5+ Fantastic WordPress Podcast Plugins
Turns out The Buggles had it all wrong – video decidedly did not kill the radio star. Sure, a lot of commercial radio is just bots churning out playlists now, but the talk medium has had a resurgence with the rise in popularity of the podcast form. And with any of these WordPress podcast plugins, you can bring a voice to your website.
The reason podcasts have had such a rise in popularity recently is not the simple fact commercial radio has changed format. They are also easy and cheap to make compared to professionally produced video. This makes them interesting to content creators catering to niche interests, but that needn’t be the rule. There are podcasts about anything, from pen addiction (yes, pen addiction) to all things design you can listen to. On a more utilitarian side, you could use the audio form for something like user instructions or as a training tool, especially for visually-impaired people.
So, whether you are introducing a podcast to your WordPress website, or you’re building a website around an existing podcast (especially if you are also using a podcast theme), you’re bound to find something for you on this list of podcast plugins for WordPress. .These plugins will uplift any website, even those that are not built with podcast WordPress themes.
For starters, there‘s the PowerPress Podcasting Plugin by Blubrry. This plugin comes in two modes: simple and advanced. The simple mode puts emphasis on ease of use, and we found it great for beginners. With the simple mode, you only have the essential settings to worry about, so a multitude of options will not overwhelm you. When you feel more confident, you can really get to the nuts and bolts of PowerPress.
With this plugin, you can position the player anywhere on your page using a simple shortcode. It comes integrated with subscription tools and a custom subscribe page. With the advanced options, use SEO settings to improve the chances of your podcast being discovered through Apple and Google feeds. You can use PowerPress Podcasting Plugin to create multiple podcasts, too, and it also supports video podcasting.
Why PowerPress Podcasting Plugin may be great for you:
- Subscribe Sidebar Widget
- Compatible With iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, and TuneIn
- Responsive
- Skip to Position Shortcode
- Free Of Charge
Libsyn is, first and foremost, a hosting service. However, Libsyn does offer a podcasting plugin, but only to its users. The publishing plugin, while not specifically created for podcasters, includes all the key features and functionalities a podcast needs. And while Libsyn hosting is required, the plugin will pull in all previously published episodes in case you decide to switch host with its automated migration functionality. Libsyn also automatically generates a feed for all your posts.
Hosting your files with Libsyn while hosting a website on another server also means that your website and RSS feed and media files are independent, so your podcast will be independent of whether your website is currently running or not – an important considerations for users concerend with safety.
Why Libsyn Publisher Hub may be great for you:
- Monetization Options
- Stats and Analytics
- Easy Upload
Using minimal settings and a native WordPress interface, Seriously Simple Podcasting is indeed what it says it is. It is integrated with Castos, a podcast hosting platform, and indeed developed by the same people. It sports a beautifully designed, customizable media player with options for a full size with cover image or a compact version.
Seriously Simple Podcasting also comes with a library of add-ons. One free add-on, for instance, will allow you to gather stats on your listeners, while another will let you embed transcripts into your episode posts. This plugin comes with shortcodes for single episodes, playlists, and episode lists, and, you can also generate multiple RSS feeds, in case you are running multiple podcasts from the same website.
Why Seriously Simple Podcasting may be great for you:
- New Post Types
- Regular Speakers Add-On
- Compatible With iTunes, Google Play, and Stitcher
Buzzsprout is another plugin which requires you to host your podcast with the developer. It does, however, come included with any Buzzsprout plan. Conveniently, it also comes with a specialized migration tool which will help you relocate your podcast to your new host. This plugin is also compatible with several HTML5 and even Flash audio players, so you shouldn‘t expect any compatibility issues.
The package also includes play count statistics, as you certainly must be interested in who your visitors are and how popular your content is, with in-deapth insights such as total plays over time, listener location, and trends. The developers have also included a beginners‘ guide on podcasts which may be useful for you even if you choose not to use Buzzsprout at all.
Why Buzzsprout may be great for you:
- Easy To Use
- iTunes Support
- FeedBurner Compatible
With Podcast Player, you get a comprehensive podcast plugin with all the bells and whistles. Fortunately, it does offer a minimum setup with just the basic options: simply drag the widget from the Available Widgets section on the dashboard to an available widget area, enter the feed URL, and you‘re set.
The advanced options include controls to change what your widget pulls in from from the feed, sort and filter episodes, and change the colour of the player. The same can be done with a simple shortcode, if you prefer it that way. The player is completely mobile responsive, and you can use multiple instances of the player on the same page, allowing you to run several podcast feeds on your website at any one time.
Why Podcast Player may be great for you:
- All Details from Feed URL
- Show or Hide Player Elements
- Social Media Ready
Podlove promises to make a less complex, less awkward podcast publishing tool, and delivers – to an extent. The setup works as with any plugin, and the options for episode publication are uncomplicated and still comprehensive. Podlove also supports all modern codecs, and even Flash, so you don‘t have to do any of the conversion work yourself.
This plugin also allows you to track downloads, listens per episode, and other user activity, host your files anywhere you like, and is fully GDPR compliant – though, as with other GDPR considerations, you need to do the actual work yourself. All the player features ar modular, so you can have a lot of say in what your player looks like. The plugin is completely free, but support isn‘t.
Why Podlove may be great for you:
- Subscribe Buttons
- Custom Templating
- Optimized Web Player
Fusebox Smart Podcast Player offers a comprehensive solution for advanced content creators. The free version offers you a sticky, mobile-friendly player which works on the entire website, but the pro version has a much broader gamut of options.
Apart form the expected player options (episode list, fast-forward, rewind, and replay speed), all present and correct in the plugin, you also get a special SEO-friendly transcript plugin for easy formatting and sharing, and, if you want, you can even let your listeners and other visitors (such as the hearing impaired) download them as PDFs for later reading. It goes without saying that the episodes themselves may be downloaded straight from the player.
Why Fusebox may be great for you:
- Timestamps (Pro Only)
- Colour Customization (Pro Only)
- Custom Sort (Pro Only)
- Light And Dark Themes
If you are looking to create audio versions of your blog posts, AWS for WordPress may be just the thing for you. It is specifically designed to integrate with Amazon, does require you to have an AWS account, though. With nearly 30 languages and several voices to choose from, this text-to-speech service turns your posts into audio, which you can then easily export to iTunes.
The main drawback is that it only works well with text: some users have reported the plugin doesn‘t work well if HTML tags, widgets or images are present in the post. Still, this might go a long way towards catering to visually-impaired users.
Why AWS for WordPress may be great for you:
- Pronunciation Lexicons
- Amazon Translate Compatible
Finally, Podcast Subscribe Buttons lets you include over 40 subscribe buttons specifically geared towards podcasting. This plugin lets you easily display links for items across various podcast platforms, including links to pages, RSS feeds, or URI links for external applications. The plugin offers icons for most popular podcast-related services, and the developers have even offered to create a new icon if you need one.
With this plugin, you simply create a new element (Subscribe Button) and adjust the default settings.
Why Podcast Subscribe Buttons may be great for you:
- 40+ Buttons
- Frequent Updates
- New Buttons On Demand
To Conclude
So, this is our list of plugins of interest to any podcaster or indeed any audio content creator. Whether you are doing a full-on professional video podcast, a dramatic audio production, or simple instructional content, we believe that with this list of WordPress podcast plugins, you are fully equipped to take on any podcasting-related challenge.
We hope this article was helpful. If you liked it, feel free to check out some of these articles as well!
