Podcast Websites
Podcast Website accounts come with exclusive website designs, called "themes." These themes were designed for podcasts, complete with features designed to highlight your episodes and podcast information.
They're fully customizable, too! So you can change the look and feel of your website to match your podcast's brand.
Note: Podcast Websites uses a tool called WordPress to build your site. We may refer to it throughout this article. For more information about the WordPress platform, check out their website or our other documentation.
Identify Your Chosen Theme
If you have chosen one of our exclusive podcast themes, we can show you the exact steps to customize your theme.
If you have chosen one of our exclusive podcast themes, we can show you the exact steps to customize your theme.
But first you need to know which theme you're using. You can check by:
- Logging in to the WordPress Admin Interface
- In the left sidebar, click Appearance
This will take you to the theme's page. The theme you're currently using will be displayed in the top left corner. The name of the theme is located at the bottom of the theme box.
Tip: Want to try a different theme? Hover over another theme and click the Preview button to see how it would look on your site.
Once you know the name of your theme, read its tutorial below for theme-specific instructions.
If you are using a third party theme, or another built-in theme like Twenty Twenty-One, these steps may differ. See your chosen theme's documentation for specific steps.
Access the Customizer
If you're using the Podcast Digest theme, follow these steps to access the website customizer:
- In the left sidebar, hover over Appearance
- In the drop-down, click Customize
This will bring you to the Customizer interface. You can make custom changes to your website theme here.
Customizer Options
There are a few options when you enter the Customizer interface. We'll walk you through the interface below so you can use it effectively.
Header & Footer Customization:
Individual Podcast Page Customizations:
Navigation Bar Settings
Image and Icon Customizations:
Advanced Customizations:
Homepage Customizations:
Homepage Sections:
See a specific action you'd like a tutorial for? Click on it to be taken to its instructions.
Site Identity
Click on the Site Identity tab in order to access any of the following customizations:
- Site Title
- Tagline
- Site Icon
Site Title
The Site Title is the large text that appears at the top of your site.
To make changes, edit the text in the Site Title textbox.
Tagline
The Tagline is the line of text beneath the Site Title. You can edit the tagline by changing the text in the Tagline textbox. If you wish to remove the tagline all together, simply delete all the text in the Tagline text box.
Site Icon
The Site Icon is an icon that is shown in browser tabs, bookmarks, and more. If you'd like to customize your site's icon, you can upload one in the Site Icon section.
To upload an image, go to the Site Icon section and click the Select Site Icon box.
Note: Icon images work best when they are square and at least 512 px by 512 px.
Homepage
The Homepage option holds a variety of homepage customizations, including:
- Header images
- Testimonial section
- About the Host section
- Homepage Post Section
Homepage Header Section
Customize your header to match your brand. You can find the settings for this section under Homepage > Homepage Header Section.
The Homepage Header Section tab allows you to upload a header image. To do so, navigate into the Homepage Header Section interface and click the Select Image button. Upload your desired image.
The image you upload will replace your header background.
Testimonial Section
Show compelling user feedback with our testimonial sections. You can find the settings for this section under Homepage > Testimonial Section.
This section will automatically pull from any testimonials you've created and place them on your website homepage.
Not sure how to create testimonials? See this article: Create Testimonials on Podcast Websites
To customize your testimonial section, simply check the boxes next to testimonial features you'd like to display on your page. Uncheck boxes next to the features you would prefer to hide.
Want to remove the testimonial section all together? You can do so by unchecking all the boxes in the Testimonial Section.
About the Host Section
You can add an About the Host section to your homepage. You can find the settings for this section under Homepage > About the Host Section.
There are a variety of boxes to fill in when creating your About the Host section. The section is hidden on your website by default, so you must first fill in the information before the section will appear in the live site preview.
Homepage Post Section
Customize how your podcast posts display on your site homepage. You can find the settings for this section under Homepage > Homepage Post Section.
You can customize the following options under the Homepage Post Section:
| Homepage Post Section Title | This is the title that appears at the top of your podcast episodes on your homepage. |
| Number Of Episodes | Select how many of your latest podcast episodes are displayed on your homepage. You can select between 3, 6, or 9 podcasts. Visitors can see more podcasts, too, by clicking the View More Episodes button at the bottom of the section. |
| Display Title on Posts | If you select Yes for this option, a title overlay will appear over your podcast art. Select No to opt for no title overlay. |
| Homepage posts category | If you want to only display podcasts from a certain category, select that category from this drop-down. If you want to display all podcasts, leave this option blank. |
Advanced Settings
In Advanced Settings, you'll be able to:
- Hide certain homepage sections
- Footer
Hide Homepage Sections
Not a fan of the default sections? You can easily hide some of the default sections. You can access these options by going to Advanced Settings > Hide Homepage Sections.
Check the box next to sections you want to hide.
Footer Settings
Keep your site on brand by customizing your site footer text. Make changes in Advanced Settings > Footer Settings.
In the textbox, enter any text you want to appear in your footer.
Theme Settings
Theme Settings allows you to edit:
- Site Colors
- Social Links
- Header Logo
Site Colors
Change your site colors to match your podcast brand. Make the changes easily by going to Theme Settings > Site Colors.
You can select from a variety of preset color options, or manually select your colors. To select a preset color, choose any option under the Color Swatch section.
To manually select your colors, click Select Color next to the color you'd like to change, then use the color picker to select a color.
Social Links
Connect your website visitors to your other online locations with convenient social links. You can add your social links by going to Theme Settings > Social Links.
Find your desired social media platform, then paste the link to your page in the text box. After you enter a social media link, a social media icon will show up on your live site preview.
Remember to Publish your site if you want your changes to display on your live website.
Header Logo
Add your logo to your website to create a convenient link to your homepage, as well as brand your site. You can add your social links by going to Theme Settings > Header.
Upload your logo by clicking the Select Image button, then selecting your logo file from your files. You can also drag-and-drop the file into the Select Image box.
You can change the image at any time by clicking the Change image button and uploading a new logo file. You may also remove the logo from your site all together by clicking the Remove button.
Episode Settings
Use the Episode Settings section to:
- Featured Episode Settings
- Hide Author on Podcasts
- Episode Cover Image
Featured Episode Settings
When a visitor clicks the "Listen to the Podcast Now!" button, what podcast episode should they listen to? You can set the episode in our Featured Episode settings. You can find these settings by navigating to Episode Settings > Featured Episode Section.
To select a podcast to feature, simply click the drop-down under Featured Episode ID, then select your desired podcast episode.
No podcast episodes showing in the drop-down? Make sure you've imported your podcast episodes first!
See this article for help: Importing Your Podcast Episodes into Podcast Websites
Single Episode Settings
Want to hide or display the author on an individual podcast page? You can change this setting at Episode Settings > Single Episode Settings.
To display the author on individual podcast pages, ensure the Display Author on Single Episode box is checked. If you wish to hide the author on individual podcast pages, uncheck the box.
Episode Cover Image
Want to overwrite all of your podcast episode images with a single image? You can do so by adding an Episode Cover Image at Episode Settings > Episode Cover Image.
Once in the section, click the Select Image button to upload your desired image.
Uploading an Episode Cover Image will overwrite all other episode artwork on your site, including featured images added in the Podcast Episodes individual settings.
To remove the episode cover image, you can return to this section and click the Remove Image button. You can also change the image at any time by clicking the Change Image button.
Don't have an Episode Cover Image, but still having trouble with your episode artwork? Check your podcast host settings or RSS feed for errors.
Menus
The Menu section allows you to:
- Create and manage a navigation bar
Add noteworthy pages and links to your navigation bar. Visitors will use your navigation bar as a way to explore your site. Navigation bars on podcast websites often include pages like:
- About the Host
- Sponsors
- Merch
- Contact
Have you created pages on your website? If not, check out our page creation guide: Creating Pages on Podcast Websites.
You can customize your navigation bar by using the Menus section. Once in the Menus section, you can follow the steps below to build your own navigation bar.
To create a navigation bar:
- Under the Menus header, click Main
- Click + Add Items
- Click on the type of item you'd like to add. For example, if you want to add one of your pages, click on Pages.
- Click the + button next to the items you would like to add. If you are adding something that requires input (like Custom Links), fill in the information, then click Add to Menu
- If you want to remove an item, click the red x next to the item
Don't see a red x? Click the Add Items button again to make sure it's selected.
Adding your navigation bar to your website:
Once a navigation bar is created, you need to add it to your site. To do so:
- Return to the Menus section. You'll know you're here if the title text says, "You are customizing Menus"
- Under Menu Locations, click View Location
- Under Main Menu, select Main from the drop-down
This will add your navigation bar to your website.
Additional CSS
The additional CSS tab gives you a space to enter CSS into your site manually.
Not familiar with CSS? It's short for Cascading Style Sheets. You can find out more about CSS at this resource: W3 School's CSS Tutorial