How to Craft a Podcast in WordPress

by Ashley Poland
Many listeners use iTunes to manage and download their favorite podcasts.

Many listeners use iTunes to manage and download their favorite podcasts.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News/Getty Images

Using your WordPress blog to run a podcast is surprisingly simple -- you don't need to install any plugins or embed any complex HTML, you only have to add a link to your podcast's audio file in a post. When your listeners follow your podcast's RSS feed they'll receive the audio file and be able to play it straight away with no fuss or downloading required. The easiest method for setting up a podcast in WordPress is to create a podcast category that users to subscribe to to receive podcast updates without getting your regular blog posts.

Step 1

Open your WordPress dashboard to manage your blog and customize it for podcasting.

Step 2

Create a category for your podcast by going to "Admin," "Manage" and then "Categories." This will allow users to subscribe to your podcast feed separate from your blog's regular feed. If you called this category "podcast," the RSS feed would be "www.yourdomain.com/wordpress/?feed=rss2&category_name=podcast".

Step 3

Upload your podcast episode. If you're using WordPress.com, as opposed to the self-hosted WordPress.org, you will need Web space such as HipCast to store your podcast files on. If you're running a self-hosted WordPress site, you can upload media to your website by going to "Media" and then "Add New."

Step 4

Create a new post. You can either click "Posts" on the sidebar and select "Add New" on the Posts page or you can click "New Post" in the upper right corner of the window. Select your podcast category from below "Categories" on the right side of the post.

Step 5

Insert the link for your file URL into the body of your post. You can do this manually by adding the HTML <a href="http://www.yourdomain.com/podcast.mp3">Episode 1</a>, or by clicking the link button on the WordPress text editor and entering the link information there. If your post is already uploaded to your WordPress library, you can select the icon that looks like a music note from beside "Upload/Insert" below the subject line. Click the "Media Library" link and then click "Show" next to the audio you want to post. Select "Insert Into Post."

Step 6

Click "Publish." On your website you will only see the link to the image, but anyone subscribed to your free via a reader will receive the audio file either in an embedded player or uploaded into the program they use to follow podcasts, such as iTunes or Rhythmbox.

Tip

  • You can use third-party plugins to help your podcast run as smoothly and professionally as possible -- plugins like Audio Player give you the option of including a small media player in your post while plugins like PowerPress allow you to manage the small details of your podcast and customize it for iTunes.
  • If you want iTunes users to be able to subscribe to your RSS feed with a single click, precede your RSS URL with "itpc://" in place of "http://" in the link.

Warning

  • According to WordPress, if your feed link is not working and is definitely correct, adding ".xml" at the end may fix the problem.

About the Author

Ashley Poland has been freelancing since 2009. She has worked with local online businesses for their print and Web content, and pursues an active interest in the computer, technology and gaming industries. In addition to freelancing, Poland is also a fiction writer. She studied creative writing at Kansas State University.

Photo Credits

  • Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News/Getty Images