You need a website for your podcast not only so you have an official location for your podcast as well as all of the related information, but also so that you have a one-stop shop for promoting your podcast. Your website should be the central location where you direct anyone and everyone. Specifically, your website should have plenty of clear information as well as exciting content to engage your current listeners and website visitors alike. So, whether you are just starting out with your podcast or if you've been podcasting for awhile, we are going to go through how to build a website that contains all of the necessary info as well as interesting content to engage your current listeners and to convert your website visitors to listeners!
Hosting Your Website
If you already have a website that you would like to use for your podcast, you can add a page for your podcast and embed a player for your podcast to live on your website. You can also create any other pages that you need for content regarding your podcast. However, if you don't have a website already, you can buy a domain and get website hosting to build your own site if you are knowledgeable about website building, or you can use WordPress.
Building your website with WordPress is pretty simple, so if you aren't tech-savvy or knowledgeable about website building, then WordPress is your best option. WordPress takes you through the process step by step from basic information to your domain name. If you have purchased a domain name, you can use that domain, or you can get a free “.wordpress.com” domain or select from a bunch of paid options. Remember that your domain should be directly connected with your podcast name. We suggest that your domain name be your podcast name, but if you are unable to do so, ensure that you are selecting an easy-to-remember domain for simple plugging in your podcast, on social media, etc. There are several different plans to choose from that have certain features, including levels of customization and Google Analytics. Once you select a domain and plan and fill in all your website and account information, you'll be all set to build your website!
Building Your Website
Aside from incorporating your branding into your website (logo, color scheme, font(s), special terminology, etc.), there are some pages that are absolutely necessary to include on your website. These include:
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Homepage: Your homepage is the default page of your website that should include an elevator pitch, information about your podcast, strong visual branding, subscription and listen links, a call to action, as well as a short archive of recent posts.
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About Page: Anything that you don't communicate about your podcast on your homepage should live on your About page. Include a compelling description of your podcast as well as a short biography of the host(s).
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Contact Page: If someone wants to contact you, whether that be listeners, other podcasters, or even sponsors, this is the page for them to find your contact info. Some things that you may want to include are your email address, phone number, mailing address, and a contact form.
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Podcast Page: Your podcast page should include your embedded player front and center (although you may want to include a player or a link to the player on your homepage) as well as a podcast episode archive. Many podcast hosting services provide an embeddable player and there are many podcast plugins that you can use to get your podcast up on your website. You want your audience to be able to listen to your podcast on this page, navigate to your podcast on various podcast platforms, and look through your podcast episodes. Include information about your podcast, the cover art, listen links, subscription links, and a list of recent episodes as well as their individual info and links.
Some other pages that you might want to include on your website are:
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Blog Page: Starting a blog in correlation with your podcast is a great way to get more content out there and to help with search engine optimization (SEO). On this page, you can post new content as well as repurpose your podcast, such as podcast episode transcripts and episode overviews.
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Sponsor Page: Having a page dedicated to sponsors is a good way to communicate with sponsors who may navigate to your page. Include some basics about your podcast, why they should sponsor your podcast, something about your audience, a link to a podcast media kit, and your contact info.
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Press Page: This page is the place where you can list any articles, videos, interviews, and so on that you are featured in. Putting a press kit for your show here is also a good idea.
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Resources Page: This page could also be titled “gear,” “links,” “tools,” or “recommendations.” Basically, a page like this can be a location for you to list things that you use or mention a lot, which could help you get affiliate links in the future that you could then list on this page as well.
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Getting Started Page: Some website visitors may have never listened to a podcast before, so it is a great idea to have a page dedicated to them as well as individuals who are new to your podcast. This page should help navigate someone around your podcast, meaning you should feature starter episodes (Based on your podcast format, these can be the first few episodes of your podcast, the first episodes of a series, or the most exciting ones.), subscription info, as well as listening info. You can include how to posts, short descriptions, links to tutorials, and links to past episodes.
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Privacy Policy Page: If you accept any contact from your audience (comments, forums, email, etc.), you should have a privacy policy that states what you will and won't do with the information.
Note: Remember that it's your website, so customize it to suit your podcast as well as your vision for your podcast. Some of these pages may not pertain to your podcast, so build your website according to your needs.
Tip: Make sure that your website is optimized for mobile devices. Given that many people view websites on their mobile devices, it is really important to ensure that your website looks great on them as well as on the computer. If your website is not optimized for mobile devices, then your website visitors will see a distorted version of your website and it will be incredibly difficult to navigate, which will turn visitors away from listening to your podcast.
Bonus Tip: Adding Smart App Banners to your website can potentially help with your subscription conversion rates.
Adding Content to Your Website
Now, once you have your website set up with branding, pages, and a layout, you need to add content to the pages. Some things that you should add are:
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Elevator Pitch: This is your sales pitch for why someone should listen to your podcast. It should be relatively short and it should exist front and center on your homepage. Your elevator pitch should include your podcast title and a description of your podcast, such as your topic, the host, and the value that your podcast offers. Also, be sure to mention in your pitch that you are describing a podcast. Someone who navigates to your page randomly may not know that they navigated to a podcast website unless they are explicitly told.
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Podcast Player: Along with your actual podcast player that plays your podcast episodes on your website, you need to include episode titles, info (description, episode number, date published, duration), and links.
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Links to Your Podcast: These links should be for all platforms using official badges (logos) from podcast apps, such as Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify. Also, don't forget to include your RSS feed link. You should provide listening links as well as subscription links that clearly indicate what platform they are for.
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How To Posts: Write posts about how to subscribe, write a review, and even how to listen. The point of these posts is to make it as simple as possible for people to engage with your podcast. Some people genuinely don't know how to subscribe, write a review, and/or listen because they may have never listened to a podcast before, so help them with the learning process. These things may seem simple, but these are all things that you want people to do and you may even request that they do so, so it's best to give them all the information they need to make it happen.
Building a podcast website might seem like a difficult task, but with the ease of using WordPress as well as the wealth of information online, you can build a website pretty easily and quickly. Also, note that the first step is getting your website up and running and you can and should continue to update and improve your website as time goes on. And remember, your podcast website should be customized for your podcast and overall needs, so get creative and get building! Happy podcasting!
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