Installing Benecaster

Before You Install

• Confirm your server meets the system requirements.
• Have your license key ready. You received it in your purchase confirmation email. It follows the format XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX.
• If you are installing on a staging site first, activate the license there. You can deactivate and move it to production when ready.

Installing the Plugin

Option 1 — Upload via WordPress admin (recommended)

1. Log in to your WordPress admin.
2. Go to Plugins → Add New Plugin.
3. Click Upload Plugin.
4. Select the benecaster.zip file you downloaded from benecaster.com.
5. Click Install Now, then Activate Plugin.

Option 2 — FTP / SFTP

1. Unzip benecaster.zip on your computer.
2. Upload the benecaster/ folder to /wp-content/plugins/ on your server.
3. In your WordPress admin, go to Plugins → Installed Plugins.
4. Find Benecaster and click Activate.

Activating Your License

After activating the plugin, Benecaster displays a license activation prompt.

1. Enter your license key in the field provided.
2. Click Activate License.
3. Benecaster validates your key with the license server and confirms your plan tier.

If activation fails, check that:

• The key is entered exactly as it appears in your email (no extra spaces)
• Your server can make outbound HTTPS requests to benecaster.com
• The license has not already been activated on the maximum number of sites for your plan

Once activated, the setup wizard launches automatically. See the Setup Wizard Walkthrough to continue.

Flush Permalinks

After activating Benecaster, go to Settings → Permalinks and click Save Changes without changing anything. This registers Benecaster’s feed rewrite rules with WordPress. Skip this step and feed URLs will return a 404.

Free Version (WordPress.org)

The free version of Benecaster is available at WordPress.org. Install it the same way — search for “Benecaster” in Plugins → Add New Plugin. The free version provides a public (unauthenticated) podcast RSS feed and episode management with no license key required. Subscriber authentication and feed gating are not available in the free version.

To upgrade from the free version to a paid plan, install the full plugin from benecaster.com over the existing installation (WordPress will detect the upgrade), then activate your license key.

Updating Benecaster

Updates are delivered through the WordPress admin when a new version is released. Go to Plugins → Installed Plugins and click Update when one is available, or enable auto-updates. Your license key, episodes, subscribers, and settings are preserved across updates.