Your radio station live online: what you need to know before starting
Eduardo Leiva, Founder, Weikiu
If you run an FM station and someone asks "where can I listen online?", the answer can't be an awkward silence. But it also doesn't have to be a massive investment or an endless technical process.
Over the past few years we've helped stations make that move: bringing their live signal to the web and to mobile, with their own digital presence. Here's what we learned, and what we walk every client through before we start.
The audio stream: what you probably already have
The good news is that if your station already broadcasts online — even through a streaming company that distributes your signal — the hardest part is already done.
Audio streaming works through a stream URL: an address that points to your live signal. It could be an Icecast server, ShoutCast, or any audio CDN. That URL is the heart of everything. A website or app simply picks it up and plays it.
What we build on top is the interface: the play button, the loading states, the volume control, the design that makes it feel like your station rather than a generic player.
If you don't have a stream URL yet, there are services that take the output of your mixing desk (or a computer running the right software) and turn it into a streamable signal. Costs vary, but there are affordable options for smaller stations.
Why the website matters as much as the player
Some stations handle streaming with a widget on Facebook or on a third-party portal. It works, but there's a cost that isn't always visible:
- You don't show up on Google. If someone searches "radio station in [your city]", what appears in results is the third-party portal, not you.
- You can't share your own signal. A link to your own website is worth more than a link to someone else's page.
- You don't control the experience. If the portal changes its design, its rules, or its business model, your presence goes with it.
A site of your own, however simple, gives you your own address, a space Google understands as yours, and full control over how it looks and how it gets shared.
What a good radio website needs
You don't need a complex portal. What you do need:
A reliable live streaming player. With clear states (loading, on air, error), volume control, and correct behaviour on mobile. A player that doesn't work on a phone is a player that doesn't work, full stop.
The station's visual identity. Colours, typography, logo. The listener has to recognise they're in the right place before they press play.
Structured data for Google. The RadioStation schema.org standard tells search engines this is a radio station with a frequency, a city and a description. Invisible to users but important for SEO.
Easy sharing. A WhatsApp button is, in Argentina, the most effective distribution mechanism there is. One tap and the link travels to neighbourhood groups, work chats, family threads.
A proper domain. Not yourstation.wixsite.com. A real domain — yourstation.com.ar or similar — is part of the identity and improves search ranking.
Top tip
The domain name is the first thing you'll need and the one that takes longest to configure. Register it before development starts so it doesn't delay the launch.
Mobile is the first screen, not the second
More than 70% of traffic on sites like this comes from phones. Someone sees the link on WhatsApp, opens it on their handset, and in two seconds decides whether to press play or not.
That defines everything about the design: fast loading, large button, nothing to distract, no pop-ups blocking the player. A site that works perfectly on a desktop but is slow or confusing on mobile is a site that doesn't work.
How audio behaves on mobile also matters. iOS and Android browsers have restrictions on autoplay: audio has to be started by a direct user gesture. A well-built player respects that instead of trying to force playback, which would produce errors or silence.
What about an app?
The question always comes up. The honest answer: for most stations, it's not the first investment to make.
An app on Google Play and the App Store adds distribution — someone can "follow" your station and get it in notifications — but it has real costs: app development, developer accounts on both stores, submission reviews, periodic updates to stay compatible with new iOS and Android versions.
If your station already has a loyal listener base and you want to give them something more, an app makes sense. If you're just starting your digital presence, the website comes first: it launches faster, reaches everyone without installation, and delivers far more Google visibility.
That said, when you get to the point of wanting an app, we can build it with the same stack we use for other production apps — one codebase for Android and iOS — sharing identity with the website.
How long it takes
For a site like Única FM 94.5 — player, design, basic SEO, own domain, deployment — the process takes between one and three weeks from the moment we confirm the details and get access to the stream.
The most unpredictable variable isn't technical: it's gathering the material (a high-quality logo, access to the stream URL, the station's details). If that's ready when we start, the rest moves smoothly.
What comes after launch
A radio site isn't like other sites: the main content is the live stream, and that stream doesn't change. That means maintenance is minimal compared to a blog or an e-commerce store.
What's worth looking at over time:
- Google visibility. Which searches bring people to the site, which city or region visits most.
- A schedule page. If you want listeners to know what programme they'll hear at any given hour.
- Social integration. Making sure the WhatsApp link shows a proper preview with the station name and the right image.
If you run a station and want to take it online — or want to improve a presence that already exists — tell us what you need and we'll tell you what it would take, straight.