WPThumbs
Themes Plugins By purpose By industry Best-of lists Fix it guides
Free Plugin by Bill Zimmerman v0.1.14

Spotlightr

Host, protect and embed your videos on WordPress with encryption, DRM, and per-viewer analytics. Perfect for courses, LearnDash, and marketing.

Spotlightr

The facts

Rating
5★ from 2
Active installs
200+
Price
Free
Last updated
24 Aug 2026
Added
Aug 2022
Requires WP
5.3
Tested up to
WP 7.0.4
Requires PHP
7.0
Downloads
9,238

Our analysis

AI-assisted

Spotlightr is a WordPress plugin designed for secure video hosting, particularly suitable for course creators and those using LearnDash. It enables you to embed videos directly on your site without external branding or ads, providing a clean viewing experience for users.

The plugin offers features like video encryption, dynamic watermarking, and detailed viewer analytics, which help protect your content and track engagement. It is ideal for businesses that need secure video hosting for marketing or educational purposes, allowing you to maintain control over your video assets.

Best for: Course creators, membership site owners, and businesses using video for marketing.

What it does well

  • Offers secure video hosting with encryption and DRM
  • Provides detailed per-viewer analytics
  • Integrates seamlessly with LearnDash and other LMS platforms
  • Allows for custom branding without external ads
  • Enables in-video engagement tools like quizzes and calls-to-action

Where it falls short

  • Limited information on specific user experiences or performance metrics

Verdict

Spotlightr is a practical solution for those needing secure video hosting on WordPress, particularly in educational and marketing contexts. Its focus on user engagement and content protection makes it a valuable tool for creators.

From the developer

Bill Zimmerman's own description of Spotlightr, lightly tidied.

The secure video layer for WordPress. WordPress wasn’t built to host video — and free options like YouTube leave your content public, unprotected, and wrapped in someone else’s branding and ads. Spotlightr gives you fast, encrypted video hosting on your own site, with the security and analytics WordPress can’t provide on its own.

Whether you sell courses, run a membership, teach on LearnDash, or use video to market your business, Spotlightr embeds cleanly into any WordPress page, post, or LMS lesson — under your brand, never ours.

Why creators and course builders choose Spotlightr

  • Real video protection. Encryption, DRM, dynamic watermarking, and domain restrictions keep your videos from being downloaded, ripped, or embedded on sites you don’t control. Essential if you sell your video or teach for a living.
  • Per-viewer analytics you can’t get anywhere else. See exactly how each viewer watches — where they drop off, what they rewatch, and how far they get. Because Spotlightr owns the player, you get engagement data that YouTube, Vimeo, and generic embeds simply can’t show you.
  • Built for courses and LearnDash. Add secure, trackable video to any LearnDash lesson, membership, or course page. Your LMS handles the structure; Spotlightr handles the video — and does it better than anything native to WordPress.
  • Your brand, not ours. No “Powered by” stamps, no ads, no distractions. Your player, your colors, your logo.
  • In-video engagement tools. Chapters, in-video quizzes, calls-to-action, and interactive overlays — added to the video itself and carried wherever it’s embedded.
  • Publish without leaving WordPress. Upload from your computer, an external link, or your media library, and drop videos into any page or post with a block or shortcut — right from your dashboard.

Ideal for

  • Course creators and coaches selling video-based training
  • LearnDash, membership, and LMS site owners who need secure, trackable video
  • Businesses using video for marketing, funnels, and landing pages
  • Anyone who wants their video hosted safely, under their own brand, without giving away a revenue cut

How it works

Spotlightr hosts and encodes your videos on our infrastructure, and this plugin lets you upload, manage, and embed them directly inside WordPress. Preview images are generated automatically and pulled into the plugin page so you can navigate your media easily.

The plugin’s script connects to the pages where your video is embedded. This is required for communication between the player and the page — for example, so the page knows when a video finishes, or so the player knows who is watching and in what context (this powers per-viewer analytics and course tracking).

By installing the plugin, you agree to the terms of use at Spotlightr.com. Privacy URI: https://spotlightr.com/privacy.

Read the full description on the official page →

Tagged as

Alternatives

Other plugins for teaching online.

WP Encryption

Lifetime SSL solution - Free SSL certificate & HTTPS redirect, fix insecure site / SSL errors, Security he...

Free 50k+ installs 4.9★ (1,143)
WP Force SSL & HTTPS SSL Redirect

Enable SSL & HTTPS redirect with 1 click! Add SSL certificate & WP Force SSL to redirect site from HTT...

Free 80k+ installs 4.7★ (179)
Uncanny Automator

The AI + Automation plugin for WordPress. Automate workflows across all your plugins and apps, add an AI agent...

Free 40k+ installs 4.9★ (156)
Bit integrations

Contact Form, Google Sheet, MailChimp, Brevo, Webhook, Zoho CRM Automation and Integration plugin that Connect...

Free 20k+ installs 4.9★ (160)
SSL Zen

SSL Zen

86

Free SSL certificate for WordPress — install a Let's Encrypt SSL, force HTTPS, fix mixed content and redi...

Free 10k+ installs 4.9★ (664)
Auto-Install Free SSL

Generate & install Free SSL Certificates for WordPress, HTTPS redirect, get PADLOCK in the browser, get au...

Free 8k+ installs 4.9★ (404)