How to Connect Thinkific to Certifier to Issue Digital Certificates

Thinkfic is the all-in-one platform to help you easily create, market & sell your own online courses. With Certifier, you can supercharge your online course with professional digital certificates using Zapier.

Zapier is an online automation tool that lets you connect two apps, such as Thinkific and Certifier, and create a "zap" between them. With this zap in place, certificates will be automatically generated after students complete their courses on Thinkific. 

Not only will this save you time, but it will also ensure that your students always receive their certificates in a timely manner.

Read this article if you would like to find out how to connect Thinkific to Certifier to issue certificates using Zapier.

How do Zapier integrations work?

Zapier lets you connect Certifier with thousands of the most popular apps to automate your certification workflow. Among the available apps, one can find a lot of popular apps like Kajabi, Teachable, TalentLMS, Google Forms, Google Spreadsheet, Typeform, Survey monkey, and many others.

Zapier lets you set up automated workflows called “Zaps” that pass information between two or more apps easily and quickly – no code required. A Zap consists of a Trigger and an Action. A trigger is an event that starts a Zap, an action is an event a Zap performs.

Let’s use an example: 

You would like to automatically issue certificates via Certifier to people who complete your course in Thinkific. Using this example, the completion of a course would be a trigger, while certificate issuance would be an action performed by a Zap. 

What do you need to set up this integration?

• free Zapier account

• free Certifier account (with at least one group)

• free Thinkfic account

If you prefer a video manual, feel free to check this 13-minute video instruction: How to Issue Certificates With Google Sheets Using Zapier and Certifier. This video tutorial provides an overview of the steps above.

How to connect Thinkific to Certifier using Zapier? Step-by-step tutorial

Once you have signed up for Zapier, it is time to create your first Zap. In this article, we will explain how to set up an integration between Certifier and Thinkific via Zap. The event “Complete Course” in Thinkific will be used as a trigger, while the “Issue Credential” event in Certifier will be used as an action.

1. Log in to Zapier and press "Create Zap"

2. Start configuring a trigger

• Select an app you want to use as a trigger – Thinkific;

• Select the event that should perform the trigger – “Course Completed”;

• Press “Continue”.

3. Choose the account you want to use for this automation and press “Continue”

4. Follow this step by choosing a course for which you would like to issue certificates

5. Finish the process of setting up a trigger by running a test

Running a test ensures that everything is set up correctly. The result of a successful test should look like this: 

6. Move on to setting up an action 

• Select an app you want to use as an action – Certifier;

• Select the event that should perform the trigger – “Issue Credential”;

• Press “Continue”.

7. Choose your Certifier account and integrate it with Zapier via Access Token

To generate an access token, go to Certifier > Account > Settings > Developers > Access Token and press "Generate Access Token". 

Please, keep in mind that for security reasons, Certifier shows your access token just once straight after it is generated. Copy and paste it straight after it is generated. Consider storing your access token in a secure place to set up other integrations.

 8. Populate the fields in the action section

• Group – select a group that will be used to distribute certificates to.

• Recipient Name – the name of your recipient. Note: some apps store names and last names separately. Thus, you will have to add these two attributes to the Recipient name field with a spacebar between them.

• Recipient Email – the email of your recipient.

• Issue Credential – select whether you want your certificate to be automatically issued once your Zap is triggered (the field is set to True) or whether you wish to save credentials as draft and publish them manually from Certifier dashboard (the field is set to False)

• Issued on – the date when your certificate is issued (be default it is the day when your Zap is triggered)

• Expiry Date – the date of your credential’s expiration. By default, there is no expiration date added.

If you see some other inputs, it means that there are custom attributes on your account. If you want to add some specific data from Thinkific (e.g., percentage_completed), you can create a custom attribute in Certifier and populate that field with the appropriate data.

9. Finish the process of setting up the action by running a test

Running a test ensures that everything is set up correctly. 

If the test is successful, you will see a newly issued certificate in the Certificate's section of your Certifier account. Don't worry, it is a test certificate with dummy data. 

10. Click "Publish Zap" and enjoy the beauty of a fully automated certification process 🥳

Why do you need to issue course completion certificates? 

#1 Build a connection with students

People love receiving recognition for their achievements, and what better way than through issuing certificates? When recipients receive your certificate, they feel appreciated and special due that you took notice of all their hard work! This strengthened connection will make them more likely to recommend your course to others.

#2 Confirm students' skills & knowledge

A course completion certificate is a perfect way to confirm that a student has successfully completed a course and has the required skills and knowledge.  

#3 Increase the course's value in the eyes of students

When potential students see that a course comes with a certificate, they will be more likely to want to take it, knowing that it is an indication of their skills and knowledge. 

#4 Increase motivation to finish courses

One of the main reasons why people do not finish their courses is because they lose motivation along the way. However, when you have a course completion certificate as an incentive, this becomes less of an issue as people are more driven to achieve their goals. 

#5 Build brand visibility on social media

Issuing certificates allows you to build brand visibility in social media, as recipients often share their achievements on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook for all their friends and followers to see! This increased exposure can lead to more potential students your way! 

Summary

If you're looking for an easy way to issue certificates to your students, then Certifier is the solution for you.

With our integration with Zapier, you can automatically generate and send certificates to your students after they complete their courses on Thinkific. This will save you time and ensure that your students always receive their certificates in a timely manner.

So what are you waiting for? Get started today by signing up for a free account at Certifier.