No LMS – Lightweight Course Builder & Lesson Blocks for Gutenberg

Want to share what you know without a full learning management system? Heavy LMS setups can mean extra database records, student login barriers, and more complex page caching. No LMS keeps course building simple. Turn any standard WordPress post into an interactive, distraction-free course using native Gutenberg blocks in minutes. Add modules and lessons, publish, and let readers track their progress without creating an account. Progress stays in their browser, with no server-side progress records to clutter your database. Feature highlights

• Native Gutenberg blocks: Build your course with Module and Lesson blocks, using ordinary WordPress blocks for lesson content.
• Zero login friction: Guests can mark lessons complete. Browser-based local progress tracking keeps their place between visits.
• 100% cache & CDN friendly progress: Completion is saved locally, with no dynamic session queries for progress. Public course pages can use full-page caching and a CDN.
• Clean standalone layout: Give learners a focused reading experience with lesson navigation and a customizable accent color. Sidebar and horizontal layouts are also available.
• Non-destructive: Course posts keep their original URLs and post content. Build on an existing post without starting over.
• Accessible & robust: The full course remains readable when JavaScript is disabled. JavaScript and browser storage enable interactive progress tracking.

Best used for

• Free mini-courses and lead magnets.
• Step-by-step developer documentation and software onboarding.
• Multi-part blog tutorials.
• Internal employee training and standard operating procedure (SOP) training, on a site with appropriate access controls.

How it works

1. Open an existing post or create a new one in the block editor.
2. Turn on Course in the Course document panel.
3. Keep existing blocks above the modules as an introduction, or move them into lessons.
4. Add a Module block, set its title, and add Lesson blocks inside it.
5. Add ordinary WordPress blocks such as paragraphs, images, and embeds inside each lesson.
6. Publish or update the post. Each lesson needs content and a unique ID; the editor assigns IDs automatically, including fresh IDs to duplicated lessons.

After activation, the No LMS welcome screen offers an optional demo course draft and lets you create a new course draft. The Course Overview block lists every published course. Add it to a page if you want a course listing. For a starting structure, insert the Course starter pattern from the block editor. It adds an introduction, one module, and two lessons. Replace its example text before publishing. Choose a sidebar, horizontal, or Standalone course page layout in the Course panel. The standalone layout is selected by default and gives the course its own full page with a minimal header, large title, lesson navigation, and an accent color you can set per course. It keeps the post's URL and content, but uses the plugin page design instead of the theme's single-post template. Add a post excerpt to show a short description below its title. Existing blocks before the first module appear once on the course Overview. Readers then move through one focused lesson at a time, while the full course remains readable when JavaScript is unavailable. On small screens, readers can expand the lesson list when needed instead of scrolling past the whole outline. Modules and lessons can be renamed or reordered. Progress remains tied to each lesson ID. Deleted lessons stop counting toward the current total. Reading a course Open the post as usual. The outline links to each lesson and shows the completed count and progress bar. Readers can use Mark complete or Mark incomplete at the end of a lesson. The choice is saved in this browser's local storage. Clearing site data also clears progress. JavaScript and browser storage are needed to save progress. WordPress 6.3 or later and PHP 7.2.5 or later are required. The editor and reader scripts are built before packaging the plugin, as described below.

1. Upload the no-lms directory to /wp-content/plugins/.
2. Activate No LMS through the WordPress Plugins screen.
3. Open No LMS in the admin menu.

The welcome screen appears after activation. You can create the optional demo draft there or open an existing post and enable Course in its document settings.

1.0.0

• Added post courses, module and lesson blocks, and browser-based lesson progress.