No matter what your business sells or what industry you belong to, it’s vitally important to provide high-value information to your site visitors. For example, if you provide insurance-related services, it’s a good idea to provide users with information from government departments, such as news or updates on statistical findings, insurance advice, etc.
To create and publish this type of information, however, takes a huge amount of time and resources. You have to sift through, gather, and organize a ton of information, check your sources for accuracy, write and edit content (or hire someone to do this for you), and then continually ensure that this information is up-to-date. As you can imagine, this not only involves a huge amount of work but most of the information you are dealing with is entirely beyond your control.
Thankfully, there is a simpler way to keep your site visitors up-to-date with the latest information.
It’s called RSS …
(RSS - The easiest way to provide your subscribers with up-to-date information)
The Ultimate Guide To WordPress RSS
RSS – What Does It Mean?
- RSS, which, according to some is short for Rich Site Summary, is more commonly known as Really Simple Syndication. It is also often called a “feed” or “web feed”.
- Once a user subscribes to an RSS feed, they no longer have to manually visit and check the website for updated content. Instead, their browser constantly monitors the content and keeps subscribers updated.
- Feeds are also used to publish frequently updated information, such as new blog entries, news, audios, etc., to which any user can then subscribe.
- Essentially, an RSS feed is a structured XML (Extensible Markup Language) document that includes either full or summarized text along with other metadata like date of publishing, author, etc. It allows people to subscribe to content on websites and blogs that publish feeds and then browse any updates posted on these sites through a feedreader. Conversely, RSS feeds also enable publishers to syndicate their information automatically.
- There are different kinds of feeds, read by different aggregators. Some of these include RSS feeds, Atom (also called AtomPub or APP feeds and RDF (RDF = Resource Description Framework) feeds. All of these formats, however, use a standard XML file format to ensure that feeds are compatible with different machines and programs.
- Many sites and software applications also allow you to combine different RSS feeds to aggregate news and updates sourced from a number of websites.
This detailed article shows you where to find your WordPress RSS feed, how to use your WordPress RSS feed to get your content syndicated online, and how to add content from other websites and blogs to your site via RSS feeds.
RSS (Really Simple Syndication) Feeds
Content syndication is a really powerful method used for sharing web content. Feeds provide web users with a way to keep up with the latest information published on different sites.
First, let’s look at syndication.
Media publications rely heavily on syndication to publish content from news agencies around the world.
Content syndication allows news reporting agencies to deliver readers the latest news items and fresh newsworthy stories from all around the planet without having to hire and post more news writers all around the world …
(Digital news publishing agencies rely on content syndication to publish newsworthy items from other news agencies around the globe.)
Syndication is used to share information legitimately with other sites. online media publications syndicate stories using feeds …
(Content syndication is a legitimate way of sharing content)
Most websites actually would like you to syndicate their information. Content syndication not only allows information to be shared, but it can also send visitors back to the original site responsible for creating and publishing the content being syndicated. This can be an effective way to generate web traffic.
Many news reporting agencies and major content sites include a feed section (look for menu links that say “RSS” or “Newsfeeds” in them, or just search for “name of site/keyword + rss” – e.g. “nytimes rss”, “daily telegraph rss”, “sydney morning herald rss”, etc.) …
(Most digital content agencies and major sites include a feed section. Image: Sydney Morning Herald RSS )
Clicking on a site’s RSS feeds link will bring up a list of RSS feeds for different content topics on the site …
(A site’s directory of feeds. Source: nytimes.com RSS feeds)
These RSS feed items let you source content from different sections of the website (e.g. technology news, entertainment news, jobs, etc.)
A feed list can also contain subcategories …
(RSS Feed section. Image Source: Los Angeles Times RSS)
Note: An RSS feed is just a URL. To use the feed, all that’s required is to copy the URL and paste it into a program that can process the feed into something readable. We’ll cover this further below.
Syndicating Content – Benefits
Syndicating someone else’s content on your site has some obvious benefits. It gives additional exposure online to someone else’s content and helps you by freeing you up from having to create that content …
(Syndicating Content - Benefits)
While adding feeds from another site is a great way to add content to your site without having to create it, it’s worth keeping in mind that you also want other websites to syndicate YOUR content.
When other websites syndicate your content, this gives you the opportunity to get more exposure online and drive new web traffic …
(It’s a good idea to get visitors to syndicate your RSS feed … it will help increase your exposure online!)
About Your WordPress RSS Feed
By default, WordPress automatically publishes a feed of your posts, allowing other online users to easily syndicate your content on their websites and blogs.
Depending on your WordPress site’s theme, there are a number of ways to access your RSS feed:
1) If your theme has been configured to display the Meta widget in your navigation menu …
(The feed will display as many recent items you have specified in the Reading Settings section)
Display Full Text Or Summary Of Posts In Your RSS Feed
Another setting in the Reading Settings section that affects your RSS feed is whether to display your posts as full text, or as a summary …
(Settings – Reading Settings – Display ‘Full Text’ or ‘Summary’ for articles in a RSS feed)
Post Excerpts can also affect how your feed content displays …
(Post excerpts can affect how your feed content displays)
To learn more about Post excerpts, go here:
View The Content Of Your RSS Feeds
As mentioned previously, all you need to do to view the content of a feed is to copy the feed’s URL to your clipboard and paste it into a feedreader, i.e. an application that translates feeds into readable content.
Let’s see how this works.
First, go to a website or blog and look for a ’subscribe to feed’ button or link using any of the methods described earlier …
(Search for an RSS feed link. Image source: YourCoffeeGuru.com)
Next, copy the feed URL to your clipboard …
(Copy the URL of your feed to the clipboard)
If you want, you can check the feed content by pasting the URL of your feed into a feedreader …
(Paste the feed URL into a feedreader to view the content. Source: Feedreader.com)
Like feed readers, WordPress also has the ability to process RSS/XML feeds.
Adding Feeds To Your Site
Let’s show you how to add RSS content from another website to your site.
How To Add RSS Feeds To Your Sidebar
As mentioned earlier, no matter what industry you are part of, you could easily display on your site the latest content from an industry-related government department or authoritative site in your industry by simply adding their feed. You can easily display a range of information on your WordPress site such as news, social media updates, or content from thousands of sites using the WordPress RSS widget.
Let’s add content sourced from an RSS feed to your sidebar …
(Add an RSS feed to the WordPress sidebar area)
copy the feed URL from a website or blog that publishes content that you would like to add to your site to your clipboard …
(Copy the URL of your feed to the clipboard)
Next, go to your Widgets section and paste the feed into a new RSS widget …
(Widgets Section – RSS Widget)
To learn more about using sidebar widgets, go here:
Refresh your browser. The content from the RSS feed should now appear on the sidebar …
(RSS Widget)
Add Your WordPress RSS Feed To Search Consoles
You can add your WordPress RSS feed to Google and Bing’s search consoles. This will help them index your content faster.
(WordPress RSS feed added to Google Search Console)
Adding your site’s RSS feed to search consoles is simple, fast, easy, and requires no technical skills. For a step-by-step tutorial, go here:
How To Add RSS Feeds To Your WordPress Posts
Can you add content from RSS feeds to WordPress posts? Yes, you can!
You can do this using plugins. Just search on the WordPress plugin repository for RSS feed, RSS feed to post, etc.
(‘Add Plugins’ section – WordPress RSS plugins)
Note: These plugins typically require configuration – visit the plugin sites for instructions, or contact us for assistance with plugin configuration.
The plugins listed below are useful for adding feed content to posts, or “autoblog” (An auto blog is a blog with content that is automatically gathered and compiled from RSS feeds):
WPeMatico
(WPeMatico Plugin For WordPress)
WPeMatico is an auto blogging plugin that lets you publish posts automatically from specific RSS/Atom feeds.
You can manage all the feeds you import and organize them into campaigns.
For more details, go here:
WP RSS Aggregator
(WP RSS Aggregator Plugin)
WP RSS Aggregator is a comprehensive RSS feed importer and autoblogging WordPress plugin that offers additional functionality with premium extensions (add-ons).
For example, the Feed to Post extension lets you autoblog by importing RSS feeds directly into WP posts.
For more details, go here:
RSS Post Importer
(RSS Post Importer – WordPress Plugin)
RSS Post Importer can be used to import, syndicate, curate, merge and display full text feeds (RSS, Atom, etc.) on your WordPress site.
The plugin fetches an RSS feed and publishes the full article content of each feed item as a standalone post.
For more details, go here:
Powr RSS Feed
(Powr RSS Feed – WordPress Plugin)
POWr RSS automatically combines and displays content from various content using RSS feeds.
This plugin also lets you display videos, images, and articles, adjust feed size and spacing, use custom borders, fonts, colors, and more. It also displays feeds correctly on any tablet, phone, or computer and supports text in every language.
The premium plugin edition contains many additional features.
For more details, go here:
WP Pipes
(WP Pipes WP Plugin)
The WP Pipes plugin for WordPress is a powerful data migration plugin that allows you to curate content from RSS feeds, Google News, and other sources.
This plugin provides features like CSV importing for posts/WooCommerce, RSS feed creator, auto blogging, auto post to Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn, export your posts as iTunes podcasts, create Google XML sitemaps, and help take your WordPress CMS to new levels.
For more details, go here:
FeedWordPress
(FeedWordPress)
FeedWordPress provides simple and flexible syndication for WordPress.
As stated in the FeedWordPress site …
FeedWordPress is an open-source Atom/RSS aggregator for the WordPress blog publishing platform. You set up feeds that you choose, and FeedWordPress syndicates posts from those sources into your WordPress posts table, where they can be displayed by your WordPress templates like any other post — but with additional meta-data, so that your templates can properly attribute the post to the source it came from.
FeedWordPress can be used to create aggregator site (sites that combine and display posts from many different sources), or bring together all of your online activity in one place.
For more details, go here:
Autoblog
(Autoblog Plugin For WordPress)
Autoblog is an easy-to-use plugin that can be set-up in minutes, with no coding required and no complicated instructions. Simply copy and paste in your feed URL, name your feed (for admin purposes) and select a blog that you want it to post to.
For more details, go here:
RSS Includes Pages and Custom Post Types
(RSS Includes Pages and Custom Post Types Plugin For WordPress)
You can install a plugin like RSS Includes Pages and Custom Post Types if you would like to include pages in your WordPress RSS feed in addition to posts (by default WordPress only includes posts in your RSS feed).
For more details, go here:
Using RSS – Useful Tips
Tip #1 – WP Comment RSS Feeds
In addition to giving online users access to feeds of your latest posts, WordPress also displays RSS feeds of your post comments.
To view this, go to the ‘Meta’ widget on your sidebar (note: this section may not be visible on some themes) and click on Comments RSS …
(Comments RSS)
All the comments posted on your site by visitors and users display in your Comments RSS page …
(RSS comments feed items seen using Firefox)
Like post entries, your comments feed content will display differently depending on which web browser you are using …
(Comments feed entries seen using Google Chrome)
Again, you can check what the comments feed contains by pasting the feed URL into a feed reader …
(Paste the URL of your comments feed into a feedreader to view the content. Image Source: Feedreader)
Note: If the Meta section is not displaying on your theme, you can view the Comments RSS section of your site by opening up a browser and typing in the following URL:
- http://www.yourdomain.com/comments/feed
- http://www.yourdomain.com/blog/comments/feed (if your site has been installed in a subfolder, e.g. “blog”)
Tip #2 – Using Individual Item Feeds
Being able to create an RSS feed for a specific post item can be useful. For example, you may want to add feeds from specific items to RSS aggregator sites, or you may have created a valuable resource that other online users will want to syndicate.
The formula for making an RSS feed for an individual post is shown below:
(RSS Feed For Specific Post Item)
To create the above feed, copy the post URI, and add “/feed/?withoutcomments=1” to the end.
(Single Post Feed)
Note: By default, if you only append “/feed” to the end of the web address of your post, WordPress will return the comments associated with your post, not the content of the post itself.
Tip #3 – Displaying Category Feeds
Some your site visitors may only be interested in syndicating content from one or two categories. They may not want to subscribe to your entire site’s feed.
If your site publishes content under multiple categories, you can easily offer users a separate RSS feed for each post category.
Just use the format below:
(Use this format for WordPress category RSS feed)
Select and copy the category link address to your clipboard …
(Copy the category link address …)
And append the word “feed” to the end of it …
(WordPress post categories feed format)
The category RSS feed now only contains content posted in this particular category …
(Category-specific RSS feed)
The WordPress Codex also provides different ways to create feeds not just for post categories, but also feeds for tags, authors, search, etc.
For this example, let’s create a feed for a specific post category using the format shown below:
(Post Category feed format. Source: WordPress Codex)
Here is the feed format WordPress recommends using. In this example, the post category ID is ’42’. We’ll need to replace the post category ID and the domain name …
(WordPress post category feed format)
To find the post category ID, go to Posts > Categories …
(Posts > Categories menu)
Locate the post category you want and hover your mouse over the title to reveal its unique ID …
(Post Category ID)
In our example, the post category ID is ’29’ and the post category feed format we need to use for this specific category with our domain name looks like this …
(Post category feed format with domain name and ID)
Copy and paste the feed into your browser and hit enter …
(Paste the feed into your browser)
This will display the feed for that specific category …
(RSS feed of a specific post category)
Note that in this example, WordPress automatically converted the feed format we pasted into the browser into the category feed we had used in the previous section of this tutorial …
(Post category feed format)
Here is the feed format again …
(Post category feed)
In this case, the simplest way to create additional feeds for specific categories is to simply change the post category slug …
(Change the post category slug to create a new category specific feed)
Paste the edited feed into your web browser and hit enter to display the content for that specific category’s feed …
(Post category feed content)
Now that you have a method for creating feeds for specific post categories (or tags, authors, etc.), you can even create a directory or list of individual feeds for visitors.
Tip #4 – Set Up Your Own List Of Feeds
You can provide an RSS feeds directory that allows your readers to subscribe to content in specific categories …
(Provide Your Own RSS Feeds Page)
You can link a button to a category feed and then create a table or a list of your feeds on a new page …
(RSS icon. Source: http://www.public-domain-photos.com/free-cliparts/computer/other/rss_button_roman_bertle_01-2522.htm)
If you need help with creating tables in WordPress, see this step-by-step tutorial:
WordPress RSS – Notes
You can customize your feeds in various different ways, such as adding images to feeds, ads, etc. Some of these customizations require editing code.
WordPress allows you to configure various feed types without touching code. Here are some examples of custom feeds you can create …
(Different Feed Types You Can Create With WordPress RSS)
For your convenience, here are the feed types, descriptions, and feed examples listed above:
- Feed Type: All Posts
- Description: Content feed – displays your latest posts
- Example Feed: http://yourdomain.com/feed/
- Feed Type: All Comments
- Description: Comments feed – Feed that displays the latest comments published on your website
- Example Feed: http://yourdomain.com/comments/feed/
- Feed Type: Individual Posts
- Description: Feed for a single post
- Example Feed: http://yourdomain.com/title-of-your-blog-post/feed/
- Feed Type: Individual Posts Comments
- Description: Contains the latest comments made on single post entries
- Example Feed: http://yourdomain.com/post-title/feed/
- Feed Type: Archives
- Description: Day – Includes latest posts in each archive
- Example Feed: http://yourdomain.com/2014/07/13/feed/
- Feed Type: Archives
- Description: Month – Contains the latest posts in each archive
- Example Feed: http://yourdomain.com/2010/05/feed/
- Feed Type: Archives
- Description: Year – Displays the latest post entries in each archive
- Example Feed: http://yourdomain.com/2018/feed/
- Feed Type: Search Results
- Description: Feed that displays latest posts for a search query
- Example Feed: http://yourdomain.com/search/term/feed/
- Feed Type: Custom Post Type
- Description: Feed that includes latest post entries for a custom type (e.g. book)
- Example Feed: http://yourdomain.com/feed/?post_type=book
One more thing …
Remember to promote your RSS feed. Make sure you place your subscribe link or button somewhere visible …
(Remember to make your feeds visible your feeds!)
Keep in mind that other sites will only subscribe to your content if you publish great information that educates, engages, and entertains. In other words, you must provide high-quality information that can add value to their sites and benefit their users.
(Add content to your site and get others to syndicate your content online with RSS feeds!)
If you need help coming up with content ideas subscribe to our FREE content creation course using the form below:
Also, don’t forget to subscribe to our RSS feed 🙂
RSS Resources:
- Download RSS Feed Graphics – Visit www.iconspedia.com/search/rss or search online (e.g. “free rss icons”, “rss images”, etc.) for sites containing downloadable Free RSS graphic elements.
- RSSBoard.org – The RSS Advisory Board is an independent organization responsible for publishing RSS specifications, guiding developers who create RSS applications and broadening the public understanding of RSS.
- Wikipedia/RSS – Learn more about RSS.
- WordPress Codex: Feeds – WordPress software documentation. Visit this site for more information about WordPress RSS.
Congratulations! Now you know how to find your WordPress RSS feed, how to syndicate your content online using RSS, and how to add someone else’s content to your site via their RSS feed.
Hopefully, you now have a better understanding of issues that can affect your web site and how WordPress can help you get better results online. To learn more about using WordPress please see other posts on this site.
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"These tutorials have so much information and are easy to understand. If you use WordPress or plan to in the future these will help you with everything you need to know." - Valisa (Mesa, Arizona)