Creating a Show

There are two ways to create a show in Benecaster: through the Setup Wizard on first activation, or manually via the Shows screen.

Path 1: Setup Wizard (First Run)

On first activation, Benecaster launches the Setup Wizard. Step 1 of the wizard covers your first show’s essential fields: name, artwork, and description. There’s also an optional field for your old feed URL if you’re migrating from another podcast host — Benecaster uses this to help you redirect existing subscribers to your new feed.

You don’t need to configure everything during the wizard. Any setting you skip can be updated after the wizard completes. The wizard creates the show and moves on to connecting your subscription plugin.

Path 2: Add a Show Manually

Go to Benecaster → Shows → Add New. The show editor opens with a two-column layout: a left navigation lists all settings sections (General, Subscription, Feeds, Emails, etc.), and the right area shows the fields for the selected section. Fill in at least the required fields in the General section — name, artwork, and feed slug — and click Save.

Required Fields

Show name The title that appears in podcast apps and in your RSS feed’s <title> channel element. Use the full name of your podcast as you want it listed in directories.

Feed slug The URL path segment of this show’s public feed URL. Benecaster auto-generates a slug from your show name — you can customize it before saving. Use lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens only.

The feed slug is part of your public feed URL. Changing it after you’ve submitted the feed to Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other directory breaks that submission — the old address stops working. Subscribers’ private feed links keep working after a change. Set the slug before you submit the feed anywhere.

Artwork A square image used in podcast apps and directories. Apple Podcasts requires a minimum of 1400×1400px; 3000×3000px is the recommended upper limit. JPEG or PNG.

Description Your show description for podcast directories. This appears in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and similar apps on your show’s listing page.

What Happens After You Save

Benecaster generates your RSS feed URLs — one per tier — and makes the show available in the show switcher. From here you can:

Create episodes under this show
Configure tiers in Benecaster → Settings → Subscription
Connect a subscription plugin if you haven’t already

See Show Settings for the full list of configurable fields, and Mapping Your Membership Tiers for connecting tiers to your membership plugin.

Name	Set by	What it does	Kept for
`wordpress_logged_in_*`	Benecaster	Keeps you signed in to your Benecaster account.	Until you sign out, or two weeks with "Remember Me".
`wordpress_sec_*`	Benecaster	Secures your signed-in session over HTTPS.	Until you sign out, or two weeks with "Remember Me".
`wp-settings-*`	Benecaster	Remembers your admin screen preferences.	One year.
`benecaster_ls_purchase_sign_in`	Benecaster	Signs you in to your new account on the page you bought from, once your purchase has gone through.	Thirty minutes, or until you are signed in.
`benecaster_ls_cookie_consent`	Benecaster	Remembers the choice you make on this banner, so we do not ask again.	One year.

Name	Set by	What it does	Kept for
`__stripe_mid`	Stripe	Lets Stripe recognise the device across payment attempts to detect card fraud.	One year.
`__stripe_sid`	Stripe	The same fraud check, for the current visit only.	Thirty minutes.

Path 1: Setup Wizard (First Run)

Path 2: Add a Show Manually

Required Fields

What Happens After You Save

More in Managing Your Shows

See Also