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How to Add a Podcast Feed to Your WordPress Site

In this article, we'll show you how to display podcast feeds in an audio player on your website. Using this method, you can promote your podcast or curate a collection of podcasts tailored to your site's audience.Β  Follow along with step-by-step instructions and see how easy it is to add any podcast feed to your WordPress site.
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Screenshots showing how WP RSS Aggregator displays podcast feeds in a grid-style template, in the posts feed, and an episode as an individual post.

Need to add a podcast feed to your WordPress site?

Many podcasts have an RSS feed, making it easier to offer a curated collection of podcasts tailored to your website’s readers. All you need to achieve this is this guide’s invaluable tools.

With millions of podcasts available, you have a nearly unlimited supply of valuable content for your website at your fingertips.

Thanks to WP RSS Aggregator, it’s easy to add any podcast feed with an audio player to your WordPress site.

For example, Jean Galea uses WP RSS Aggregator to display an audio player with his Mastermind.fm podcast on his website.

A screenshot of a podcast in an audio player imported via RSS feed.

Every time a new episode is released, the player updates automatically.

Sounds good, right? Wait, it gets better!

In this post, we’ll show you how to offer podcast feeds in an audio player on your website – and even automatically publish posts for each episode.

Using WP RSS Aggregator, you are not limited to only your podcast. You can add any podcast feed from any podcast to your website.

Let’s dive right in!

How to Show Any Podcast Feed on Your Website

To show podcast feeds with an audio player like the following example, you’ll need the base WP RSS Aggregator plugin to add podcast feeds and the $39 Templates add-on for adding the audio player.

A screenshot of podcasts added to a website with the plugin's grid template type.
Podcast feeds with an audio player

Before we get into the in-depth tutorial, I’d like to introduce the plugin. WP RSS Aggregator and its add-ons make it easy to add podcast feeds by simply inserting the WP RSS Aggregator feeds block in the editor.

A screenshot of adding the WP RSS Aggregator Feeds block in the WordPress editor.

You can then use the block settings to customize the block’s appearance.

A screenshot of the block settings for the WP RSS Aggregator feed block with a field to include or exclude feed sources.

Note: WP RSS Aggregator offers the Feed to Post add-on that generates a post with an audio player for each episode in a podcast feed. More on adding a podcast feed using this method later in the post.

Now that we have the right tools for the job, let’s find some podcast feeds to show off.

WP RSS Aggregator

Showcase podcast episodes on your WordPress site in minutes!

Take me to the plugin!

Finding Podcast Feeds

Finding a feed source URL for a podcast can be tricky. To find a feed for your podcast, you’ll need to check with your podcast host.

For example, Castos users can find their podcast’s feed URL under Podcast Settings > Distribution.

If you’re interested in starting your own podcast, Castos has created the free Seriously Simple Podcasting plugin to help you create and manage your podcast, right from inside the WordPress dashboard.

πŸŽ™οΈ Check out our podcast episode with Craig Hewitt from Castos to learn more about what Castos has to offer.

A screenshot of Castos'' account dashboard with the podcast feed url displayed.

Another way to find any podcast’s feed URL is by visiting the show’s website and searching the page’s source code.

To do that, you’ll head over to a show’s website and right-click anywhere on the page, selecting View Page Source in the contextual menu.

A screenshot of selecting view page source from the right-click menu in Chrome.

Once you see the page’s source code, press and hold ctrl and F to open the find tool. Enter ‘feed’ or ‘rss’ in the search field and press enter. The page scrolls to the highlighted search term, leading you right to the podcast’s feed URL.

A screenshot of using ctrl f to find the word feed in a podcast feed url located in the podcast's page source code.

In this case, the podcast’s feed URL is https://mastermind.fm/feed/podcast/. You can easily copy it by right-clicking on the link and selecting Copy Link Address.

A screenshot of using the right-click menu to copy the feed url in the source code.

Installing the Plugin & Add-on

Now that you’ve got some feed sources, you’re ready to install the plugins.

First, download and install the core WP RSS Aggregator plugin by going to Plugins > Add New. Then select Upload Plugin, and click Browse to upload the .zip file.

Screenshot of installing the plugin at Plugins > Add new

After clicking Install Now, activate the plugin by clicking the blue Activate Plugin button.

Activating the plugin by clicking Activate Plugin

Repeat the install process with the Templates add-on, and then it’s time to add the podcast feed sources.

Adding Feed Sources

Grab those podcast feed URLs and go to RSS Aggregator > Feed Sources, then click the Add New button.

A screenshot showing the location of the Feed Sources link on the left side of the WordPress Admin and the location of the Add New button at the top of the page.

Enter a name for the feed and the podcast’s feed URL.

A screenshot of the new feed source page for WP RSS Aggregator with fields for the feed source name and the RSS feed url.

With the Templates add-on, you can show the featured image for episodes and set a default image to display when there’s no featured image. We’ll select Auto-detect best image from the drop-down.

A screenshot showing the featured image options each feed source displays with the Templates add-on installed.

Click Publish to add the feed. Optionally, you can repeat this process to add more podcast feeds from different shows.

Now that we have some podcasts to show off, let’s create a template to display them in an audio player.

Setting Up Templates

First, go to RSS Aggregator > Templates, then click on Add New.

Adding a new template to WP RSS Aggregator

Enter a template name, and select the template type you’d prefer from the drop-down menu.

A screenshot showing the dropdown menu with the list of available template types.

The earlier example uses the Grid template type.

A screenshot example of the grid template showing podcast feeds and audio players.

The options for each template type are a bit different. At a minimum, you’ll want to enable the audio player.

For the Grid template type, you’ll find a preview of the template and a drag and drop interface to customize it. Be sure to check the option for Audio Player.

A screenshot of the grid template settings with the option for adding a podcast feed with an audio player to your WordPress site.

We are also using three columns for our example template. You’ll find this setting beneath the preview.

For the Lists or Excerpts & Thumbnails templates, scroll down a bit to check the option to Show Audio Player.

A screenshot showing the audio player option and thumbnail settings for the excerpts and thumbnails template type.

Using the Excerpts & Thumbnails template, you can also find several other appearance options for the thumbnail’s position, size, and default fallback image.

Click Publish, and we’re off to the editor, where we have some podcasts to display!

Displaying Podcast Feeds On Your Website

On a page or post in the editor, we’ll add podcast feeds by clicking the + icon and selecting the WP RSS Aggregator Feeds block.

A screenshot showing how to add the WP RSS Aggregator feeds block in the WordPress editor.

By default, the block uses a list format. To use the template you created, select it from the drop-down menu in the block settings under Display Options.

A screenshot showing the block settings on the right hand pane with the templates available in a dropdown menu.

You can also set which feed sources you’d like to display using the block settings, allowing you to organize your content by feed source or topic.

Click Update or Publish to see (and hear!) your podcast feeds.

Displaying Podcasts as Blog Posts

Instead of showing podcast feeds with the block editor, you can take advantage of Feed to Post’s features and let WordPress handle the rest. This nifty plugin automatically generates a post for each item in an RSS feed.

A screenshot showing the podcast episodes as blog posts created by Feed to Post.

In this case, it will generate a post for each episode in a podcast feed. As usual, your theme will determine the appearance of the blog feed and posts.

A screenshot of a WordPress post showing a podcast episode created by adding a podcast feed and the Feed to Post plugin extension.

To get this setup, you’ll need the Feed to Post add-on, which you can download here for $79. To install it, go to Plugins > Add New, then click Upload Plugin. Click Browse to select the .zip file.

Screenshot of installing the plugin at Plugins > Add new

After that, you’ll click Install Now and Activate Plugin.

A screenshot showing the activate plugin button after installing feed to post plugin.

With Feed to Post installed, there are now many more options for each feed source under RSS Aggregator > Feed Sources. At a minimum, to make sure your posts show up automatically and display an audio player, you’ll want to review two settings in each feed source.

Under General, select Post as the post type and Published as the post status.

A screenshot showing the dropdown menus with the options to set the post type and post status.

Then check the option to Show Audio Player.

A screenshot showing the option to show an audio player with podcasts.

Click Publish, and head over to your blog posts for the big reveal.

Drumroll, please!

Feed to Post plugin displaying podcast feeds as WordPress posts.

That’s looking good!

Now you’re all set up to create posts for podcasts on auto-pilot, and you can do it with any podcast. Your website monitors the feeds and publishes a post when a new episode is released.

Conclusion

With WP RSS Aggregator, it’s possible to add any RSS feed to your website, even multiple feeds.

Using this plugin, you can tap into an unlimited supply of unique content offered by millions of podcasts and give your website’s audience an endless source of fresh, fine-tuned information they are sure to enjoy.

WP RSS Aggregator

Showcase podcast episodes on your WordPress site in minutes!

Take me to the plugin!

Now that you know how to add podcast feeds to your WordPress site, we’d love to hear how you’ve decided to use all your favorite podcasts on your website. Let us know in the comments below!

With over a decade of experience as a WordPress professional, Emily has a penchant for writing how-to articles that help people use WordPress to achieve their online goals.

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