Websites 101! What You NEED to Know as a Christian Podcaster!

Hey Friend!

Have you ever wondered if you need a business website to become a successful Christian podcaster? I get asked all the time about websites! Do I need a website to be a podcaster? Where should I host it? What do I include? What about cost? So I’ve decided to answer all your questions in this blog, website 101 for podcasting. I cover everything you need to know, from starting out and your best options for free or cheap sites to top-of-the-line options for advanced podcasters. 

I even give you a sneak peek into my complete rebrand and process for deciding when the time was right to uplevel my website. 

* This post contains affiliate links. This means that I get a percentage of sales at no additional cost to you. 

Business Website 101: A Complete Guide for Every Christian Podcaster

Do I need a business website as a Christian podcaster? 

The short answer? Yes, you do. I’ve used everything from completely scrappy and simple DIY websites to expensive, completely designer sites in my podcasting journey. In fact, I built my business to multi six-figures before I had the money to do a rebrand and get a fancy, custom, designer site. While you don’t need a fancy site, you do need a site. 

When launching your brand, the order of priority goes something like this:

1. You need a podcast; this drives traffic to your brand and builds a relationship with your audience and potential customers 
2. Next, you need a paid product. This is how you monetize your show. 
3. You need somewhere to put your paid product, so you need a website. You really should do these together. 

Think of your brand like a book. Your podcast is the front cover, getting everyone into your world. It is the main thing because, without it, you have no people to market to. Next, your podcast content is like your book’s chapters. You don’t need many to get started; one or two chapters are plenty. Lastly, your website is the back cover of the book. Once you’re starting to monetize, that’s the book’s price, the way you make money from it. Everything else is like the icing on the cake. 

For the first six months, all you need is the book. Start scrappy and scale to success. So, since you need a website, what are your options?

Top 5 business website options as a Christian podcaster

1. Your landing page software

A scrappy one-page site is the easiest and simplest way to get yourself started. All you need is Get Response, MailChimp or MailerLite, and you can use your free landing page as your temporary one-page site! Building a one-page website on a landing page will look super simple and probably a little busted. But hey, it’s free! It’s a great place to start, especially if you’re at $0 and can’t afford to spend anything yet. 

• Price Point: Free
• Longevity: Temporary – upgrade as soon as possible
• Pros: Price (free), gets you started
• Cons: Temporary, can look tacky, only one page, no SEO

2. Wix

Wix is your easiest option for a drag-and-drop website builder. It is super inexpensive but comes at the cost of SEO, keywords, growth, and scaling. While Wix is great if you want to build your website yourself, remember it is the least flexible option going forward. So you will have to migrate to another platform eventually. It also has a blogging feature which is a plus.

• Price Point: Very cheap
• Longevity: Good place to start but won’t grow with you. 
• Pros: Super affordable, extremely easy to use
• Cons: Poor SEO, lack of scalability, not flexible

3. Weebly

Weebly is where I started, and I used them for about five years. It was great! It’s another simple drag-and-drop website builder. Super easy to use and also very cheap. I think it was around $150 per year when I was using it. It’s also in the middle when it comes to SEO keywords, and it does have blogging capacity. I found it was a little more flexible than Wix. When you start to make 200K + years, you will have to migrate, but until then, you should be fine. 

A word of warning, migrating is so much work and hugely expensive. When I moved to Showit, we had to migrate each blog post manually; it was a mission! Hopefully, by the time you have to migrate, it will be some sort of automated migration.

• Price Point: Very cheap
• Longevity: Good place to start, but you will want to upgrade later 
• Pros: Super affordable, extremely easy to use
• Cons: Medium SEO, lack of scalability, migrating is expensive

4. WordPress

WordPress is going to be your best option when it comes to SEO and marketability for a template or drag-and-drop-based website builder. The payoff is that it’s harder to use. Realistically, you need a basic understanding of coding if you want to customize your site. Alternatively, you can buy a pre-coded template that can help simplify things. It also has great blogging capability, which is great for growth in the future. Thanks to its great SEO, blogging, and flexibility, you will probably never migrate from WordPress. This is one of the best platforms to use for your business website.

• Price Point: Cheap – mid-range (depends on hosting, template, etc.)
• Longevity: Great – it will grow with you no matter how big your business
• Pros: Great SEO, ability to scale with your business, well supported for templates, etc. 
• Cons: Can be difficult to use, more expensive than Wix or Weebly 

5. Showit

Showit is what I use for my current business website. It’s completely 100% customizable, but unfortunately, it’s going to cost you. The cheapest plan is around $20-35 per month, not including a temple. You still have to pay for a template or get someone to completely design your site for you as I did. It certainly creates the most beautiful websites I’ve ever seen, but it took me six years to afford a website like this. It also utilizes WordPress’ amazing blogging capabilities, which is helpful. If you sign up using my Showit link, you’ll get your first month for free!

• Price Point: Expensive!
• Longevity: Maybe not the best place to start, but an excellent option as you grow
• Pros: Amazing customization, great SEO, can do anything you want it to do
• Cons: Expensive.

So there you have five great options for your website. Remember to consider your skill level and budget when deciding which option is best for your brand. 
You also have the option to get a designer or designer templates on board for a relatively cheap cost. I recommend using a professional graphic designer for the graphics on your website at the very least, or ideally, get them to create a 1 – 3 page simple website. My incredible designer, Ale Merino, has some great options for both graphics packages and websites. Check her out at ahappymompreneur.com. Make sure to tell her I sent you!

What to include on the homepage of your business website:

Going back to the book analogy, a one-page website will simply be the back of your book. It will have your title, who it’s by, the mission of the book, the synopsis of the book, and the synopsis of the author. It also might have some reviews or testimonies. It’s really that simple. 

A well-designed business website is graphically appealing. Images that look like a fifth grader made them in Canva aren’t a good option. Ideally, spend a couple of hundred dollars to have a graphic designer (like Ale) create a graphics package for you. This will completely up-level the professional look of your site. 

On top of the graphics, make sure you think about these 6 things.

1. What’s in it for them?

When someone lands on your site, they first want to know what’s in it for them. You want to explain to the reader why they are there and what you can offer them in two sections or less.

2. What can the reader get for free? 

Your free thing (at least initially) is your podcast. As a Christian podcaster, your podcast is your funnel. You want to clearly explain where they can access your podcast, how they get there, why it’s amazing, and what’s in it for them. If you want to go above and beyond, you can also add your top three episodes there for them to start on. 

If you don’t have a podcast yet, you need to check out my course Podcast Pro University. I cover everything you need to get your podcast up and running.

 3. Social proof

The next thing the reader needs to see is social proof. Why they should listen to your podcast and interact with your content? You want to put some reviews on the very first part of your website. Even starting out, if you follow my Podcast Launch Checklist, you should have at least 10 reviews or more, depending on how intensely you market the new show that you can use on your website. 

4. How can the reader hang out with you?

Now the reader needs to know how to connect with you. This should include:

• Listen to my podcast
• Join my Facebook group 
• Work with me (once you have your offer)

5. What can the reader pay for?

Once you’ve got your coaching or program, you want to have a small blurb and talk about your offer on your home page. If this is something you’re struggling with, check out my program Podcast to Profit. It’s a super in-depth course that covers everything you need to grow and monetize your podcast. I even give you a template to help with what to say here! 

6. Who are you?

Lastly, the reader needs to know who you are. All you need here is a simple synopsis of who you are. 
You can add some fun bits like asking them to join your Facebook group and even adding your Instagram in the footer. You can also include your opt-in if you have one, but if you don’t, don’t stress.

How many and which pages should your business website include?

Now that you have completed the home page, you can start with that as a one-page website, or you can choose to have a simple three-page website or a fancy eight-page one. Here is a breakdown of the pages I believe are essential on a one, three, and eight-page business website.

One-page site: 

Simply have a well-written homepage using the structure above. This can be a great option until you’re ready to launch your paid offer. Once you have a paid offer such as coaching or a program, you’ll need a sales page. This can either be incorporated into part of your site or set up using your landing page program.

Three-page site:

A three-page site is still very simple but has more depth than a one-page site. I would include the homepage following the outline above, a ‘work with you’ page with your sales offers, and an ‘about me’ page. 

At this stage, you don’t want a podcast page because you talk about it on your home page; it’s more important for people to get to know you (one of the most viewed pages on a website) and know what you’re selling. 

Eight-page site: 

Lastly, you can have an eight-page, “full-sized” site, and it would include the pages:

1. Homepage 
2. About you
3. Podcast page
4. Courses page 
5. Coaching page
6. Resources 
7. Contact you 
8. Blog

Bonus tip: The forgotten piece of a business website

Lastly, don’t forget your website doesn’t just have to look good; it also has to read well. Messaging is just as important as visual appeal. You have to touch someone in their heart emotionally and also convince them your stuff is the answer to their problems. 

To write effective copy, you need to build a connection. See people where they are, know their pain points and triggers, and move them through to the tactical and tangible solutions only your products provide. Show them how you are going to get them their massive transformation. 

It takes a lot of practice to get that blend right, but it’s definitely something you can do yourself. Just speak from your heart, like you do on your podcast, and remember there is no right or wrong copy. Your person is here for you, not for anybody else, so don’t try and copy someone else’s messaging or website. It won’t connect with YOUR listener. You want to come from your heart and soul, knowing your person is two steps behind you. You are qualified to do that!

Just getting started as a Christian podcaster? 

First of all, if you haven’t started your podcast yet, you have to get over to Podcast Pro University and start your podcast. 

Podcasting is, in my opinion, the best type of long-form content. It works because it allows you to touch peoples’ hearts. You transform them, give them a result, and they begin to trust you through that change. They want to know you and follow you. 

Secondly, work on your website. Any of the first four options are great when starting out, depending on your budget and skill level. Ideally, Wix, Weebly, or WordPress to make it easier to scale and add more pages as you grow. 

If you can, I’d also recommend joining me in Podcast to Profit so that I can work with you to create your program, course, or coaching offer to monetize your podcast. I also help you create amazing sales pages and have a bunch of templates and helpful resources to help sell your offer.

Already an Established Christian podcaster?

If you make $50-200k per year in your podcasting business, you are at the point where it’s probably time to have a professional website. I definitely should have done it sooner, but I knew how much time, money, and work goes into creating an eight-page website. If you are at this point and can afford to work with a designer, definitely do it! 

Get on an SEO-optimized platform like Showit or WordPress and have a professional site that reflects your incredible business. Because, at that point, you will need scalable options, a full-out blog that shares your podcast, some sort of store, and multiple courses or offers. 

If you are over $200K in revenue, I’d definitely recommend going straight to a customized Showit website (if you sign up with that link, you’ll get your first month free). It will be fully SEO optimized and have the flexibility you’ll need as you grow.

Regardless of whether you are a baby beginner or a seasoned podcaster, you need a website at the end of the day. From a simple one-pager to a multi-page Showit masterpiece, pick what is a good fit for your brand where you are now. As long as you ensure the copy and graphics represent your brand well, that is far more important than the number of pages or the host. The point of the website is to be like the back of the book: it tells everyone who you are, what you can offer them, and why they should be part of your world. It’s okay to start scrappy and scale to success. 

Where are you on your website journey? Are you starting scrappy and simple, or is it time for something more complex that will continue to grow with your brand? Let me know in the comments below. I love to hear from you!

I pray this blesses you!

Xo,

Stef

P.S. Also, listen to podcast episode 303 for the full training on Websites 101! What You NEED to Know as a Christian Podcaster!

APPLE PODCAST | SPOTIFY | GOOGLE PODCAST

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