How to Use Word Spotlight on Any Website

Learn how to use word spotlight. Highlight individual words while reading for better focus Support accessibility for everyone. Learn how to use Helperbird's Word Spotlight feature to highlight text as you read. Focus on content more easily with a spotlight effect that follows your cursor.

What is Word Spotlight?

Word Spotlight creates a spotlight effect that highlights the area around your cursor as you move it across a webpage. This helps you focus on specific text by making the surrounding content less prominent. It works like shining a flashlight on what you are reading.


Who is This For?

This feature is helpful for:

  • People who have difficulty tracking text while reading
  • Anyone with attention difficulties like ADHD
  • People who get distracted by surrounding content
  • Readers who lose their place on busy webpages
  • Anyone who wants to focus on one section at a time

Step 1: Open Helperbird

Click the Helperbird icon in your browser toolbar. It looks like a small owl and is usually in the top-right corner of your browser.

This will open the Helperbird menu.


Step 2: Go to the All Features Section

Scroll down to the bottom of the Helperbird menu. You will see a section called All Features.

Click the arrow next to All Features to expand it and show all available features.


Step 3: Find Word Spotlight

Look through the list of features until you see Word Spotlight.


Step 4: Turn on Word Spotlight

Click the toggle switch next to Word Spotlight to turn it on. The toggle will turn green when it is enabled.


Step 5: Read with Focus

Move your mouse cursor across the webpage.

A spotlight effect will follow your cursor, highlighting the text near it while dimming the rest of the page. This helps you focus on the content you are currently reading.

Move your cursor down the page as you read to keep the spotlight on the text you are looking at.

Tip: Word Spotlight works great with articles and long text content. Combine it with a dyslexia-friendly font or increased text size for an even better reading experience.


Video Tutorial


Need Additional Help?

If you have any questions or run into any issues, please contact the Helperbird support team. You can reach us at Helperbird support. We are happy to help you get the most out of Helperbird.

What People Are Saying

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Best website reading enhancer

Sandeep K.

Sandeep K.

Domain Trainer

omg i can actually read now

Spin F.

Spin F.

Helperbird user

Helperbird is an excellent extension supporting a range of learning differences. Aside from providing many evidence-based dyslexia-assistive tools, the extension also functions as an easy-to-use, feature-rich web experience customization tool suitable to support a wide range of cognitive differences (i.e., color blindness and ADHD-related focus concerns, among others). Also, the developer is a very good person who supports the various learning-different communities in many ways, including by designing the free version of Helperbird to provide enough functionality to be beneficial to people who cannot afford to subscribe to the full-function version.

Kirk Smith

Kirk Smith

Helperbird user

Have an amazing collection of assistive tools that have benefits for everyone. For me, the combination of Microsoft's Immersive Reader and Apple's reading machine voice (US Alex) makes Helperbird my first choice for processing web content.

Jim Sprialis

Jim Sprialis

Assistive technology specialist

I have to admit, I have tried several other similar products which were awful. Helperbird is truly amazing! The font changes, colours, overlays, notes, text to speech and I love the 50 natural languages! 100% worth updating.

Ciarán Hyland

Ciarán Hyland

Helperbird user

Immersive Reader from Microsoft is amazing, but my friends in Google districts were missing out until I found Helperbird. Great for proofreading! Simply highlight the text and have it read back to you, change the spacing in your view, highlight parts of speech, even translate by word or by document to have it read to you and adjust the speed! So amazing that I posted a YouTube tutorial within days of installing it. Plus, unlike many extensions, it didn't ask for obnoxious permissions like asking to delete everything in my Google Drive. #Winner #a11y

GK Techies

GK Techies

Helperbird user

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