No matter what product or service your business sells, providing high-value information to your site readers is important. For example, if you provide taxation services, it’s a good idea to provide users with information from the taxation office, such as news or updates on tax rulings, small business tax deductions, etc.

To create and publish this kind of information, however, takes a lot of work and expertise. You have to do a lot of information sorting, researching and organizing, fact-checking, writing and editing content (or hire someone to do this for you), and then continually ensure that this information is kept up-to-date. As you can imagine, this is not only a huge amount of work but most of the information you are dealing with is entirely beyond your control.

Fortunately, there is a simpler way to continually provide your site readers with up-to-date information.

It’s called RSS …

(RSS - One of the easiest ways to provide your blog subscribers with up-to-date information)

The Ultimate Guide To WordPress RSS

RSS – What You Need To Know

• RSS, which, according to some experts is short for RDF Site Summary, is more commonly referred to as Really Simple Syndication. It can also be called a “feed” or “newsfeed”.
• RSS lets content publishers automatically syndicate their content so that their site readers can read it without having to keep revisiting sites to check for updates.
• Feeds are often used to publish frequently updated information, such as blog posts, news headlines, video lists, etc., which any user can then subscribe to.
• RSS feeds can be read using software-based tools called RSS readers, or aggregators. Feed readers can be used to find content on all different kinds of topics and distribute this content (and updates made to this content) to online properties.
• There are different feed formats and these can be read by different feed 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, feed readers, and programs.
• Many sites and software tools also let you combine several RSS feeds to display news and updates from various sources.

In this detailed guide, we explain where your RSS feed is located, how to use your WordPress RSS feed to get your content syndicated online, and how to display someone else’s content on your site via their RSS feed.

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) Feeds

Content syndication is a powerful (and legitimate) method used to share web content. RSS Feeds provide web users with a simple way to stay up-to-date with the latest information published on different websites and blogs.

First, let’s take a look at syndication.

Online media publications rely heavily on content syndication to publish stories from news agencies around the world.

Content syndication allows many online newspapers and influential online media publications to deliver readers the latest stories and newsworthy content from around the globe without actually having to employ and set up more reporters in every place around the world …

(News reporting agencies rely on syndication to publish newsworthy stories from news sources all around the world.)

Syndication is a legitimate way of sharing content. Global media publications syndicate their stories using news feeds …

(Content syndication is a legitimate way of sharing information)

Most websites actually want you to share their information. Content syndication not only allows information to be shared, but it can also drive visitors back to the original site that published the content being syndicated. This provides websites with additional opportunities to generate significant web visitors.

Most leading online media publications 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”, “salt lake tribune rss”, “sydney morning herald rss”, etc.) …

(Most news reporting agencies and major online media publications include an RSS feed section. Source: Sydney Morning Herald )

Clicking on a site’s RSS feeds link brings up a list of RSS feeds for different areas of the site …

(A list of feeds. Source: nytimes.com)

These RSS feed items give readers access to content from different sections of the website (e.g. business news, travel news, health news, etc.)

Feed sections can also contain feed subdirectories …

(Feed sections can also include feed subdirectories. Image: latimes.com)

Note: A feed is only a URL. All that’s required to use a feed is copy the URL and paste it into a program that can process the feed code into something readable. We’ll cover this further below.

Using Feeds – Benefits

Adding someone else’s content to your website has some obvious benefits. It gives someone else’s website additional exposure online and adds value to your site without you having to create the content …

(The Benefits Of Content Syndication)

While adding RSS feeds from another site is a great way to add content to your site that you don’t have to create, it’s a great idea to try and get other websites to use YOUR content.

When other websites and blogs syndicate your RSS feed, this gives your business the opportunity to get increased exposure online and drive new web traffic …

(Get visitors to syndicate your RSS feed … it will help drive more traffic to your site!)

WordPress RSS Feed

By default, WordPress automatically publishes a feed of your latest posts, allowing other online users to easily syndicate your content on their websites.

Depending on your WordPress theme, there are a number of ways to get the WordPress RSS feed:

1) If your theme allows the Meta widget to display on your sidebar menu, you can scroll down to the Meta section and click on Entries RSS …

(You can access your WordPress RSS feed from the Entries RSS menu)

2) You can also find links and/or buttons on certain themes that let your visitors copy your feed.

In the screenshot below, for example, a visitor can copy the site’s RSS feed URL by right-clicking and copying on the Subscribe to RSS link …

(Copy RSS URLs to your clipboard from “subscribe” buttons)

3) On many websites and again, depending on the theme you have installed, you can find the RSS feed displayed in a Follow Us, Share, or Link To Us toolbar …

(Look for an RSS button in a a Social Share, Link To Us, or Stay In Touch slide-out, fixed, or floating toolbar)

4) You can also view your 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 WordPress site installation is in a subfolder, e.g. “blog”)

Using any of the above methods will bring up your RSS feed page …

(Feed entries seen on Firefox)

Note that your feed content will display differently depending on the browser you are using …

(Feed entries as seen on Google Chrome)

Specify Number Of Items To Display On Your RSS Feed

You can specify how many posts you want displayed in your RSS section, by going to your Reading Settings section and selecting the number of items to show in the “Syndication feeds show the most recent” field …

(WordPress Settings – Reading Settings – Number of syndication feed items setting)

The feed will display the number of posts as you have specified section …

(The feed page will display the number of items you have specified in the Reading Settings section)

Display Full Text Or Summary Of Posts In Your RSS Feed

The other setting in your Reading Settings section that affects your feeds is whether to display your posts as full text, or just as a summary …

(Reading Settings – Display ‘Full Text’ or ‘Summary’ for posts in a feed)

Post Excerpts can also affect how your feed content displays …

(Post excerpts can affect how your feed content will display)

For a detailed step-by-step tutorial about WordPress Post excerpts, go here:

• WordPress Post Excerpts - Step-By-Step Tutorial

View The Content Of Your RSS Feeds

As mentioned earlier, all you have to do to view a feed’s content is to copy the feed’s URL and paste it into an application that can translate feeds into readable content for humans.

Let’s see how this works.

First, find a website whose content you want to subscribe to and search for an RSS feed button …

(Search for an RSS feed section. Image source: YourCoffeeGuru.com)

Next, copy the feed URL to your clipboard …

(Copy the feed URL)

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 feed content. Source: Feedreader)

Like feedreaders, WordPress has the ability to process RSS feeds.

Adding RSS Feeds To Your WP Site

In the example below, we’ll add content from another website’s RSS feeds to yours.

Adding A Feed To Your Sidebar

As mentioned earlier, no matter what industry you are in, you can add to your site the latest news and updates from an industry-related government department or authoritative site in your industry by simply importing their feed. You can use RSS feeds to display a range of information on your WordPress site like news, Facebook updates, or content from thousands of sites using the WordPress RSS widget.

Let’s add RSS content to the WordPress sidebar area …

(Let’s add content from an RSS feed to the WordPress sidebar navigation menu)

copy the feed URL from a website that publishes content that you would like to display on your site …

(Copy the feed URL to your clipboard)

Next, log into your wordPress Dashboard and go to Appearance > Widget paste the feed into a new RSS widget …

(WordPress RSS Widget)

To learn more about using widgets, go here:

• Adding WordPress Widgets To The Website

Load your site in your web browser. The content will now show in the sidebar (or wherever the RSS widget has been added) …

(RSS Feed Content Added To Sidebar)

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 Set Up Webmaster Accounts

How To Add RSS Feed Content To Posts

Can content from an RSS feed be added to posts instead of your sidebar? Yes, it can!

You can do this using plugins. Just search inside your Plugins screen (Plugins > Add New) for RSS Aggregator, RSS feed to post, etc.

(WordPress RSS plugins)

Note: These plugins typically require configuration – visit the plugin sites for configuration instructions, or contact us for help configuring plugins.

Here are some autoblogging plugins that let you create new with RSS feeds:

WPeMatico

(WPeMatico)

WPeMatico is an easy to use plugin that lets you publish posts automatically from specific RSS/Atom feeds.

You can manage all of your imported feeds and organize feeds into categories and campaigns.

For more details, go here:

• WPeMatico Plugin

WP RSS Aggregator

(WP RSS Aggregator Plugin For WordPress)

WP RSS Aggregator is an RSS feed importer and autoblogging plugin for WordPress with a number of premium add-ons for extended functionality.

For example, the Feed to Post add-on allows you to import RSS feeds directly into WordPress posts.

For more details, go here:

• WP RSS Aggregator – WordPress Plugin

RSS Post Importer

(RSS Post Importer Plugin)

RSS Post Importer lets you import, syndicate, curate, merge and display full text feeds (RSS, Atom, etc.) on your WordPress website or blog.

RSS Post Importer fetches an RSS feed and publishes the full article content of each item in the feed as a standalone post.

For more details, go here:

• RSS Post Importer

Powr RSS Feed

(Powr RSS Feed Plugin For WordPress)

POWr RSS Feed automatically combines and displays content from a number of different sources using RSS feeds.

The POWr RSS Feed plugin also lets you display images, videos, and articles, adjust feed size and spacing, use custom borders, fonts, colors, and more. It also displays feeds correctly on all computers, tablets, and phones and supports text in all languages.

The premium version of this plugin contains a number of additional features.

For more details, go here:

• Powr RSS Feed WordPress Plugin

WP Pipes

(WP Pipes Plugin For WordPress)

The WP Pipes plugin for WordPress 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 loads of functionality like CSV importing for posts/WooCommerce, RSS feed creator, auto blogging, auto post to Twitter/LinkedIn/Facebook, export WordPress posts as iTunes podcasts, create Google XML sitemaps, and more!

For more details, go here:

• WP Pipes Plugin For WordPress

FeedWordPress

(FeedWordPress Plugin)

FeedWordPress provides flexible Atom/RSS syndication options 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 content from various different sources), or display all of your online activity into a Lifestream.

For more details, go here:

• FeedWordPress Plugin

Autoblog

(Autoblog by WPMUDev – WordPress Plugin)

Autoblog is an easy-to-use plugin that can be set-up very quickly, with no coding required and no complicated instructions. Just copy and paste in your feed URL, name your feed (for admin purposes) and select the blog that you want it to post to.

For more details, go here:

• Autoblog WordPress Plugin

RSS Includes Pages

(RSS Includes Pages and Custom Post Types)

Install RSS Includes Pages and Custom Post Types if you want 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:

• RSS Includes Pages and Custom Post Types – WordPress Plugin

Using RSS Feeds – Useful Tips

Tip #1 – Comment RSS Feeds

WordPress displays RSS feeds of comments posted on your site in addition to making RSS feeds of your latest posts available.

You can inspect your comments feed by clicking on Comments RSS in the ‘Meta’ section of your sidebar menu …

(Comments Feed)

Comments posted on your site by visitors display in your Comments RSS page …

(Comments feed items seen with Firefox)

Like post entries, your comments feed items will display differently depending on the web browser you are using …

(Comments feed entries as seen with a Google Chrome browser)

Again, you can check what the comments feed contains by pasting the feed URL into a feedreader …

(Paste the URL of your comments feed into a feed reader to view the content. 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 website or blog has been installed in a subfolder, e.g. “blog”)

Tip #2 – Creating Individual Post Feeds

Being able to display an RSS feed for a specific post can be useful. For example, you may want to add feeds from specific items to RSS directories, or you may have created a valuable resource that other online users will want to syndicate.

The formula for making an RSS feed for single posts is shown below:

(Specific Post RSS Feed)

To create the above feed, copy the post URL, and add “/feed/?withoutcomments=1” to the end.

(Single Post Feed)

Note: By default, if you only append “/feed” to the end of your post, WordPress will return the comments associated with your post, not actual content of the post itself.

Tip #3 – Using Category RSS Feeds

Some your site visitors may only be interested in subscribing to content from a specific category. They may not want to subscribe to your entire site’s feed.

With WordPress, you can easily create category feeds.

All you have to do is use the format below:

(Use this format for WordPress category RSS feed)

Copy the category URL to your clipboard …

(Copy the selected category URL …)

Add the word “feed” to the end of it …

(WordPress post categories feed format)

The category RSS feed will now only display content specific to this category …

(Category 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 – Provide Your Own Page Of RSS Feeds On Your Site

You can provide a list of RSS feeds that allows readers to subscribe to specific categories, just like large authoritative sites …

(Create An RSS Feeds List)

You can link an RSS graphic to the URL of your category feed and then create a table or a list of all feeds on a separate page …

(RSS icon. Image Source: public-domain-photos.com)

To learn more about creating tables in WordPress posts, see this tutorial:

• How To Add Tables To WordPress Easily Without Touching Code

RSS – Additional Notes

Feeds can be customized in several different ways, such as adding images and videos to feeds, ads, etc. Some of these customizations require editing code.

WordPress allows you to configure various feed formats that do not require editing code. For example, here are just some of the kinds of custom feeds you can display …

(WordPress RSS – Feed Types)

Here are the different feed types, descriptions, and feed examples listed 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 – Feed that includes the latest comments left on your blog
• Example Feed: http://yourdomain.com/comments/feed/

• Feed Type: Individual Posts
• Description: RSS feed that contains individual items
• Example Feed: http://yourdomain.com/blog-post-title/feed/

• Feed Type: Individual Posts Comments
• Description: Contains the latest comments made on single posts
• Example Feed: http://yourdomain.com/post-title/feed/

• Feed Type: Archives
• Description: Day – Feed that contains latest posts in each archive
• Example Feed: http://yourdomain.com/2011/06/08/feed/

• Feed Type: Archives
• Description: Month – Includes the latest posts in each archive
• Example Feed: http://yourdomain.com/2013/07/feed/

• Feed Type: Archives
• Description: Year – Displays the latest items in each archive
• Example Feed: http://yourdomain.com/2013/feed/

• Feed Type: Search Results
• Description: Displays the latest items for a search query
• Example Feed: http://yourdomain.com/search/term/feed/

• Feed Type: Custom Post Type
• Description: Displays latest posts for a custom type (e.g. book)
• Example Feed: http://yourdomain.com/feed/?post_type=book

One more thing …

Remember to let your users know that they can subscribe to your feed. Place your subscribe link in a visible location …

(Remember to promote your RSS feeds!)

Also, keep in mind that online users will only subscribe to your content if you provide useful content that educates, engages, and entertains. In other words, provide high-quality information that can add value to their sites and benefit their visitors.

(Easily add content to your site and get other users to syndicate your content online using RSS!)

If you need great content ideas subscribe to our FREE content creation course using the form below:

Also, don’t forget to subscribe to our RSS feed 🙂

RSS – Additional Resources:

• Download RSS Graphics – Visit feedicons.com or search online (e.g. “free rss icons”, “RSS logos”, etc.) for sites that allow you to download Free RSS graphics.
• RSSBoard.org – The RSS Advisory Board provides useful information about RSS.
• Wikipedia.org/RSS – Learn more about using RSS.
• WordPress.org/Feeds – WordPress software documentation and information. Go here for more information about using WordPress RSS.

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 content from other websites to your site using RSS.

Hopefully, you now have a better understanding of problems that can affect your website and how WordPress can help you build a better business online. To read more about using WordPress for a business website or blog please see our related posts section.

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