Forum Discussion
Posting Courses for Sale
Previously, my client has sold access to video content that is hosted by a video platform, Brightcove. They had me create a Storyline course for them that they would also like to sell. They don't have an LMS and would like to simply provide links on their Brightcove site that the purchaser would access. The question is, how do they do this without the learner having a URL that they could share with other people? Is there a way?
On a related note, what hosting options do you recommend for the actual course files?
Thank you!
1 Reply
This is a great question, and it highlights a key difference between traditional video content and interactive eLearning.
Storyline is designed to create rich, learner-driven experiences — branching, quizzes, simulations — which just don’t translate into a standard video format. Video platforms like Brightcove are great at streaming content, but not built to protect or deliver interactive HTML5-based training in a secure, access-controlled way.
From what you’ve said, it sounds like you’ve already considered hosting the Storyline output on a web server and linking to it via an iframe or a clickable overlay/cue point in Brightcove. And you’re right — that does work, but it also exposes the course URL, which means anyone who gets that link can share it.
It’s a bit like stopping your car in rural England and asking for directions, only to be told, “If I were you, I wouldn’t start from here.” And unfortunately… that’s kind of where we are.
So what can you do?
Option 1: Convert to Video (if interactivity is minimal)
If the course is mostly linear with little interactivity, you can record it using a screen recorder (like OBS, Camtasia, or even PowerPoint’s built-in screen recorder). This gives you an MP4 that Brightcove can host securely — and stream just like your other videos.
Option 2: Host the Storyline content on a server with access control
If the interactivity is essential, you’ll need to host the Storyline HTML5 output somewhere — but wrap it in a layer of access control. Options include:
- Amazon S3 + CloudFront with signed URLs
- Firebase Hosting with authentication
- Webflow or Wix with password protection (for very light setups)
This won’t be ironclad security, but it makes casual sharing much harder.
Option 3: Use a membership platform or lightweight LMS
Even if they don’t want a full LMS, there are lightweight platforms (like Teachable, Thinkific, or MemberSpace) that can gate access and host Storyline as embedded content. This gives you basic user tracking and stops link sharing.
Option 4: Brightcove Player SDK (advanced)
There may be someone here who has expereince of using the Brightcove Player SDK to build a custom player that wraps the Storyline content more securely. I’ve gone down this route before when creating a downloadable Android app version of a course, and it wasn’t too bad - but it does require developer resources and some programming skills.
