A podcaster’s website is typically an extension of their podcast. However, it isn’t a destination in and of itself. It serves more as a complement to the podcast. That doesn’t mean that a person can’t turn it into something bigger if they wish. The reason some people want to have their own websites has changed over time. Early on, it was an easy way to have a show’s own presence. It also provided a home for things that couldn’t be talked about in the podcast itself.
The role of a website
Many podcasters want a place where they can sell their products and services without having to give up a cut of everything sold to any company they’ve signed up with. It provides a place for people to go and leave messages about their thoughts on how the show is doing and help guide its future path.
It also allows fans that don’t listen to the podcast itself to get access to all of it through links and other avenues outside of hosting services like iTunes, Google Play Music, etc.
This article will go over some of the do-it-yourself options and hired services for Podcast Website Builders.
Do it yourself (DIY)
There are plenty of people that want to start their own podcast but don’t know how to use WordPress or other blogging tools. This is one way they can learn how to build their own website. It helps build certain skills that can be used for other things as well.
One of the biggest problems with this is that it isn’t a permanent option unless they want to pay for hosting on their own or have some other reason to do so. If a person decides after a period of time that they no longer wish to have their own podcast, then it would be better to let the website expire and not waste money on hosting.
Building a website for your podcast can cost as much as $8 per month and up. This is all based on what kind of features you want it to have and how much customization you want to be done. There are other people that do this kind of thing for a lower price. A lot of it depends on the quality of the work provided and how good of a deal you get out of them.
There are some people that have started this kind of site themselves and been happy with what they got from it. It has taught them about WordPress plugins, hosting options available, coding, etc., which can help save on money later.
Podcastpage.io is an example of a do-it-yourself website that offers decent hosting included in the cost. It has features like statistics on listeners, social media integration, and community pages for interacting with other fans. It’s not perfect for every podcaster since it comes off as very template-based, but it can work.
It provides an entire suite of tools for podcasting including hosting, publishing, analytics, and marketing. It can handle any type of media file (including video), integrates with most popular podcasting apps, and has an easy interface for importing podcasts from iTunes.
You could include podcast subscription links, automatic audio snippets for each new episode, integration with various podcasting services, or add multiple podcasts onto one site. Audio messages allow you to get feedback from your audience without interrupting them.
Take a look at Podcastpage.io
Podpage
Podcasts made easy! With podpages, you don’t need any technical knowledge to create an attractive, user-friendly podcasting platform for your listeners. You don’t need any coding skills to customize the design to create a beautiful site for yourself. You don’t need any programming skills or technical know-how.
Made specifically for Podcasters, the Podpage website builder offers a quick and simple way to set up your own custom podcast site in minutes. Users can simply choose from the pre-designed templates of our top themes and then drag and drop content into place using intuitive visual editors. They can also add their own images, music, links, text, and more. And with a few clicks, they’re ready to go live! Podpages are hosted on the cloud and are completely mobile device friendly.
Features include:
- Mobile-friendly website designs
- Automation processes
- Call to action subscribe buttons
- Audio Players
- Blog and Web pages in unlimited quantities
- Voicemail
- Contact Forms
- Social media sharing tools
- SEO elements
- Email Opt-in offers
- Reviews
- and Templates
WordPress Podcast Builders
My favorite of all website builders is WordPress. It offers unlimited growth potential including the ability to add income streams from affiliate marketing, ad revenue, and eCommerce.
While there is a learning curve, all WordPress themes come with a step-by-step tutorial in either written, visual, or video form.
Here are some Podcast themes you may want to explore:
Podcast by ILoveWP: a free podcasting theme designed specifically for podcasters, YouTubers, streamers, etc., but not limited to them. With podcast themes, there are eight prebuilt color schemes available for use: Black, Blue, Green, Orange, Purple, Red, Teal, Yellow. You can choose whether to place the sidebar on the left side or the right side. It’s compatible with popular podcasting plug-ins for WordPress including Powerpress and Seriously Simple Podcasting (SSP). Embed your podcasts using services like Spotify, Soundcloud, YouTube, iTunes, etc.
Megaphone: Megaphone is a powerful podcasting WordPress theme designed for podcasters who want their websites to look professional from day one.
Megaphone is an excellent WordPress podcast theme with a clean, modern look. It works well for almost any kind of podcast. There are six different page templates available for use with this theme. They both use a common layout for their pages but there are some key differences between them. Some websites use one single-column layout for their homepage; however, they may vary from having two columns (one above another) to three columns (two side by side).
You can change the colors used throughout your site by selecting one option among the available choices. On the Megaphone demo site, you can see which colors would look best for your podcast, but if you don’t know exactly what kind of theme you want, you should be able to choose from a variety of different ones. You can change the colors of your site by going into its Control Panel and creating your own custom theme. It’s easy to change font sizes.
With its extensive feature set, Megaphone allows for almost any kind of podcasting experience you might need. So whatever way you’d like your podcast site to look, it should be possible to use this theme. A useful feature is the ability to turn off the sticky audio player if people aren’t listening to it at any given time. To make it as easy as possible for your audience to consume podcasts through your website, this feature might be useful. You can use Megaphone to publish any kind of audio file (podcasts) wherever you want, then easily add them to your site using our integration options. With these themes, you get even more options when using any of the top WordPress podcasting plugins.
They’ve built an incredibly powerful WordPress plugin for creating podcasts from scratch.
https://1.envato.market/2rgBB7
Using a web designer
Hiring a web designer to build your Podcast website is certainly an option. A web designer can provide a more professional look to your website and also ensure that all the features you need are included. However, it can be expensive, and will likely take more time.
A web designer is the best way to go if you want your website to be a lasting and developing part of your podcast. They can make sure it never expires, has all the features you need and more, and keep it looking great for years to come.
Call my brothers Jeff and Paul Helvin at Ballen Brands (702) 917-0755 to have a podcast website designed for you.
What should I include on my website?
There are many different things that can be included on a podcaster’s website. This includes but is not limited to: a landing page, information about the podcast, contact information, social media links, blog posts, and products and services that can be bought.
As far as the podcast pages themselves, most people like to have a page for each episode. This includes a description of the episode, show notes, related articles, images, and audio or video files. It can also include things like transcripts, chapter markers, and links to other websites or social media accounts.
Some people have started including links to the theme songs, bumpers, or other things used on their episodes.
The more features a website has related to your podcast, the better chance you have of attracting listeners and keeping some of them around even after they’re done listening to an individual episode.
