings where you can customise the images and text that appears on the certificate.
Logo - This will default to your school logo, but you can upload any image here. The logo will appear at the top of the certificate.
Title - You can customise this text so that it says "completion" rather than "graduation"; or you can change it entirely.
Subtitle - This defaults to "Awarded to" but it can change to anything you choose.
Graduating From - You can edit this so that it prefixes the student's name with whatever phrase is most appropriate.
Date Label - The date on the certificate is automatically generated from the day it was issued, but you can customise the text that precedes the date.
Signature - There's space in the bottom right of the certificate for a signature. You can upload an image of a signature to add authenticity to your certificate.
Serial Number Title - Teachable automatically generates a serial number for each certificate, but you can edit the label that precedes it.
Styling Your Certificate
Teachable certificates don't have many customisation options when it comes to branding. But if you click the Design tab in the sidebar editor, there are a few colour settings.
Background colour - This is the colour behind the certificate when it's displayed.
Primary text colour - The main labels on the certificate can be updated here.
Secondary text colour - The rest of the text on the certificate is styled with this.
Updating the File Name
If you click the Settings icon in the sidebar while editing your certificate, you'll see a Title field. This setting controls the file name of the certificate when students download it.
Manually Issuing Certificates
There are some situations where you might prefer to issue certificates manually. For example, if you want to review each student’s performance before issuing a certificate, a manual approach gives you greater control.
You can switch to manual issuance by leaving your certificate as inactive then:
Open your Teachable dashboard.
Click Users in the sidebar.
Find the student in the list and click on their name.
Click Enrollments in the sidebar.
Click the three dots for next to the course name.
Click Issue Certificate.
Select the certificate from the dropdown.
Click Issue.
When you've issued a certificate manually, the user will receive an email letting them know. They'll be able to click a link in that email that takes them to their Teachable certificate so they can download it as a PDF.
The Student Experience
When a student completes all the lessons in a course, they automatically see their certificate. It appears within the course curriculum as a dedicated lesson, making it easy for students to find.
To add a celebratory touch, a confetti animation plays when the certificate is first issued.
Students can view their certificate directly in the curriculum, with a Download PDF button underneath it that lets them save the certificate to their devices.
At the same time, they get an email notification informing them that their certificate has been issued. This email contains a link back to the certificate lesson, where they can view and download the PDF.
Revoking Teachable Certificates
If you need to revoke a certificate, navigate to the student’s profile and find the relevant certificate in the Enrollments section. Revoking a certificate will prevent the student from downloading it again, though they will still have access to any previously downloaded copies.
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Conclusion
By following the steps and best practices outlined in this guide, you can create professional and impactful certificates that benefit both you and your students.
