Our obviously disclaimer is that we built Podpage. The good news is we didn't build Podpage for ALL podcasters. It won't meet everyone's needs, and we recommend Wordpress to a lot of customers. So while we're obviously biased, we'll try to compare the two as honestly as possible.
Why Wordpress rocks
Customization. There's a reason Wordpress is the most popular web content management system on the planet. It's fantastic. It's robust, has an enormous community of developers, and endless plugins to add functionality your site. If you know how to code, you can customize the look and feel of your site a million ways, and if you don't, there are a ton of themes you can buy to make your site look great.
Add-ons. There are also a bunch of plugins created specifically to make creating podcast websites eaiser. There are some that create new posts every time you release a new episode, some that make social sharing easier, optimize your site for Google, and a lot more.
Basically, Wordpress is king. And if you have the time to learn all about it and want ever bell and whistle, it's definitely the best. It's the pro solution.
Why Wordpress isn't perfect
There are two big cons to Wordpress: Time and Cost.
Time: Launching a Wordpress site is a big task. It might seem simple, but there's a steep learning curve to make all the configurations necessary for a podcaster (there are great guides out there though). So it will take a LOT of your time and energy. Also, it takes time to maintain.
Cost: Although you can get the core Wordpress software for free, there are a lot of costs to take into account. Here are just a few:
- Hosting can cost $100/year (example, Bluehost is $8/month after the initial promotion is over https://www.bluehost.com/hosting/shared).
- Backups can cost extra depending who you use. The BackWPUp service, for example, is $69/year.
- Plugin costs can add up. Here's a rundown of commonly recommended Pro plugins for podcasters: Social Warfare Pro is $29/year, Pretty Links Pro is $50/year, Yoast SEO Pro is $89/year, SearchWP is $99/year. And this is just scratching the surface! There are a lot more you might need.
There are more, but with the small set mentioned above, you're spending $432/year. You probably won't need all these, but we're just trying to say, it's not free.
Also, users have reported the ongoing maintenance of a Wordpress site is a bit of a pain. Lots of plugs to update, code to maintain, etc...
Why Podpage rocks
Simple. Podpage lets you set up a website in less than 5 minutes. It's got a lot of design customization, and you can easily build a great looking, automatically updated site that fits you brand and is mobile and search engine friendly.
No Extra Costs. There are no plugins to buy. It comes with hosting, backups, and security. It's automatically optimized for Google, mobile devices, accessibiltiy.
Cost. It's free, $9 or $15 per month. $9 gets you the basic site, $15 gets you full design customizations and a ton more features. Plus you need to buy a custom domain for $10-20 from Google Domains, GoDaddy, etc...
Support. Basically, it's hands off and easy to build and maintain without any technical knowledge in very, very little time. And the team supports you 100% through email and Slack.
Why Podpage isn't perfect
Limited. If you want limitless customization or endless plugins, Podpage might not be powerful enough for you. It gives you the ability to customize a lot, but it doesn't have every bell and whistle you could want. You can link out from your Podpage to other sites (like an online Store) but you might not be able to do everything you want on your actual website.
For many people, this level of customization isn't necessary. And Podpage is a great solution. But for some, who need a lot more power, and can afford the time and cost of configuing a Wordpress site, then Wordpress is definitely a better option.
Verdict
Podpage and Wordpress are for different types of users. And you wont know what's better until you try them both. Our advice (again, biased): take 10 minutes and see how far you can get with Podpage. Enter your podcast name here and see if the websites that are generated fit your needs. You dont even need to create an account to test it. If you want a lot more, then certainly go to Wordpress.
Dave from the School of Podcasting says it best:
If you hate WordPress but want something a little more powerful than the built-in website that comes with your media host then you might want to check out Podpage.
It does everything I want it to do. It looks good. And it's set it and forget it.
Either way, send us feedback about what you think!
