Most podcast websites are one of two things: a single page with a player and a list of links, or a full site that nobody can search, share or find. This podcast website checklist covers 12 things a show site needs, each with a one-minute test you can run on your own site right now.
Short on time? Read the table below and fix the first row that fails.
What should a podcast website have?
At minimum, a podcast website needs a page for every episode, a working player, links to every place people listen, written content search engines can read, and a few trust pages (about, contact). Everything else on this list either makes those basics faster, easier to find or more useful to a first-time visitor.
| # | Item | Why it matters | One-minute test |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A page per episode | Each page is something Google can rank and someone can share | Search for your latest episode title on your own site |
| 2 | Player above the fold | Visitors came to listen | Open the site on a phone and press play without scrolling |
| 3 | Links to every platform | Listeners have a favorite app | Count the platforms you are on versus the links shown |
| 4 | Show notes or transcripts | Text is what search engines read | View an episode page and ask if a stranger could skim it |
| 5 | An about and host page | People follow people | Can a new visitor say who hosts within five seconds? |
| 6 | Guest pages or bios | Guests share and link back | Click a guest name on a recent episode |
| 7 | Search across episodes | Archives are useless if you can't dig | Search a topic you covered two years ago |
| 8 | Email signup | The one audience you own | Find the signup form without hunting |
| 9 | Fast mobile load | Most listeners arrive on phones | Run the page through PageSpeed Insights |
| 10 | Your own domain | Credibility and portability | Look at the address bar |
| 11 | Sitemap in Search Console | Tells Google every page exists | Check the Sitemaps report |
| 12 | Contact and sponsor page | Sponsors and guests need a door | Find an email address in two clicks |
The podcast website checklist, item by item
1. A dedicated page for every episode
A list of episodes on one page is not the same as a page per episode. Google ranks pages, not lists. An episode about sourdough starters can only show up for "why is my sourdough starter not rising" if there is a URL dedicated to that episode with that topic written on it.
Check it in a minute: open your latest episode, copy the address, and confirm it is unique to that episode. Then search Google for site:yourshow.com plus a word from the episode title and see if the page comes back.
Some hosts only give you one page with a player and every episode stacked inside it. Many hosts offer basic episode pages, a WordPress podcast plugin can create them, and a tool like ShowHub builds them from your RSS feed or YouTube channel automatically and keeps them updated.
2. A working player above the fold
Someone who lands on an episode page should be able to press play without scrolling or hunting. Then open a typical show site on a phone: a banner, a cookie notice and a hero image have pushed the player halfway down.
Check it in a minute: load an episode page on your phone, on mobile data, and time how long it takes to hear audio. If you need to scroll, move the player up. If the player is an embed from your host, confirm it also works in a private browser window.
3. Subscribe and follow links to every platform
Different listeners use different apps, and a visitor who can't find yours will leave rather than search for it. Link to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Amazon Music, Overcast, Pocket Casts and anywhere else you publish, and keep the list current.
Check it in a minute: list every directory your show is in, then compare it with the links on your site. Click each one. Dead links to a deleted listing are worse than no link.
4. Show notes, and ideally a transcript
Search engines can't listen. Audio without text is a locked box, and a one-line description gives them almost nothing to work with. Useful show notes include a short summary, the main topics, timestamps, and links to anything mentioned. A transcript goes further because it contains every phrase someone might search for.
Check it in a minute: pick a random episode page and read only the text. Would a stranger understand what the episode covers and why it is worth an hour? If the answer is no, Google can't tell either.
Transcripts are optional. If your RSS feed or YouTube captions already include them, you may only need to display them. Our guide to podcast transcript pages covers the options, and the Podcasting 2.0 namespace documents the transcript tag that feeds can carry.
5. A clear about page and host introduction
People subscribe to a person or a point of view, not to a feed. An about page should say what the show is, who it is for, who makes it, and how often it comes out, in the first screen. Add a photo of the hosts. It does not need to be long, but it does need to exist.
Check it in a minute: show your homepage to someone who has never heard of the show for five seconds, then ask what it is about and who hosts it.
6. Guest pages or guest bios
On an interview show, every guest has an audience that might hear about the episode. A guest who finds a proper bio, a photo and a link to their own site on your page is far more likely to share it. Guest pages also end up ranking for the guest's name.
Check it in a minute: click a guest's name on a recent episode. If nothing happens, add at least a short bio and a link under the episode. A dedicated guest page that lists all their appearances is the next step.
7. Search across episodes
Past about fifty episodes, nobody scrolls the archive. A listener who remembers a freelancer-pricing episode will try to search for it, and if the site has no search, they leave.
Check it in a minute: search for a topic you covered a couple of years ago. If the right episode is not on the first page of results, search is either missing or weak. Category pages or seasons help too, and are worth adding if you publish in themes.
8. An email signup
Podcast apps and social platforms control how your listeners reach you. An email list is the one channel where you decide when to reach them. One short form, one clear promise (new episodes, a monthly note, show extras) and a real welcome message are enough.
Check it in a minute: from the homepage, find the signup without scrolling more than once. Sign up with a test address and confirm you receive a message.
9. Fast mobile load
A page that stalls for six seconds loses the listener who was ready to press play. Heavy hero images, auto-playing embeds and five tracking scripts are the usual culprits, and they hit phone users hardest.
Check it in a minute: paste an episode URL into PageSpeed Insights and look at the mobile result. You are not chasing a perfect score. You are looking for the one or two biggest red items, which are usually images and scripts.
10. Your own domain
A domain like yourshow.com is easier to say out loud on an episode, easier to remember, and yours to move if you ever change platforms. A subdomain on someone else's service is fine to start, but it ties your search history to their address.
Check it in a minute: look at the address bar. If it is yourshow.somehost.com, decide whether that is a temporary arrangement or a long-term one. If it is long-term, point your own domain at it.
11. A sitemap submitted to Google Search Console
A sitemap is a list of your pages that you hand to Google directly. For a podcast with hundreds of episodes, it helps Google find your back catalog sooner instead of waiting to stumble across it. Google explains the format in its sitemap documentation.
Check it in a minute: open Search Console, go to Sitemaps, and confirm that one is listed with a "Success" status. If you have never verified your site, do that first. It is free.
12. A contact and sponsor page
Sponsors, guests, press and fans all need to know where to send email. A page with a real address, a short note about who it is for, and for sponsors a few lines on your audience and formats saves you from an inbox of replies asking basic questions.
Check it in a minute: from the homepage, find a way to contact you in two clicks. If you take sponsors, check that the page says what you offer.
Running the podcast website checklist in one sitting
Work through the table with your phone in one hand. Items 1 to 4 and 9 take a few minutes. Items 5 to 8, 10 and 12 are page-by-page checks. Item 11 lives in Search Console.
For a machine-made first pass, the free Podcast SEO Audit looks at a site the way a search engine does. Paste your address and it shows what Google can find, which covers several of the items above (episode pages, readable text, sitemaps and metadata) without any setup. It won't judge your about page or your email signup, so treat it as a head start rather than a full review.
What to fix first
Not all twelve carry the same weight, and nobody needs to finish them in a weekend. Work in this order:
- Pages and player (items 1, 2, 3). Everything else depends on these.
- Readable text (items 4, 11). This is what turns a site into a source of search traffic.
- Trust (items 5, 6, 12). Cheap to write, and they change how visitors see the show.
- Growth (items 7, 8, 10). Do these once the basics are in place.
- Performance (item 9). Recheck after every change, because it drifts.
If you are starting from nothing, a free RSS-to-website tool gets you the first four items with almost no work. Our overview of podcast website builders compares the options, and a WordPress site with a podcast plugin is a perfectly good alternative if you already run one.
FAQ
What should a podcast website have at minimum?
An episode page for every episode, a player that works on mobile, links to the platforms where people listen, written show notes, an about section and a way to contact you. The other items in this list make the site better, but those basics are what separate a website from a link page.
Do I need a podcast website if I'm on Spotify and Apple Podcasts?
You don't need one to publish. You need one to be found. Podcast apps rank shows inside their own directories, but Google is where people search for answers, and only a website can capture that traffic. A site is also the one place where you control the design, the address and the email list.
How many episodes should a site show on the homepage?
Show the latest few episodes, a link to the full archive, and a way to search. A long unbroken list slows the page down and buries the best material. Featured or most popular episodes are a good addition once you have a few dozen.
Do podcast transcripts really help with SEO?
They give search engines the actual words spoken in the episode, which a short description can't. A transcript on a thin page will not outrank a strong article, but on niche topics it lets an episode appear for searches you never thought to put in the title.
How often should I run this checklist?
Run it when you launch, then again every quarter or whenever you change themes, hosts or domains. Item 9 (speed) and item 11 (sitemap) tend to break quietly after a redesign.
Score your podcast website checklist
Print the table, score yourself out of twelve, and fix the lowest-numbered item that fails.
For a tool to handle the first few, ShowHub's free Starter plan gives every episode in a feed its own page, on a site it hosts or on your WordPress site through its plugin, and the pricing page shows what moves to paid plans (custom domain, transcripts, SEO metadata). If you already have a site you like, run the free audit against it first.