No matter what service or product you sell or what industry your business is in, you need to provide quality information to your site visitors. For example, if you provide accounting or financial planning services, you may want to publish the latest information from the taxation office, such as news and updates on tax rulings, small business tax deductions, etc.
The problem with providing this kind of information, however, is that it is very time-consuming. You have to do a lot of information gathering, researching and organizing, checking your sources for accuracy, content writing and editing (or hire someone to do this for you), and then ensure that this information is continually up-to-date. As you can imagine, this is not only a lot 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 users up-to-date with great information.
It’s called RSS …
(RSS - One of the simplest ways to provide your readers with the latest information)
The Ultimate Guide To WordPress RSS
RSS – What You Need To Know
- RSS is an acronym for Rich Site Summary, or, as is more commonly referred to, Really Simple Syndication. It is also often called a “feed” or “news feed”.
- RSS lets content publishers automatically syndicate their content to save users time from having to keep revisiting their site to check for updates.
- RSS feeds are typically used to publish frequently updated information, such as blog post items, news, videos, etc., to which any user can choose to subscribe.
- Essentially, an RSS feed is a structured XML document that includes full or summarized text along with metadata like date of publishing, author, etc. It allows people to subscribe to content on websites and then browse any updates posted on these websites using a feedreader. Conversely, RSS feeds also enable publishers to automatically syndicate their web content.
- Feeds can be made available in different types and read by different feed readers. Some of these include RSS feeds, Atom (also called AtomPub or APP feeds and RDF feeds. All of these formats, however, use a standard XML file format to ensure compatibility with different machines and programs.
- Many sites and software applications also let you combine multiple RSS feeds to receive news and updates sourced from various websites.
In this detailed guide, we will explain where your RSS feed is located, how to use your WordPress RSS feed to get your content syndicated online, and how to add someone else’s content to your site using RSS feeds.
RSS (Really Simple Syndication) Feeds
Content syndication is a really powerful way of sharing web content. RSS Feeds provide web users with a way to keep up with the latest information posted on different websites and blogs.
First, let’s look at how content syndication is used.
Many news reporting agencies use syndication to publish stories from content sources all around the world.
Content syndication allows news reporting agencies and influential media publications to deliver readers stories on all kinds of topics as well as the most recent headlines from all around the globe without actually having to hire and set up additional writers everywhere in the world …
(Many online newspapers and leading online media publications rely on syndication to publish content from news sources all around the planet.)
Syndication is used to share newsworthy content legitimately. online media publications syndicate information using feeds …
(Syndication is a legitimate method of sharing content)
Most sites actually want you to share their information. Content syndication not only allows information to be shared, but it can also send visitors back to the site that published the original content being syndicated. This provides websites with new opportunities to generate additional web visitors.
Most digital news agencies and major content sites will have an RSS feed section (look for navigation links that say ”RSS”, “Syndication”, or “Newsfeeds” in them, or just search for “name of site/keyword + rss” – e.g. “nytimes rss”, “la times rss”, “sydney morning herald rss”, etc.) …
(Most online newspapers and major online media publications contain a feed section. Image: Sydney Morning Herald RSS )
Clicking on a site’s RSS feeds link will bring up a directory of different RSS feed sections …
(RSS directory. Source: New York Times RSS)
These feeds allow readers to source content from different areas of the website (e.g. business news, travel news, lifestyle magazine, etc.)
An RSS feed directory can also include further subcategories …
(Feed sections can also include subcategories. Image Source: latimes.com)
Note: A feed is only a URL. To use feeds, all you need to do is copy the URLs and paste these into an application that can process the feed into something readable. We’ll cover this further below.
Syndicating Content – Benefits
Syndicating content from someone else’s website on your site has some obvious benefits. It gives someone else’s content additional exposure online and adds value to your site without you having to create that content …
(Using Feeds)
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 there are benefits in getting other sites to syndicate your content.
When other sites syndicate your RSS feed, you have the opportunity to get increased exposure online and drive more web traffic …
(Look for ways to get visitors to syndicate your content … it will help increase your exposure online!)
Overview Of The WordPress RSS Feed
WordPress automatically publishes a feed of your latest posts, allowing other online users to syndicate your content on their sites.
Depending on the WP theme you have installed, there are a number of ways to access your WordPress RSS feed:
1) If your theme displays the Meta widget in a navigation menu …
(Your feed will display as many recent items you have specified in your Reading Settings section)
Display Full Text Or Summary Of Posts In Your RSS Feed
Another setting in the WordPress Reading Settings section that affects your RSS feed is whether to display articles in the feed as full text, or just as a summary …
(Settings – Reading Settings – ’For each article in a feed show’: ‘Full text’ or ‘Summary’)
Post Excerpts can also affect how your feed content appears …
(Post excerpts affect how feeds appear)
To learn more about using Post excerpts in WordPress, refer to this tutorial:
View The Content Of Your RSS Feeds
As mentioned earlier, all you have to do to view the content of a feed is to copy the feed’s URL to your clipboard and paste it into an application that translates feeds into readable content for humans.
Let’s show you how this works.
First, go to a website or blog and look for their RSS feed icon …
(Look for a ‘subscribe’ link. Image source: http://www.yourcoffeeguru.com)
Next, copy the feed URL to your clipboard …
(Copy the URL of your feed)
If you want, you can check what the feed contains by pasting the feed URL into an online feed reader …
(Paste your URL of your feed into a feed reader to view the feed content. Image: Feedreader)
Like feedreaders, WordPress has the ability to process RSS/XML feeds.
How To Add A Feed To WordPress
Let’s show you how to add content from other site’s RSS feeds to your site.
How To Add An RSS Feed To Your WordPress Sidebar
As mentioned earlier, no matter what industry your business operates in, you could easily display on your site the latest content from an industry-related government department or authoritative site in your industry by simply importing content from their feed. You can use RSS feeds to display a range of information on your WordPress site such as news, Facebook updates, or content from thousands of sites using the WordPress RSS widget.
Let’s add RSS content to the WordPress sidebar area …
(Add content from an RSS feed to your sidebar)
First, Find a site that publishes content that you want to display on your site and copy its RSS feed …
(Copy the URL of your feed to the clipboard)
Next, log into your wordPress Dashboard and go to Appearance > Widget paste the feed into an RSS widget …
(Widgets Panel – RSS Widget)
To learn more about using sidebar widgets, go here:
Load your website in your browser. The content will 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 Posts
Can content from an RSS feed be added to posts? It sure can!
You can do this using plugins. Search on the WordPress plugin repository for RSS feed, RSS feed to post, etc.
(’Add Plugins’ search results)
Note: Most RSS plugins typically require configuration – visit the plugin sites for configuration instructions, or contact us for help configuring plugins.
The plugins below can be used to feed content to posts, or “auto blog” (An auto blog is a blog with content that is automatically gathered and compiled from RSS feeds):
WPeMatico
(WPeMatico)
WPeMatico is an easy to use plugin that allows you to publish posts automatically from specific RSS/Atom feeds.
You can manage all of your imported feeds and organize them into campaigns.
For more details, go here:
WP RSS Aggregator
(WP RSS Aggregator WP Plugin)
WP RSS Aggregator is a comprehensive RSS feed importer and auto blogging WordPress plugin with premium add-ons for additional functionality.
For example, the Feed to Post extension for the WP RSS Aggregator plugin is a feature-filled importer that lets you import RSS feeds directly into your posts.
For more details, go here:
RSS Post Importer
(RSS Post Importer Plugin For WordPress)
RSS Post Importer allows you to import, curate, syndicate, merge and display full-text RSS feeds on your WordPress blog.
The plugin fetches an RSS feed and publishes the entire content of each feed item as a standalone post.
For more details, go here:
Powr RSS Feed
(Powr RSS Feed Plugin For WordPress)
The POWr RSS Feed plugin lets you combine and display content from various RSS feeds.
The plugin also lets you display images, videos, and articles, adjust the priority of different feeds, use custom colors, backgrounds, fonts, and more. It is also mobile responsive and supports text in any language.
The premium version contains many additional features.
For more details, go here:
WP Pipes
(WP Pipes)
The WP Pipes plugin for WordPress is a powerful data migration plugin that lets you curate content from RSS feeds, Google News, and many other sources.
This plugin provides loads of functionality like CSV importing for posts/WooCommerce, RSS feed creator, autoblogging, auto post to Twitter/LinkedIn/Facebook, export posts as podcasts, create Google XML sitemaps, and help take your WordPress CMS to a new level.
For more details, go here:
FeedWordPress
(FeedWordPress Plugin)
FeedWordPress is a flexible Atom/RSS syndication plugin 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.
You can use this FeedWordPress to create aggregator site (sites that bring together content from various different sources), or bring together all your online activity in one place.
For more details, go here:
Autoblog by WPMUDev
(Autoblog by WPMUDev)
Autoblog is an easy-to-use plugin that can be set-up in minutes, without coding skills or complicated instructions. Simply copy and paste in the URL of your feed, give the feed a name of your choosing (for admin purposes) and select the 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)
By default, WordPress only posts posts in your RSS feed. You can use 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.
For more details, go here:
Useful Tips
Tip #1 – WordPress Comment RSS Feeds
WordPress makes available RSS feeds of the latest comments posted on your site in addition to making RSS feeds of your posts available to online users.
You can see the comments in your feed by clicking on Comments RSS in your ‘Meta’ widget …
(Comments Feed)
Comments posted on your site by visitors display in your Comments RSS page …
(RSS comments feed items viewed using Firefox)
Like post entries, your comments feed items will display differently depending on the browser you are using …
(RSS comments feed entries displayed using Google Chrome)
Again, you can check the feed content by pasting the URL of the feed into a feedreader …
(Paste your comments feed URL into a feed reader to view the content. Image Source: Feedreader.com)
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 WordPress installation is in a subdomain, e.g. “blog”)
Tip #2 – Creating RSS Feeds For Specific Post Items
Being able to use an RSS feed for a specific post can be useful. For example, you may want to add feeds from specific posts to RSS directories, or you may have created a valuable resource that other online users will want to syndicate.
The formula for displaying an RSS feed for individual posts is shown below:
(Specific Post RSS Feed)
To create the above feed, copy the post URL, and append “/feed/?withoutcomments=1” to the end.
(Single Post RSS Feed)
Note: By default, if you only append “/feed” to the end of your post address, WordPress will return the comments left on your post, not the post content itself.
Tip #3 – Using Category RSS Feeds
Some your site users may only want to subscribe to content from a particular post category. They may not want to subscribe to your entire site’s feed.
If your site publishes content under different categories, you can provide a separate RSS feed for each different category.
Just use the format shown below:
(Format for WordPress category feed)
Copy the category link address to your clipboard …
(Copy your category link address …)
Add “feed” to the end of it …
(WordPress category feed format)
Your feed will now only display content published under this particular category …
(Category-specific RSS feed page)
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 RSS Feeds List
You can publish your own RSS feeds directory that allows your readers to subscribe only to content in the categories they are interested in, just like large authoritative sites …
(Set Up A Feeds List)
Link an icon like the one shown below to a feed and then create a table or a list of your feeds on a separate page …
(RSS button. Image: http://www.public-domain-photos.com/free-cliparts/computer/other/rss_button_roman_bertle_01-2522.htm)
To learn more about inserting tables into WordPress posts, go here:
WordPress RSS – Notes
You can customize feeds in a number of ways, such as adding videos to feeds, ads, etc. Some of these customizations require editing code.
WordPress allows you to configure a number of feed types that do not require touching code. Here are some examples of feeds you can display on your site and how to structure these feeds …
(Different Feed Types You Can Create With WordPress RSS)
Below are the feed types, descriptions, and feed examples shown in the table above:
- Feed Type: All Posts
- Description: Content feed – Includes your latest entries
- Example Feed: http://yourdomain.com/feed/
- Feed Type: All Comments
- Description: Comments feed – Feed that includes the latest comments posted on your site
- Example Feed: http://yourdomain.com/comments/feed/
- Feed Type: Individual Posts
- Description: RSS feed for single items
- Example Feed: http://yourdomain.com/post-title/feed/
- Feed Type: Individual Posts Comments
- Description: RSS Feed containing the latest comments made on single items
- Example Feed: http://yourdomain.com/title-of-your-blog-post/feed/
- Feed Type: Archives
- Description: Day – RSS feed containing the latest post entries in each archive
- Example Feed: http://yourdomain.com/2013/05/09/feed/
- Feed Type: Archives
- Description: Month – Displays latest entries in each archive
- Example Feed: http://yourdomain.com/2011/10/feed/
- Feed Type: Archives
- Description: Year – Displays latest items in each archive
- Example Feed: http://yourdomain.com/2015/feed/
- Feed Type: Search Results
- Description: Feed displaying the latest entries for a search query
- Example Feed: http://yourdomain.com/search/term/feed/
- Feed Type: Custom Post Type
- Description: Includes latest post entries for a custom type (e.g. book)
- Example Feed: http://yourdomain.com/feed/?post_type=book
One last thing …
It’s a good idea to let visitors know that they can subscribe to your RSS feed. Place your ’subscribe to RSS’ buttons in a visible location …
(Promote your feeds!)
Keep in mind that online users will only subscribe to your content if you provide useful content. In other words, provide high-quality information that will add value to their sites and benefit their visitors.
(Easily add content from other sites and get online users to syndicate your content 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 🙂
Additional Resources:
- RSS Feed Images – Visit an online resource site like Iconspedia.com or search online (e.g. “free RSS icons”, “rss logo download”, etc.) for sites that allow you to download Free RSS images.
- RSSBoard.org – The RSS Advisory Board is an independent organization responsible for publishing RSS specifications, guiding developers who create RSS applications and helping to further the understanding of RSS.
- Wikipedia/RSS – General information about using RSS.
- WordPress.org/RSS Feeds – WordPress documentation and reference. Visit this site for more information about using WordPress feeds.
Congratulations! Now you know where your RSS feed is located, how to use your WordPress RSS feed to get your content syndicated online, and how to add someone else’s content to your site via RSS.
Hopefully, this post has given you a better understanding of issues that can affect your website and how WordPress can help you build a better business online. To learn more about using WordPress please click on links to visit our related posts section.
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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)