Episode Artwork
Each episode has two separate images serving different purposes. Benecaster keeps these distinct rather than forcing you to use one image everywhere.
Episode artwork — the square image used in podcast apps and the RSS feed. This is what subscribers see in Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, and similar apps when they browse your episodes.
Featured image — a landscape image used on your website’s episode page and in social sharing previews.
Most podcasters use the same image for both. Benecaster makes this easy: the featured image defaults to a landscape crop of your episode artwork, with no separate upload required.
Episode Artwork (for Podcast Apps)
Enter the URL in the Artwork URL field in the Artwork tab of the episode editor sidebar. This should be a square image.
- Minimum size: 1400×1400px (Apple Podcasts requirement)
- Recommended maximum: 3000×3000px
- Format: JPEG or PNG
- Maps to
<itunes:image>per episode in RSS
Benecaster displays a warning when your episode artwork is smaller than 1400×1400px. Apple Podcasts and Spotify may reject or display blurry artwork below this threshold.
If you leave the episode artwork blank, Benecaster falls back to the show’s artwork. This is fine for most episodes — use episode-specific artwork only when you want a distinct look for a particular episode (guest photos, seasonal branding, a special series).
Featured Image (for Your Website)
Benecaster generates a landscape (16:9) featured image from your episode artwork using a draggable crop selector. The crop box appears in the Artwork tab of the episode editor sidebar.
The crop box defaults to the center of your artwork. Drag it to choose which part becomes your featured image. This is useful when:
- Your artwork has the main subject off-center (a headshot portrait, a logo in a corner)
- You want to keep a specific text or graphic visible in the crop
- The square artwork is heavily letterboxed and the useful content is in the middle
How the featured image is generated: When you save an episode, Benecaster downloads the Artwork URL into the WordPress media library and generates a 1200×630 image (benecaster-featured size) from the crop position. The download is skipped on re-saves when the Artwork URL hasn’t changed — only the crop position is re-applied. Changing the Artwork URL on a subsequent save triggers a fresh download. The resulting featured image is what appears in WordPress theme templates and SEO plugin previews.
To use a completely different image for the featured image instead of a crop of the artwork, click Use a different image entirely. This opens the standard WordPress media selector so you can choose or upload any image.
