Squarespace for Podcasting: What You Should Know
If you currently own a business that utilizes a podcast as a marketing channel, it means you have one MORE thing to consider when choosing a website design platform for your business.
You want something that will look great, have all the capabilities you need for running your business (from booking calendars to sales pages,) AND host your show notes in an organized, clean way.
For the sake of this post, I’m going to be using the phrase “show notes.” However, I don’t recommend traditional show notes when it comes to sharing your podcast content on your website. I recommend turning your show notes into full-blown blog posts, which you can read more about here.
It can feel extremely overwhelming to find a platform that 1) allows you to do all of this in a way that keeps your website looking professional, and 2) will grow with your business over time!
Today, I’m covering everything you need to know about Squarespace for hosting your podcast notes - and telling you exactly why Squarespace is a great choice for doing so.
Is Squarespace good for podcasting?
I am a Squarespace website designer, but I promise that doesn’t make me (too) biased! :)
Squarespace is great for podcasting because of all the amazing features it offers for business owners who want to showcase their podcast notes on their website.
From its clean layouts and designs to easy-to-implement SEO (search engine optimization), Squarespace boasts several features that make it stand out from other options, especially when it comes to podcast notes.
Before discussing these features, there are some limitations to adding podcasts on certain types of Squarespace websites, including the following:
Your site must be a paid site in order to upload your content to Apple Podcasts, so sites still in the trial phase won’t work for this.
Likewise, if your website (or even just your blog page) is password protected, it can’t be uploaded to Apple Podcasts.
Podcast feeds can only feature up to 300 of your most recent episodes.
Squarespace doesn’t support video content, such as video podcasts.
There is an upload limit of 160 MB for audio files, so be mindful of this when recording and uploading your podcast episodes.
With that being said, ensure your website is set up and ready to feature your podcast before advertising its launch date, if applicable.
Now, let’s get into the features of Squarespace that make it a fantastic option for hosting your podcast!
Separate blog
Something great about Squarespace is that it allows you to have more than one blog on your website, meaning you can have a separate blog entirely to house your podcast show notes.
This way, your notes won’t get mixed up with other content on your blog and can be found easily by those looking for them. This is perfect in case you have any worries about how to set up a podcast on Squarespace without taking away from your other, already-existing content.
Clean layout and design
In addition, all of Squarespace's (many) templates have a clean layout and design, allowing you to maintain organized branding while showcasing your content.
This is especially important when it comes to showcasing your podcast notes. People are coming to find specific information or recaps quickly, and don’t want to do extensive searching - otherwise, they could spend the time listening to the podcast itself!
In addition, these layouts make it easy to organize your full-length podcast episodes in a way that makes it easy to browse and toggle between content.
Ability to embed audio player inside show notes
If you do want to include snippets of your podcast in your show notes, Squarespace allows you to do just that by embedding audio players.
This is great for those looking to give their audience an organized, condensed version of their podcast without losing the connection that comes with speaking to them directly and allowing them to hear their voice.
In addition, you can, of course, upload your full podcast episodes, as long as they are under 160 MB for easy access on your website.
However, you can easily embed a podcast episode from a third party tool like Buzzsprout or Podbean using the code block inside Squarespace.
Ability to add sidebar
It can be difficult to promote additional resources/programs inside your show notes without overwhelming them and making them difficult to navigate for your audience.
Squarespace solves this problem by allowing you to add a sidebar to your blog where you can feature additional items like programs, courses, or freebies for your audience without cluttering your show notes.
I would recommend the sidebar plugin from SQSP Themes.
Easy-to-implement SEO
SEO is extremely important for all facets of your website, including your show notes - after all, this allows people to find your content through internet search instead of via a direct link.
Squarespace makes implementing SEO super easy, even allowing you to give your podcast episode two different titles - one on the public interface of your website, and one on the backend of your website. With this feature, you can make the title that appears to viewers conversational while keeping the title on the backend SEO-friendly for Google.
Examples of this might be “Starting a Coaching Program that Doesn’t Flop” for your conversational title, and “How to Start a Coaching Business” for your title on the backend, or “Why You Have to Stop Saying No to Yourself” for your conversational title and “How to Set Boundaries in Relationships” for your SEO title on the backend.
This is a great feature that Squarespace offers, and I definitely recommend that every podcast host make use of it in order to boost SEO without being forced to use awkward, common, or boring titles for their episodes.
How do I add a podcast to Squarespace?
You can easily add a podcast to your Squarespace website through adding a blog page and formatting it to fit your podcast episodes. You can even add interviewee info, cover art, and more!
To do so, simply follow these steps:
1. Go to Pages
2. Click the + icon under the not linked section
3. Add a blog page and name it podcast
4. Add a post and insert your content, images and audio file (or embedded code)
5. Hit publish
Squarespace podcast examples
There are plenty of websites that perfectly showcase what an amazing Squarespace podcast can look like.
Here are a couple examples from my client Elise’s website...
If you are currently looking for a Squarespace and Showit website designer to help you create a website that displays your business professionally and artistically (and allows you to utilize the marketing channel of your podcast in the same place,) feel free to check out my services below.
I love meeting potential clients and learning about their businesses!
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