You can use a Blog Page to publish and syndicate a podcast with Squarespace. Blog posts containing Audio Blocks appear in your RSS feed so listeners can use a podcast service like Apple Podcasts to subscribe and download new episodes.
This guide shows how to set up a Blog Page for podcasting, add syndication information, and submit your podcast RSS feed to Apple Podcasts.
Tip: iTunes Podcasts rebranded as Apple Podcasts.
Before you begin
- Only blog posts with Audio Blocks can be used for creating a podcast. Apple Podcasts won't recognize other pages with Audio Blocks.
- You can post other blog posts without Audio Blocks on the same Blog Page. These won’t sync to Apple Podcasts.
- Squarespace formats RSS feeds using the podcasting standards set by Apple Podcasts, but you can share your feed with other subscription services. This guide refers to Apple Podcasts as the default podcast subscription service.
- Squarespace-generated RSS feeds include the 100 most recent podcast episodes.
- When adding your first podcasting Blog Page, we recommend creating a URL slug you’re happy with from the beginning. Changing your URL slug later can affect your RSS feed and may cause issues with syndication.
Step 1 - Use a Blog Page
To podcast with Squarespace, you’ll need a Blog Page. The Blog Page creates your podcast, and every blog post on the page with an Audio Block will be its own podcast episode. If a post has more than one Audio Block, only the first Audio Block will appear as an episode in Apple Podcasts.
To add a new Blog Page, in the Home Menu, click Pages, then click the + icon to add a Blog Page.
To use an existing Blog Page, continue to the next step.
Step 2 - Open Podcast Setup
Squarespace uses universal tags to update your RSS feed with your podcast's information. These RSS tags set titles, categories, owner information, Cover Art image, and other information for your podcast. Apple Podcasts requires this information when you submit a podcast.
Tip: For Apple's technical specifications for podcasting, visit their documentation.
Use these steps to add your information:
- In the Home Menu, click Pages.
- Hover over the blog page title, and click the
next to the title to open Blog Page Settings.
next to the title to open Blog Page Settings.
- In the Blog Settings window, click the Syndication tab.
- Under Podcasting Setup, click Connect.
Step 3 - Enter podcast details
In the Podcasting Setup window, complete the fields with your podcast's information. These details help listeners find and identify your podcast in Apple Podcasts. All fields are required by Apple Podcasts, except for Copyright. You may have to scroll down to see all the fields.
| Title |
Your podcast title |
| Author | Author of the podcast |
| Subtitle | Podcast tagline |
| Summary | Displays as the podcast's description |
| Owner Name | Not visible in Apple Podcasts |
| Owner Email | Not visible in Apple Podcasts |
| Copyright (Optional) | Copyright information for your podcast |
| Explicit Content | Check if your podcast contains explicit content. |
| Feed Type |
|
| Categories | Select up to three categories and subcategories. Apple Podcasts uses the first category to list your podcast. Additional categories are used for search. |
| Cover Art Image | See the next step |
| Change your Feed URL | See Transferring a podcast to or away from Squarespace |
Step 4 - Upload podcast artwork
To upload cover art for your podcast, scroll down and drag your image into the image uploader, then click Connect.
Follow these guidelines for podcast artwork:
- Square .jpg or .png file
- At least 1400px × 1400px, but no larger than 3000px × 3000px
- RGB color format
- 72 DPI
Step 5 - Post your first episode
To submit your podcast to Apple Podcasts for syndication, you must first post an episode. Follow the steps in Posting a podcast episode, then continue with Step 6.
Step 6 - Find your RSS feed URL
Your RSS URL is based on your built-in domain and blog page name. Using your built-in Squarespace URL, it will be:
http://yoursitename.squarespace.com/blogname?format=rss
Replace “yoursitename” and “blogname” with your built-in domain and Blog Page title.
Tip: While you can use a custom domain here (http://customdomainname.com/blogname?format=rss), to ensure stability we recommend using your built-in .squarespace.com URL. The URL won't be visible anywhere on Apple Podcasts or to your subscribers. If you prefer to use a custom third-party domain, ensure it's mapped properly.
For more help, visit Finding your RSS feed URL.
Step 7 - Submit your podcast to Apple Podcasts
Follow these steps to submit your podcast to Apple Podcasts for approval:
After submitting your podcast, you'll receive an email from Apple Podcasts saying they received your submission. You'll receive another email once it's approved.
Updating your podcast
Once you successfully set up your podcast, each blog post with an Audio Block added to this Blog Page will publish as an episode. If a post has more than one Audio Block, the first Audio Block will appear as an episode in Apple Podcasts.
Apple Podcasts refreshes podcasts about once every 24 hours, so this is normally how long updates to the feed will take.
Tip: If it's important that this happens faster, log in to your Podcasts Connect dash and click Refresh Feed. However, Apple Podcasts warns podcasters not to do this too often—it should be for special circumstances, not every new episode.
Creating multiple podcasts
If you publish multiple podcasts through your site, create a unique Blog Page for each podcast, and submit them for syndication separately. Each post on a Blog Page creates a new episode, but all posts on a Blog Page are considered part of single podcast by Apple Podcasts and other subscription services.