When it comes to creating online courses, student experience matters just as much as content.
Thinkific gives you the power to customise what your learners see when they log in. But what if you are not a developer?
Don’t worry!
In this blog, we will walk you through how to personalise your student dashboard in Thinkific, even if you do not write code. We will explore what you can do with the built-in design tools and a few clever workarounds to help you create a branded learning experience that feels professional and polished.
Want to follow along visually? Watch the YouTube tutorial above to see each step in action!
Want to follow along visually? Watch the YouTube tutorial above to see each step in action!
Why Your Student Dashboard Matters
Your student dashboard is the first impression learners get after enrolling in your course. It's where they:
- Access their courses and products
- Access other courses or upgrades
- Get important updates
- See calls-to-action (CTAs) or next steps
- Engage with your brand
Customising this space helps reinforce your course identity, guide your learners effectively and even promote additional offerings, all of which can improve completion rates and customer satisfaction.
Accessing the Student Dashboard in Thinkific
Accessing the Student Dashboard in Thinkific
Start by navigating to the Design Your Site section in your Thinkific admin. You’ll see a list of pages, including your homepage, course pages, and default pages. This is where the student dashboard lives.
💡 Pro Tip: You don’t have to go back to the main menu every time—use the dropdown menu at the top of the page editor to jump between different page types, including the student dashboard.
What You Can Add to the Student Dashboard
Thinkific allows you to customise the dashboard using six core content sections:
Additional Products: Promote other courses or bundles.
Banner: Add a visually striking area with text and background imagery.
Call to Action (CTA): Insert a clickable button that leads users to another area of your site.
Frequently Asked Questions:Create an accordion-style FAQ for learner support.
Video: Embed a welcome or explainer video.
Countdown Timer: Add urgency for live events or limited-time offers.
🎥 See exactly how these sections look and function in the YouTube walkthrough.
Customising the Banner and CTA Sections
These two sections give you the most flexibility and are great places to show off your brand.
Editing the Banner
You can:
- Change the heading and subheading text
- Adjust font size and colors
- Upload a custom background image
- Add an overlay color for contrast and readability
- Align and size elements for the right visual balance
👩🎨 Design Tip: Use Canva to create a custom banner at the exact pixel dimensions recommended by Thinkific (1440 x 720 pixels). This ensures a crisp and professional appearance.
Customising the CTA Section
The Call to Action (CTA) section is more action oriented. While it looks similar to the banner, it includes interactive elements designed to move your learners forward.
In the CTA section, you can:
- Add headings and subheadings to frame your message
- Include a button that links to another course, your community or a key resource
- Choose between a clickable button or making the entire area clickable
- Customise button color, text and destination URL
- Control layout and spacing for visual impact
This section works well for promoting:
- Bonus content or downloadable resources
- A student community space (like a Facebook Group or Slack)
- Upsell opportunities for your next course or coaching session
🎥 I demo how to create a high-converting CTA in the video walkthrough, it’s easier than you think!
Use HTML for Advanced Customisation (Beginner-Friendly!)
Even though Thinkific doesn’t show you the source code like it does in course lessons, you can still use basic HTML tags in banner headings and subheadings to enhance formatting.
Want to bold one word? Wrap it in <b> tags.
Need to add a line break? Use <br>.
Trying to display content in two columns? Insert a simple <table>.
🎥 I demonstrate how to do this step-by-step in the YouTube video, including how to create tables for side-by-side content.
Recommended Tool: Online HTML Editor
If you’re not familiar with writing HTML from scratch, try a free tool like onlinehtmleditor.dev. It lets you write and style your text visually, then copy the clean HTML code into Thinkific.
You can:
- Style text with bold, italics, lists or headers
- Create tables for multi-column layouts
- Preview your design before pasting it into Thinkific
Once your layout is ready, copy the source code and paste it directly into the student dashboard section. Thinkific will render it just as you styled it.
Tips for a Polished Student Experience
Tips for a Polished Student Experience
Keep it clean: Avoid clutter. Only use the sections you really need.
Be strategic with your CTA: Lead students to your community group, next-level course or bonus resource.
Use your brand colours: Maintain consistency across the platform with your fonts, colours and images.
Test on mobile: Always preview your dashboard on both desktop and mobile views.
Final Thoughts: Customise With Confidence
You don’t need to be a developer to make your Thinkific student dashboard beautiful and functional.
With a little creativity and the use of tools like Canva and Online HTML Editors, you can create an engaging, on-brand experience for your learners that guides them from day one.
🎥 Want to see all of this in action? Check out the full YouTube video here where I show you how I build and tweak each section live inside Thinkific.
Let’s Make Your Whole Online Course Experience Just as Strong
Customising your Thinkific dashboard is just one part of creating a smooth, engaging journey for your students. From how your content flows to how your brand shows up across your course, every detail contributes to a better learning experience.
If you're looking to make things simpler, clearer and more impactful, I can help.
Download my free eBook: 10 Common Mistakes in Course Creation and how to avoid them. It is filled with tips that will help you build a course that connects and converts.
Book a free 15-minute strategy session to chat about where you are at, where you are headed and how I can support you with Done For You services or strategy.
Let’s create an online course experience your students will love and that you will feel proud to share.
