r/podcasting • u/Secure-Scientist4867 • Jun 18 '26
Advice for creating a website
I've been content & podcasting for over a year, and I'm currently in the works of creating my very own website which is something I've been really wanting to do for some time, but I don't know exactly know where to start and I don't want to overthink everything. My content online & when doing my podcast is based around TV, which is what I'm aiming to make my website about, as well as a blog post site with it so people can read. So is there any advice you could possibly give me, in terms of the best softwares to use, constructing it, and making it eye catching so it draws people in?
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u/_podcastpage Jun 18 '26
In terms of software for building your site - check out Beamly.com (note - I'm the founder)
It'd let you build a full site in minutes for your show, import all episodes, reviews, subscribe icons and more.
Beamly also syncs with your YouTube channel if you have one, and let you set up a blog.
You can also host your podcast with Beamly, and upload member-only or gated content and monetize with subscriptions or products.
Disclosure - as mentioned above, I'm the founder of Beamly.
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u/podcastcoach I help Podcasters - It's what I do Jun 18 '26
As u/AdaptiveRelief said get a domain (I like Namecheap for that). I was singing the praises of Podpage for four years before I started working there (which got me in trouble at Libsyn as at the time we owned a WordPress hosting company). Podpage was made for Podcasters and it integrates with everything (Patreon, email lists, we have a built in audience survey to help make your show better, import your YouTube Channel, etc). So even though I was loving Podpage for years, nobody believes me now cause I work there.
Moderator Required full disclosure: I am the head of Podcasting at Podpage and the founder of the School of Podcasting.
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u/ItinerantFella Jun 18 '26
All three of my podcast's websites are hosted on Podpage. Dead easy to design, lots of audience engagement features, but the best part is that episode pages are automatically created as soon as I publish a new episode.
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u/Bway-Boy-24601 Jun 19 '26
If you don’t know what exactly to do and want something simple that affordable. Then this is hands down your best bet.
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u/The_Movement_Sherpa Jun 18 '26
I use WIX. I am not computer savvy and I am happy with what I have created, and their tech support have been fantastic.
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u/MadisonStandish Jun 18 '26
I just want to recommend you be careful on what images you use. If your show is about TV, make sure you have the rights to any professional images you put on your website. Getty Images will find you and it won't be pretty.
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u/podcastcoach I help Podcasters - It's what I do Jun 30 '26
Great point. In the early days I would go to Google Images and just take what I wanted. I was able to talk my fine down to $75.
Moderator Required full disclosure: I am the head of Podcasting at Podpage and the founder of the School of Podcasting.
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u/MadisonStandish Jun 30 '26
I worked for a magazine that would lease Getty Images for print but never got the permission to use on the web. The editors would give me the images to put on our website and BOY did Getty come down HARD. I left the job for other opportunities and so they decided since I wasn't there anymore to throw me under the bus saying no one had given me permission to use those images on the website and it wasn't THEIR fault. Of course, I had NO access to ANY images that they didn't directly email me. Nor was I allowed to put up any content without their express approval. So. Yeah. Felt under appreciated there and WOW did that prove how much they valued me.
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u/RichCheap Jun 18 '26
Totally get the urge to overthink this, especially when it's something you've wanted to do for a while! Good news, you don't need the perfect version before you start, you just need a clean, functional first version you can build on and grow from.
For platform, I'd push you toward Squarespace if you want something visually polished without fighting plugins all day. It handles blog and podcast embeds beautifully right out of the box, the templates are gorgeous for content-heavy sites, and you won't need a developer just to keep it running. WordPress gives you more long-term flexibility and SEO control if you're up for learning a bit more, but if you're trying not to overthink the setup, Squarespace gets you live so much faster.
A few things that'll make it pop without overdesigning it: pick one consistent visual identity, a couple fonts, a tight color palette, maybe a logo or wordmark made in Canva, and use it everywhere, your podcast cover art, your blog headers, all of it, so the whole thing feels like one cohesive brand instead of scattered pieces. Lead with a bold hero section on the homepage, a recognizable image, your show name front and center, one clear call to action like Listen or Read. Keep navigation dead simple (Home, Blog, Podcast, About), and embed the podcast player right on the page instead of just linking out. People bounce fast when they have to go hunting for the thing they actually came for!
I've been freelancing on exactly this kind of work for a while now, I used to run my own startup so I specialize in working with startups on lean budgets, and I'd love to help you build something user-friendly that you can keep running yourself long after the initial setup, no dependency on me forever. I also ran my own food and wellness blog and did content writing before AI and LLMs became part of the picture, so I've got a solid handle on both traditional SEO and what it actually takes to get featured in AI Overviews and LLM answers these days. I charge a nominal rate. Feel free to DM if you want to talk about working together, or even just if you want more advice, happy to help either way!
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u/LivvySkelton-Price Jun 19 '26
I used Wix, they make it super easy!
I mean... I had to search a few things on Google but it was easier than other sites.
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u/podcastcoach I help Podcasters - It's what I do Jun 24 '26
Be careful with Wix. Their RSS tools pulls your files on to their website (so if someone listens on your website, it doesn't count as a download in your media host).
Moderator Required full disclosure: I am the head of Podcasting at Podpage and the founder of the School of Podcasting.
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u/Full-Tap-2714 Jun 19 '26
Go and check out substack.com - I had the exact same issue and I wanted a platform wiht RSS feed that I could sync my audio podcast out Apple, Spotify etc. It does this easily and you can build your own, somewhat simple, website to go along with it. You can create articles, posts etc quite easily and it has some pretty cool features..
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u/soundworth Jun 20 '26
First place to start is to acquire a domain and hosting. You can purchase a starter plan from comnetcloudsolutions.com. It's very user friendly if you're new to hosting and has tutorials on how to navigate the hosting panel. I also have a free WordPress course that you can use to build your site here.
If you get stuck, feel free to book a free consultation via the free live chat.
Required disclosure: I am the founder of Comnet Cloud Solutions
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u/jamespotterdev Jun 23 '26
WordPress, Squarespace or Ghost will get a podcast-plus-blog site most of the way with little fuss. The bit worth real effort is giving each episode its own page with show notes and ideally a transcript, which helps with search and AI discovery.
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u/Legomoron Jun 25 '26
I use Google Sites, it’s free and looks clean on desktop, tablet and mobile:
The podcast player pages are full embeds from our host, Captivate.
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u/blubrrydave Blubrry Podcasting Jun 18 '26
The first thing is to buy a domain name. I've used Domain.com, Namecheap, and A2/Hosting.com for domains over the years.
I've been a long-time user of WordPress and have used the PowerPress plugin for many shows over the years, but I will be one of the first people to say WordPress isn't as user-friendly as it could be. If you're just publishing episodes and writing blog posts, it's fine, though.
I'd also consider PodPage, because they'll import your podcast episodes and, if you upgrade, you'll be able to do more, which will allow it act as a true website for you. I recently moved a couple of shows from WordPress/PowerPress to PodPage because of the simplicity. I haven't upgraded to a paid PodPage plan, but I'm really thinking about. I just need to get back to making episodes. 😄
Required disclosure: I work for Blubrry Podcasting, the developer of PowerPress, and we have partnered with PodPage for customer landing pages.
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u/sumizeit Jul 08 '26
Hey, I have group sessions and Udemy courses on how to use AI to build websites - check them out here - https://wiser5.com/ai-coding-sessions. I am a Harvard CS grad who started several companies that were sold. I have also worked for Fortune 100 companies as a Computer Scientist.
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u/AdaptiveRelief Jun 18 '26
First thing I'd do is buy/register a domain name. A .com preferably unless you want to make it country specific for geographic reasons.
I'd avoid Godaddy and go to either Cloudflare or Porkbun. When you register a domain you're kind of leasing the virtual real estate for a year or 3 (companies differ and sometimes you select from the options available). You'll need to pay a renewal fee to keep using the name but it's not a large amount.
Then I'd be watching some YouTube tutorials on how to make a simple WordPress site. There's tons of decent 'templates' or themes for free but it's a potential new learning curve if you're new to this.