No matter what service or product your business sells, it’s important to provide high-value information to your site or blog visitors. For example, if you provide medical services, you may want to publish useful information from the health department, such as news or updates on medical research, health and fitness advice, etc.
The problem with creating this type of information, however, is that it is very time-consuming. You have to sift through, research, and organize a lot of data, 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 is not only a lot of work but most of the information you are dealing with is completely beyond your control.
Fortunately, there is a simpler way to provide your site visitors with up-to-date information.
It’s called RSS …
(RSS is one of the simplest ways to provide your subscribers with great information)
The Ultimate Guide To WordPress RSS
RSS Made Simple
- RSS, which, according to some experts stands for RDF Site Summary, is more commonly known now as Really Simple Syndication. It can also be referred to as a “feed” or “news feed”.
- Once a user subscribes to a website’s feed, they no longer have to physically visit and check the website for updated content. Instead, their web browser will continually monitor the feed and automatically keep subscribers updated.
- RSS feeds are also used to publish information that is frequently updated, such as blog posts, news, audios, etc., which any user can then subscribe to.
- You can view RSS feeds using a program called a feed reader, or feed aggregator. Feed readers can be used to find new content published on websites and syndicate this content to other online properties.
- 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 (Resource Description Framework) 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 many RSS feeds to aggregate news and updates from multiple sources.
This article shows you how to find your WordPress RSS feed, how to syndicate your content online using RSS feeds, and how to display content from other websites and blogs on your site via RSS feeds.
RSS (Really Simple Syndication) Feeds
Content syndication is a powerful and legitimate way to share web content. RSS Feeds provide a simple way for online users to stay up-to-date with the latest information published on different websites and blogs.
First, let’s take a look at content syndication.
Many news reporting agencies rely on content syndication to publish news from news sources all around the world.
Content syndication allows online newspapers and many leading media publications to deliver readers the latest headlines from around the planet without actually having to set up additional news staff and content writers everywhere in the world …
(News reporting agencies and influential media publications rely on content syndication to publish news and stories from news sources around the world.)
Syndication is used to share information legitimately with other sites. online media publications syndicate news stories using news feeds …
(News reporting agencies syndicate stories using news feeds)
Most websites actually want you to share their content. Syndicating content not only allows information to be shared, but it can also drive visitors back to the site that originally published the content being syndicated. This provides websites with additional opportunities to generate significant web traffic.
Most digital publishing agencies include a 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 leading online media publications contain a feed section. Image Source: smh.com.au )
Clicking on a site’s RSS feeds section will bring up a list of RSS feeds for different content topics on the site …
(RSS Feeds. Image Source: nytimes.com)
These feed items give you access to information from different sections of the website (e.g. business news, arts news, jobs, etc.)
Feed sections can also include subcategories …
(An RSS list can also contain feed subcategories. Image Source: latimes.com)
Note: A feed is just a URL. To use RSS feeds, all you need to do is copy the URLs and paste these into software that can process the feed code into something readable. We’ll cover this further below.
Content Syndication – Benefits
Adding someone else’s content to your site has some obvious benefits. It not only gives additional exposure online to someone else’s website, it also helps you by freeing you up from having to create that content …
(The Benefits Of Content Syndication)
While adding RSS 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 content, this gives you the opportunity to get increased exposure online and drive more web traffic …
(Consider trying to get visitors to syndicate content using your feed … it will help increase your exposure online!)
Your WordPress Feed
WordPress automatically publishes a feed of your posts, allowing other online users to easily syndicate your content on their websites.
Depending on your theme, there are a number of ways to access the WordPress RSS feed:
1) If your theme allows the Meta widget to be displayed on your sidebar menu, just scroll down to the Meta section and click on Entries RSS …
(Access your WordPress RSS feed from the Meta section)
2) You can also find links and buttons on certain WordPress themes that allow your visitors to copy your feed.
In the screenshot below, for example, a visitor can copy the feed URL by clicking on on the Subscribe to RSS link …
(Copy RSS links to your clipboard from “subscribe” buttons)
3) On many websites and again, depending on your WordPress site’s theme, you can find the RSS feed displayed in a Subscribe, Link To Us, or Social Share toolbar …
(Look for an RSS button in a a Links, Share, or Stay In Touch toolbar section)
4) You can also view your WordPress feed by simply typing your site’s URL into a web browser and adding “/feed” after the URL, e.g.:
- http://www.yourdomain.com/feed
- http://www.yourdomain.com/blog/feed (if your website is located in a subfolder, e.g. “blog”)
Using any of the above methods will bring up a page containing your WordPress RSS feed …
(RSS content as seen using Firefox)
Note that your feed items will display differently depending on which browser you use …
(RSS feed items displayed on a Google Chrome browser)
Specify Number Of Items To Display On Your RSS Feed
You can specify how many posts you want to display in your RSS page in the Reading Settings section. Select the number of items to show in the “Syndication feeds show the most recent” field …
(Reading Settings – Syndication feeds)
The feed section will display as many recent items you have specified section …
(The feed will display the number of items you have specified in the WordPress 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 feeds is whether to display your posts as full text, or just as a summary …
(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 can affect how your feed content will display)
If you need help Post excerpts, see this step-by-step tutorial:
View The Content Of Your RSS Feeds
As mentioned previously, to view the content of a feed, you need to copy the feed’s URL to your clipboard and paste it into a feedreader, i.e. an application that can translate feeds into readable content.
Let’s show you how this works.
First, go to a website whose feed you want to subscribe to and search for an RSS feed button using any of the methods described earlier …
(Search for an RSS feed icon. Image source: YourCoffeeGuru.com)
Next, copy the feed URL to your clipboard …
(Copy your feed URL)
If you want, you can check the feed content by pasting the feed URL into a feed reader …
(Paste the feed URL into a feedreader to view the feed content. Image Source: Feedreader)
Like feedreaders, WordPress has the ability to process RSS feeds.
How To Add An RSS Feed To Your Site
In the example below, we’ll add content from other website’s RSS feeds to yours.
How To Add An RSS Feed To Your WordPress Sidebar
As mentioned earlier, no matter what industry your business is in, you could display on your site the latest news from an industry-related government department or authoritative site in your industry simply by adding content from their feed. You can use feeds to display a range of information on your WordPress site such as news, Facebook comments, or content from thousands of sites using the WordPress RSS widget.
Let’s add RSS content to your sidebar …
(Let’s add content from an RSS feed to your sidebar)
First, Go to a site that publishes content that you want to add to your site and copy its feed URL to your clipboard …
(Copy your feed URL to the clipboard)
Next, paste the feed into a new RSS widget …
(WordPress RSS Widget)
To learn more about using widgets, go here:
Refresh your browser. The content from the RSS feed can now be seen on the sidebar (or wherever you have placed the RSS widget) …
(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:
Adding Feed Content To Posts
Can content from RSS feeds be added to a post? Yes, it can!
You can easily do this using WordPress plugins. Just search on the WordPress plugin repository for RSS Aggregator, RSS feed to post, etc.
(‘Add Plugins’ screen – WordPress RSS plugins)
Note: Most RSS plugins typically require configuration – visit the plugin sites for complete instructions, or contact us for help with plugin configuration.
Here are some plugins you can check out that allow you to add RSS feeds to your pages and posts:
WPeMatico
(WPeMatico)
WPeMatico is an easy to use auto blogging plugin that lets you publish posts automatically from multiple RSS/Atom feeds.
You can manage all of your imported feeds and arrange feeds into categories and campaigns.
For more details, go here:
WP RSS Aggregator
(WP RSS Aggregator – WordPress Plugin)
WP RSS Aggregator is a comprehensive RSS feed importer and autoblogging plugin for WordPress that offers a number of premium add-ons for extended functionality.
For example, the Feed to Post add-on is an advanced importer that lets you autoblog by importing RSS feeds directly into posts.
For more details, go here:
RSS Post Importer
(RSS Post Importer – WordPress Plugin)
RSS Post Importer lets you import, syndicate, curate, merge and display full-text feeds (RSS, Atom, etc.) on your WordPress blog.
The plugin fetches an RSS feed and publishes the full content of each item in the feed as a standalone post.
For more details, go here:
Powr RSS Feed
(Powr RSS Feed – WordPress Plugin)
POWr RSS lets you combine and display content from a number of different content using RSS feeds.
The POWr RSS Feed plugin also lets you display images, videos, and articles, adjust feed priority, use custom fonts, backgrounds, colors, and more. It is also mobile responsive and supports text in all languages.
The premium version contains a number of additional features.
For more details, go here:
WP Pipes
(WP Pipes Plugin For WordPress)
The WP Pipes plugin is a powerful data migration plugin that allows you to create curate content from RSS feeds, Google News, and many other sources.
This plugin provides features like CSV importing for posts/WooCommerce, RSS feed creator, auto blogging, auto post to Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn, export posts as iTunes podcasts, create Google XML sitemaps, and help take your WordPress CMS to a new level.
For more details, go here:
FeedWordPress
(FeedWordPress Plugin)
FeedWordPress provides versatile syndication for WordPress.
As stated in the FeedWordPress website …
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 posts from different sources), or display all your online activity in one place.
For more details, go here:
Autoblog
(Autoblog by WPMUDev)
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 to post content to.
For more details, go here:
RSS Includes Pages
(RSS Includes Pages Plugin For WordPress)
By default, WordPress only posts posts in your RSS feed. Use RSS Includes Pages if you would like to include pages in your RSS feed in addition to posts.
For more details, go here:
Using RSS – Useful Tips
Tip #1 – WordPress Comment RSS Feeds
WordPress makes available RSS feeds of the latest comments posted on your site in addition to displaying RSS feeds of your posts.
You can access the comments in your feed by clicking on Comments RSS in your ‘Meta’ widget area …
(WordPress Comments RSS)
Comments posted on your site by visitors and users will appear in your Comments RSS page …
(Comments feed entries as seen on Firefox)
Like post entries, your comments feed items will display differently depending on the browser you are using …
(RSS comments feed entries as seen using a Google Chrome web browser)
Again, you can check the feed content by pasting the feed URL into an online feed reader …
(Paste the feed URL into a feed reader to view the feed 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 – Creating Feeds For Single Posts
Being able to create an RSS feed for specific posts can be useful. For example, you may want to add feeds from specific posts 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 individual posts is shown below:
(Feed For Individual Post)
To create the above feed, copy the post URL, and append “/feed/?withoutcomments=1” to the end.
(Single Post Feed)
Note: By default, if you only append “/feed” to the end of a post, WordPress will return the comments made on your post, not actual content of the post itself.
Tip #3 – Category RSS Feeds
Some your site users may only want to subscribe to content about specific topics. They may not want to subscribe to your entire site’s feed.
WordPress allows you to create separate category feeds.
All you need to do is use the format below:
(Format for WP category feed)
Select and copy the category URL …
(Copy the selected category link address …)
Append the word “feed” to the end of it …
(WordPress RSS feed format for post categories)
Your feed will now only display content specific to that category …
(Category 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 A Directory Of RSS Feeds For Subscribers
You can set up an RSS feeds directory that allows your readers to subscribe only to specific content …
(Create An RSS Feeds Page)
You can also link a button icon to the URL of your category feed and then create a table or a list of all your category feeds on a separate page …
(RSS icon. Image: http://www.public-domain-photos.com/free-cliparts/computer/other/rss_button_roman_bertle_01-2522.htm)
For a detailed step-by-step tutorial about adding tables to WordPress pages and posts, go here:
RSS Feeds – Notes
You can customize RSS in several different ways, such as adding images to feeds, ads, etc. Some of these feed customizations require code editing skills.
WordPress allows you to configure a number of feed types without code editing skills. Below are examples of some of the kinds of custom feed types you can display on your site and how to format your feeds …
(Different Feed Types You Can Create With WordPress RSS)
Here are the different feed types, descriptions, and feed examples shown in the image above:
- Feed Type: All Posts
- Description: Content feed – Feed that displays your latest post entries
- Example Feed: http://yourdomain.com/feed/
- Feed Type: All Comments
- Description: Comments feed – Includes the latest comments left on your website or blog
- Example Feed: http://yourdomain.com/comments/feed/
- Feed Type: Individual Posts
- Description: RSS feed that contains a specific post entry
- Example Feed: http://yourdomain.com/blog-post-title/feed/
- Feed Type: Individual Posts Comments
- Description: Feed that includes the latest comments made on an individual post entry
- Example Feed: http://yourdomain.com/blog-post-title/feed/
- Feed Type: Archives
- Description: Day – Contains the latest entries in each archive
- Example Feed: http://yourdomain.com/2011/07/30/feed/
- Feed Type: Archives
- Description: Month – Contains latest items in each archive
- Example Feed: http://yourdomain.com/2014/05/feed/
- Feed Type: Archives
- Description: Year – Includes the latest entries in each archive
- Example Feed: http://yourdomain.com/2017/feed/
- Feed Type: Search Results
- Description: Contains the latest posts 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 more thing …
Remember to promote your RSS feed. Make sure you place a subscribe button somewhere visible …
(Promote your RSS feeds!)
Finally, keep in mind that other sites will only want to syndicate your content if you provide your visitors with very high-quality content that can add value to their sites and benefit their visitors.
(Add someone else’s content and get other users to share your content using RSS!)
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 feed 🙂
Resources:
- RSS Feed Graphics – Visit a site like Iconspedia or search online (e.g. “free RSS icons”, “RSS images”, etc.) for sites that allow you to download Free RSS graphic elements.
- RSSBoard.org – The RSS Advisory Board provides useful information and links to resources about RSS.
- Wikipedia/RSS – General information about RSS feeds.
- WordPress.org/WordPress Feeds – Official WordPress documentation and reference repository. Visit this site to learn more about using feeds in WordPress.
Congratulations! Now you know 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 sites to your site via RSS.
Hopefully, you now have a better understanding of issues that can affect your web site and how WordPress can help you expand your business online. To read more about the benefits of using WordPress please see other great content on this site.
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