How to Get Started with PowerPress Podcasting Plugin for WordPress by Blubrry

In this tutorial you will learn how to install and set up the popular PowerPress plugin by Blubrry. It is a popular free podcasting plugin for WordPress with over 60,000 active installations.

For this tutorial I will use the Podcast Plus WordPress theme.

Let’s begin.

Video Transcription

Install PowerPress Podcasting Plugin

Go to your Dashboard and open the Add New page in the Plugins section. Search for PowerPress. 

Click on the Install Now button and then on the Activate button. 

PowerPress Configuration Settings

A simple setup wizard will begin. I’ll follow the steps required for a new podcast without any existing episodes. 

You can type the Podcast title, select the main category and upload a podcast cover image. 

If you think that the minimum image size is exaggerated, that’s because of Apple Podcasts guidelines.

I will self-host, without signing up for Blubrry hosting. 

Before we create a new episode, let’s look at some of the settings. 

In the Podcast Feeds panel, it is recommended to check these 3 checkboxes. 

In the Feed Settings panel, you can edit some of the details about your podcast. You can also change the Feed Language. 

If you want to submit your podcast feed to different podcast directories, then you will have to pay attention to the Ratings Settings and the Apple Settings panels.

Some settings are OK with their default values, but some require your attention. 

Now the Website tab. 

These settings will change the way your podcast episodes and the media players will work on your own website. 

In the Blog Posts & Pages tab, you can select the location of the media player. 

I’ll put it above page content for a consistent look. I don’t want the player to be buried below a long episode description. 

Go to the Destinations tab if you want to submit your podcast to podcast directories and to add more subscribe links below the player.

Publish your first podcast episode

Finally, let’s publish our first episode. 

What I like about PowerPress is that by default it works with regular posts. So if you have some blog posts on your website too, simply create a new category to group your episodes. This is not required, but will help you keep things organized. 

I’ll set the title for my first episode and select the Podcast category. You can of course set a featured image, add some tags, but that’s optional. 

Now let’s get to the part that I dislike about the plugin: adding your media file is very inconvenient. You have to manually paste the URL of your file. There is no upload button in this panel, so you will have to manually open your Media Library in a new browser tab. Go straight to the Upload New Media page. 

Upload a file and then click on the Edit link. On the right side of the page click on the Copy URL to clipboard button and close this tab.

Now paste the URL in the Media URL field.

If your file path is valid then you will get the green light to publish your post.

But if your file path is invalid, for example you have an image file, then you will get an error. 

To try again, click the Edit Media File link on the right. 

Let’s publish our post and open our homepage. 

If we open the episode page then we get the additional actions under the player.

Now here’s something else that you can do with the plugin.

Open the Customize page and go to the Widgets panel. Open your primary sidebar, if your theme has one.

Now click on the Add a Widget button and select the Subscribe to Podcast widget. By default it will be added below all other widgets, so let’s drag it to the top. 

Some appearance options are available, so feel free to experiment.

You can also add a copy of the widget to a horizontal area, for example in the footer.

The Rounded style works great in the footer of the Podcast Plus WordPress theme.

Congratulations! Now you have a basic understanding of how to install and use the PowerPress plugin by Blubrry.