Podcast feeds can occasionally run into issues that affect how episodes, artwork, show notes, or updates appear in podcast apps and directories. Most feed issues are caused by a plugin, theme, caching layer, or server setting changing the RSS feed before podcast apps can read it correctly.
Content Looks Incorrect in Podcast Apps
If your episode descriptions, show notes, or formatting look wrong in podcast apps or directories, your RSS feed may be getting modified before it reaches those platforms.
Common causes include:
- A WordPress plugin modifying RSS feed content
- A theme adding extra formatting or output
- HTML comments or extra code appearing in the feed
- Caching or optimization tools changing feed output
To troubleshoot, validate your feed and check for plugin or theme conflicts using the diagnosing guide linked above.
Podcast Directories Are Slow to Update
Podcast directories such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music, and others do not always update instantly. However, if your listing has not updated after 24–48 hours, there may be an issue with the feed or the server hosting it.
Possible causes include:
- Invalid or incorrectly formatted XML in the RSS feed
- The server blocking podcast directory requests
- The server not supporting required HTTP requests such as HEAD and GET
- HTML comments or extra output appearing at the bottom of the feed
- Heavy caching that delays feed updates
Use Cast Feed Validator to check your podcast feed for errors. If the feed validates but directories still do not update, contact your web host and ask whether the server is blocking podcast app or directory requests.
Feed Submission Errors Related to Byte Serving, HEAD Requests, or Artwork
Some podcast directories require your feed, artwork, and media files to be hosted on servers that properly support partial file requests and HTTP HEAD requests. These checks help podcast apps confirm file size, type, and availability before downloading full media files.
If your feed is rejected with an error related to byte serving, HEAD requests, or artwork, check the following:
- Your RSS feed URL supports HTTP HEAD requests
- Your podcast artwork URL supports HTTP HEAD requests
- Your episode media file URLs support byte-range requests
- Your episode media file URLs support HTTP HEAD requests
- Your podcast artwork is square and meets current podcast directory requirements
- Your artwork is saved in RGB color space as a JPG or PNG file
If you are unsure whether your artwork file is valid, open it in a different image editor or viewer than the one used to create it. Confirm that it is truly square, saved as JPG or PNG, and uses RGB color space rather than CMYK, which is intended for print.
Feed Validation Issues
Feed validators may report both errors and recommendations. Errors usually need to be fixed before podcast apps can reliably read your feed. Recommendations may not always prevent the feed from working.
We recommend using Cast Feed Validator, which is maintained by Blubrry and designed specifically for podcast feeds.
Example: Feed Content Modified by a Plugin or Theme
A podcast feed should be clean XML. If a plugin, theme, or server tool changes the feed output, podcast apps may have trouble reading the content correctly.
Examples of modified feed content include:
- RSS XML appearing all on one line
- Line breaks stripped from episode descriptions
- HTML comments added to the bottom of the feed
- Extra scripts, tracking code, or debugging output added to the feed
If you see unexpected content in your feed source, disable plugins one at a time and temporarily switch to a default WordPress theme to identify the source of the issue.
Example: Blank Line Before the XML Declaration
A valid XML document should begin immediately with the XML declaration. For podcast feeds, the first line should begin with something similar to:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>If there is a blank line before this declaration, feed validators may report the feed as invalid.
This is usually caused by:
- A plugin outputting extra whitespace
- A theme file containing extra space before or after PHP tags
- Whitespace in
wp-config.php - Whitespace in another WordPress core or custom file
Start by checking for plugin or theme conflicts. If the issue remains after disabling plugins and switching to a default theme, check wp-config.php for blank lines before the opening PHP tag or after the closing PHP tag.
Example: A Valid RSS Feed
A valid podcast RSS feed should begin with the XML declaration and contain well-formed XML. Feed elements should open and close correctly, and the feed should not include unexpected HTML, scripts, comments, or blank lines before the XML declaration.
When viewing the source of a valid feed, you should expect to see structured XML with podcast-specific tags for your show, episodes, artwork, media files, and other podcast metadata.
What to Do Next
- Validate your feed with Cast Feed Validator.
- Check whether the issue is an error or a recommendation.
- Use the Diagnosing Feed and/or Player Issues with PowerPress guide to test for plugin or theme conflicts.
- If the feed validates but directories still have trouble updating, contact your web host and ask them to check server request handling, caching, and byte-range support.