WordPress

WordPress is the software that runs the site. The copy you download at wordpress.org is free. You still buy a web host and a domain, then install it. WordPress.com is a different product: they host it for you, with a free plan and paid plans. This listing is the site, not a podcast plugin. Castos and Blubrry already cover those. The weekly loop is: publish the episode at a real podcast host, then write a post here and paste their player.

It is for a company, a network, or a host who wants one site they own, with pages, a shop, and room to grow. The Podcast Host says the vast majority of self-hosted podcast sites run here. It is not for a first season that only wanted episode pages without a second job. People already use a podcast site builder for that. It is not the mailbox for the audio files. Dedicated hosts exist because websites choke when a lot of people grab a big file at once.

The appeal is control over the website and its extensions. Separate the self-hosted software from WordPress.com plans, and allow for hosting, backups and plugin maintenance. Start with a small site you can maintain reliably.

The later pain is maintenance. Extra tools break. Updates land. The site becomes a second job. That is the recurring talk, not a one-off. WordPress.com now lets paid plans install extra tools, but you are still on their rules. Do not upload the episode files to the web host and call it done. If the web host says unlimited, they did not mean a podcast.

Buy hosting that one-click installs WordPress, or start a WordPress.com site if you want them to hold the keys. Add About and Contact. Pick a simple theme. Publish at the podcast host first. Embed that player in a post. Skip the podcast plugins unless you already live in Castos or Blubrry. Keep backups. When you leave, the files stay at the podcast host. The pages are what you lose.

WordPress is a website engine you can grow for a decade, not a podcast host. The free software is the start. The upkeep is the deal. If you will maintain it, it holds. If you wanted autopilot episode pages, people already stay on a podcast site builder.