Podcasting on WP?

May 4, 2016 12:59 PM

Is there a good podcasting plugin for WP? Or do I need to roll my own?

I launched a podcast a few weeks ago on my WP site, and thought everything was going well. It embedded the audio, and everything seemed to work.

But then, when I went to Apple's "Podcasts Connects" thing, it tells me that my feed can't be verified, because it's not legitimate in some way.

So, simply put, what's the best way to publish one or more podcasts on the WP platform? Is there a great plugin that does this? Do I need to pay a third party? How do I get my podcast into the iTunes store? (I've got the artwork and everything already done ... )

posted by jbickers to Computers & Internet (10 answers total)

I've used the Blubrry PowerPress plugin for years, and it works like a charm. You can also set it up to manage multiple podcasts via categories. The plugin is free, although Blubrry would very much like you to use one of their paid stats or storage options.
posted by jess at 1:30 PM on May 4, 2016 [1 favorite]

Did you search the available plugins?. There are so many options.
posted by Mo Nickels at 2:22 PM on May 4, 2016

I have no personal experience with it but in the German podcast scene Podlove Publisher seems to be the thing to use with WordPress. (Knowing German is not necessary)
There is a whole ecosystem around this. The project initiator Tim Pritlove is a podcaster himself and has a very comprehensive vison how podcasting should be done easily for producers and listeners.
posted by mmkhd at 2:31 PM on May 4, 2016

Response by poster: Did you search the available plugins?. There are so many options.

Yeah, I did ... that's why I'm looking for some personal recommendations :>
posted by jbickers at 2:37 PM on May 4, 2016

Response by poster: ... and Blubrry seems to want a monthly fee to even activate. Why isn't this is a built-in feature to WP by now? It's just publishing a URL, isn't it?
posted by jbickers at 2:53 PM on May 4, 2016

I use the Seriously Simple Podcasting plugin. Works great, never had any issues with it. The only thing I don't like about it is there's no way to password-protect some feeds and not others.
posted by Automocar at 2:55 PM on May 4, 2016

Response by poster: I use the Seriously Simple Podcasting plugin. Works great, never had any issues with it.

That's the one that I'm using, but iTunes keeps saying that the feeds are not valid. Is there some setting there that I'm missing? I've got a 3000x3000 square graphic, I think I have the right URL ... am I missing something?
posted by jbickers at 3:05 PM on May 4, 2016

It's almost impossible to say. If you feel comfortable, Memail me a username and password and your URL and I'll take a look. Also it would help to know the exact iTunes error you're getting.
posted by Automocar at 3:12 PM on May 4, 2016

I use Blubrry Powerpress (just looked it up) v 6.1 and I don't pay a monthly fee at all. I am using self-hosted Wordpress, and I'm pretty sure I downloaded and installed the plugin via FTP. Works like a charm. I do run my feed through Google's old FeedBurner service, and I think it does a bit of extra validation.
posted by sleeping bear at 6:58 PM on May 4, 2016

Response by poster: OK, here's the feed that Seriously Simple Podcasting gives me:

http://www.jamesbickers.com/feed/podcast/you-matter

There's an appropriately sized graphic associated with it, and I think I have all of the right boxes checked. But the Podcast Connect thing just says "invalid," without giving any more detail.

Any help anyone could offer would be much appreciated. Thank you!
posted by jbickers at 7:58 AM on May 5, 2016