Episode Page Layout and Blocks
Each episode in Benecaster has a public WordPress page at its permalink. The layout of that page is controlled by the Episode Page system — a set of configurable blocks that render below (and optionally above) the main episode content.
Episode Page Blocks
Blocks are sections that render on an episode page in addition to your episode content. Benecaster provides eight built-in blocks. Add-ons can register additional blocks.
| Block | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Context bar | A compact bar showing the episode number, season (if enabled), episode type, and publication date |
| Share buttons | Social sharing buttons for the episode URL |
| Episode navigation | Links to the previous and next episode in publication order |
| Related episodes | A list of related episodes from the same show |
| Social links | Your show’s social media profile links |
| Platform links | “Listen on” links for podcast apps that carry your show |
| Listener support | Donation prompt (requires Stripe or PayPal setup) |
| Subscribe CTA | A call-to-action card prompting visitors to subscribe |
Before and After Groups
Blocks are divided into two groups based on where they render relative to your episode content:
- Before group — renders above the episode content area
- After group — renders below the episode content area
Each block has a fixed default position (before or after). That position can be changed in the admin panel, but blocks within each position group always appear together.
Configuring Episode Page Blocks
Open Benecaster → Settings, select your show, and choose Templates from the left navigation. The Episode Page Blocks section appears there.
The panel shows all registered blocks in two columns — Before and After. Each row has:
- A toggle to enable or disable that block sitewide for this show
- An expand arrow to open the block’s configuration panel (when the block has configurable options)
Changes take effect immediately on episode pages when you save.
Add-on Blocks
Blocks that require an inactive add-on appear as greyed-out rows with an Install add-on link. These blocks don’t render until the add-on is installed and active. Enabling the toggle on an inactive add-on block has no effect until the add-on is active.
Built-in blocks require no add-on.
Social Links
Social links are the profiles you want to display on your show’s episode pages — Twitter/X, Instagram, YouTube, and so on. They appear via the Social Links block and the [benecaster_social_links] shortcode.
Configuring Social Links
Go to Benecaster → Settings → General for your show and scroll to the Social Links sub-panel.
The panel lists known platforms:
| Platform | Display name |
|---|---|
twitter_x |
Twitter / X |
instagram |
|
facebook |
|
youtube |
YouTube |
tiktok |
TikTok |
linkedin |
|
threads |
Threads |
bluesky |
Bluesky |
mastodon |
Mastodon |
discord |
Discord |
newsletter |
Newsletter |
Enter the URL for each platform you want to display and leave the rest blank. Platforms with blank URLs are not shown in the rendered output.
To add a platform not in the list, use the + Add custom platform row. Enter a platform slug and a URL. Custom platforms display their slug as the label unless your theme provides a custom icon mapping for it.
Click Save Social Links when done.
Platform Links
Platform links are the “listen on” badges for podcast apps that carry your show — Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, and others. They appear via the Platform Links block and the [benecaster_platform_links] shortcode.
Configuring Platform Links
Go to Benecaster → Settings → General for your show and scroll to the Platform Links sub-panel.
The panel lists eight built-in platforms:
| Platform | Display name |
|---|---|
apple_podcasts |
Apple Podcasts |
spotify |
Spotify |
pocket_casts |
Pocket Casts |
overcast |
Overcast |
castro |
Castro |
castbox |
Castbox |
stitcher |
Stitcher |
google_podcasts |
Google Podcasts |
Enter the URL for each platform where your show is available and leave the rest blank. Platforms with blank URLs are omitted from the rendered output.
To add a platform not in the list, use the + Add custom platform row. Custom platforms display their slug as the label and show a generic podcast icon unless your theme defines a custom icon for that slug.
Click Save Platform Links when done.
Platform display order: The links render in the order entries appear in this panel. Drag rows to reorder them. The
platformsfilter attribute on[benecaster_platform_links]acts as an allow-list — it doesn’t change the order.
Related Episodes
The Related Episodes block shows a list of episodes from the same show. The query strategy is configurable per block instance:
| Strategy | What it returns |
|---|---|
| By tag | Episodes sharing at least one WordPress tag with the current episode |
| By season | Episodes from the same season number |
| By guest | Episodes featuring the same guest (requires Guest Manager add-on) |
| Latest | The most recently published episodes |
Configure the strategy in the block’s expansion panel under Settings → Templates → Episode Page Blocks.
Add-ons can register additional query strategies. They appear automatically in the strategy dropdown once registered.
Episode Navigation
The Episode Navigation block renders Previous / Next links based on publication order. The default navigation links to the immediately adjacent episodes.
To narrow navigation to episodes within a season, the [benecaster_episode_nav] shortcode accepts a scope="season" attribute. The Episode Page block does not yet expose a scope setting — use the shortcode in a template override for season-scoped navigation.
Shortcodes
All Episode Page blocks can also be placed anywhere on a page using shortcodes. Shortcodes give you more placement flexibility than the block system — for example, placing episode navigation at the top of the content area or embedding share buttons in a sidebar.
See Shortcodes Reference for full attribute documentation on [benecaster_episode_nav], [benecaster_related_episodes], [benecaster_episode_share], [benecaster_social_links], [benecaster_rss_link], and [benecaster_platform_links].
