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Podcasting has grown hugely popular in recent years and it is still growing. Currently, there are more than 700,000 of active podcasts. Although podcasts are mostly distributed through iTunes and SoundCloud, a website will enable your podcasts to reach a wider audience

In this guide, we’ll take you through hosting, designing, and setting up your podcast to grow your fan base. You’ll learn how to build a podcast website that stands out with excellent tools that are readily accessible online.

Whether you’re new to podcasting or you’re an existing podcaster with a lot of experience, this guide will help you to create a home for your content within a short time. Let’s begin:

Step 1: Get a Domain name

This is the first thing you need to start your podcast website. The domain name you choose should match your brand. A good domain name is simple, easy to remember, and easy to spell. You can use your podcast’s name if it is available or a variation if it is not. You can also use your business name if you run more than one podcast.

If your podcast name is Harvey’s Podcast, check to see if www.harveyspodcast.com is available. This is quite straightforward, which is the first step towards a good UX. If it isn’t available, a variation will suffice. You can add a word to the end to make it www.harveyspodcastshow.com or www.harveyspodcastonline.com.

You can get a domain name from different web hosting services available online.

Step 2: Signup for web hosting

Web hosting is simply storing your web content on a server. Once your website is hosted, anyone can visit your website from all over the world. If you’re on a budget or new to web hosting, you can choose the shared hosting plan.

All web hosting providers offer this plan but as you scale, you might want to upgrade to the dedicated hosting plans. This is so that your website can handle more traffic and can perform better as you grow.

Web hosting can cost anywhere from $10 to thousands of dollars per month. However, here’s a list of tested WordPress hosting providers whose services won’t break your bank.

Step 3: Install WordPress

WordPress is the most trusted CMS out there, actively powering over 33% of the web. WordPress podcasting is managing your podcast website’s content with the WordPress software. After you’ve purchased a hosting plan, you can install WordPress from the cPanel of your server.

The process is simple to follow; all you need to do is provide basic details to help WordPress set itself up on your server. Your web hosting provider should provide an installation guide and you can contact them if there are any complications.

WordPress is free to use for everyone and has a large community. Because it is open source, it has thousands of developers that improve its functions with diverse plugins and themes. There are a few functions you could need that hasn’t already been developed.

Step 4: Choose a Theme

At this stage, your podcast website will look pretty simple due to the default WordPress theme and lack of content. To make it more attractive and to match your content, you need to install a WordPress podcasting theme.

A good WordPress podcasting theme should look modern and be easily customizable. Its layout and functionality should be geared towards showing your content in the best light. It should also support local podcasts and embedded (external) podcasts.

Dixie and Gumbo are examples of WordPress podcasting themes that embody these features and more. Upon installing the theme, the next step is to activate it. Upon activation, you need to start filling your podcast website with pages and content.

Step 5: Create Pages and Content

At this point, you need to populate your website with pages and useful content that your users crave. Here are 4 basic pages you’ll need to start:

1. Home Page

This page welcomes your visitors and gives them a general idea about your podcasts.

2. Episodes

This contains an ordered list of all your podcast episodes. You can provide a summary to help your listeners choose what to listen to.

3. About Us

This page provides more factual information about you and your team. You can go into more details about your business and you can include pictures of yourself, your team, or your studio.

4. Contact Us

This page is how your visitors can get in touch with you. It usually contains a form which your visitors can use to send you their name, subject, and message.

There are usually three kinds of contents that you can create; podcasts, podcast transcriptions, and show notes. Endeavor to create unique content that keeps your visitors as you grow your traffic.

Step 6: Install WordPress Plugins

There are literally thousands of WordPress plugins to choose from. Developed with PHP, plugins integrate well with WordPress to extend your website functionalities and add useful features. They work on the functionality the same way themes work on appearance.

To install a plugin, go to the WordPress admin dashboard. Click on ‘Plugins’ and then click on ‘Add New’ in the drop-down menu. You can then search for your plugin or feature of choice. Read the user reviews and compare premium features to choose the best plugin for your website.

Click on ‘Install Now’ and WordPress will download and install the plugin for you. The plugin is now installed on your website but it won’t work if you don’t click the activate plugin link. You can add more plugins this way and other ways to make your website up to par with top podcast websites.

Seriously Simple Podcasting, Power Press and Podlove Podcast Publisher are useful WordPress podcast plugin that can help you customize media players, import podcasts, and manage subscriptions.

Step 7: Launch Your Website

The final step is to put finishing touches to the design, content, and functionality of the website in preparation of its launch. Announce to your audience that you have a new website where they can engage with your content. There are many ways to promote your new WordPress podcast website, find the methods that suit you and spread the word!

A Podcast Website with WordPress is Easy to Build

It might seem like a lot at first, but now that you know what you need and what each tool does, you are well on your way to creating a beautiful and functional WordPress podcast website of your own. With this, you can build a community around your work, and stand out within your field.

Author Bio:

[thrive_testimonial name=”” company=”” image=”https://dsim.in/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/833f2f338516-Rick_portrait.jpg”]Rick has been a part of the content marketing industry for 10 years since 2009. Working with many clients Rick has built up his experience in website hosting and website builder niches. With this experience, he is trying to convey clear information to the world on these topics. His articles tend to be data-driven and researched thoroughly to give a strong and unique point of view on every subject.[/thrive_testimonial]

DSIM Team
DSIM Blog is created to help you to know all aspects of Digital Marketing ranging from basics of Digital Marketing to Advance Level Topics, Read our posts and feel free to reach our team for any queries.

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