Core Stack Delivers Kajabi Features Without Recurring Costs

Skip Kajabi's $250/month basic plan by building a custom platform focused on essentials: landing pages, payments, courses, progress tracking, credentials, and automations. Use Claude Code (claude.ai/new) to prompt-generate a Next.js app with Payload CMS headless backend. Define four collections—users (student/admin roles), courses, lessons, enrollments—for full CRUD via admin panel. Style with Untitled UI components (untitledui.com) for a clean, light-mode Maven/Coursera aesthetic. Deploy instantly to Vercel for webhooks, bypassing manual setup.

Prompt Claude iteratively: start with 'build me a course platform using Untitled UI... create four Payload collections...' then refine. Admin gains full control to add courses (title, slug, Unsplash image), lessons (MUX playback ID, rich text notes via editor commands like /h1), and manual enrollments for free access.

Payments and Video Lessons Enable Production-Ready Enrollment

Integrate Stripe via Claude prompt: add test API keys to .env, deploy Vercel URL as webhook endpoint. Enforce 50¢ minimum test payments (Stripe rule); successful checkout grants dashboard access with lesson list. Embed MUX videos (mux.com): upload assets for playback IDs, paste into admin lesson fields—renders with progress checkboxes updating visual bars.

Student flow: public landing → pricing/hero CTA → Stripe checkout → login → protected dashboard showing chapters. Mark lessons complete to track per-lesson and overall progress; no manual intervention needed post-deploy.

Credentialing and Emails Automate Engagement and Proof

Trigger Certifier.io badges at 50%+ completion and full certificates at 100% via API/MCP server integration (prompt Claude with docs URL). Design templates in Certifier: customize badges (e.g., blue 'Test Course Certified Professional') and certificates (green, with signatures/issue dates). Output verifiable Open Badges—shareable to LinkedIn/X/portfolios, employer-checkable for authenticity (verifies owner, issuer, ID).

Automate retention with Resend emails: prompt Claude for API key integration to send reminders after 48 hours inactivity ('Hey Name, it's been a couple of days... 10 minutes a day keeps momentum'). Claude drafts personalized copy using full context. Result: fully hands-off system scales for communities or client schools like real estate CE.