Linking to Your Podcast

Now that we have a valid Podcast feed we would like to display it to potential Subscribers on our website.

It is not our goal in this section to teach you any HTML. If you are completely unfamiliar with it, please see our workshop on the subject.

Direct Subscription Link

One method of allowing your website visitors to directly subscribe to your Podcast is to link to its url with the iTunes Podcast Protocol, denoted with itpc://. Upon clicking on such a link, iTunes will open and will subscribe to the Podcast feed directly.

An example of this in action:

The HTML for that is:

Caveat

This requires the visitor to already have iTunes instlalled on their computer. If you want to be more generic, you could replace the itpc:// with pcast://, although this method has even more varied support among the large numbers of operating-system/browser/podcatcher pairings your visitors are likely to have. You may wish to preclude this confusion by explicitly stating that the user must first have iTunes installed, or you may wish to just provide them with the URL and allow them to their own devices to subscribe to it.

While iTunes is freely available (at itunes.com), not all users may be able or willing to download it due to any number of circumstances. You should always provide the direct URL to your feed using the following methods in addition to using this method.

Using XML Graphics

Many tech-savvy visitors instantly recognize the white-on-orange "XML" "logo" that is widely used online. Thanks to antipixel.com (which is in no way affiliated with the University of Washington and whose site you should visit at your own risk and discretion), we are able to provide the following graphics free for your own personal use. Please note that you must crop the image yourself.

Using the (Unofficial) Podcast Logo

Frustrated by the lack of a widely-recognized Podcast Logo, Schlaflos in Munchen had the idea to pose an international contest to create one. The result is a combination of the existing (and also unofficial) RSS Logo and a pair of monitor headphones. While this logo is not official or sponsored by any official entity, it is gaining popularity and may be used for any purpose without fee or obligatory remarks. The file is available in a variety of formats including an infinitely scalable vector format from podcastlogo.com (which is, again, in no way affiliated with the University of Washington, and you should be sure to visit the site only at your own risk and discretion).