What is RSS and what can you do with it?
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RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. An RSS feed is an XML file created by WordPress that includes a snippet of your latest post or posts. In other words, it is a file that syndicates or groups your content so others can download it and get your updates.
RSS Symbol on Websites
You may have noticed the RSS symbol on websites. Mine is located in the lower right-hand corner of every page, along with all the social icons.
The primary use of an RSS feed is to provide site visitors and syndication services with the ability to subscribe to your feed and receive notifications when you post new content.
You can also set up an RSS feed service to automatically send email notices when you add a new post to your WordPress website. That’s the “simple syndication.”
When you subscribe to a website’s updates, you are often subscribing to how they syndicate their RSS feed. When a new post is added, WordPress updates the feed, and you receive an email.
The appearance and timing of that email depend on how the particular syndication is configured and vary by website. Various services and plugins help you customize the use of your RSS feed. We’ll also discuss those.
Why I Love RSS Feeds
You may have noticed the website feed icon and wondered what it represents. Now you know. Click on that icon, and you’ll get the URL for that feed.
Power users can add that URL to their feed reader service, like Feedly.com. Some people, like me, use their email program or a mobile app to follow the feeds they are interested in.
Browsers also offer the ability to subscribe to a feed via add-ons. The downside of this approach is that you will not see the updates if you are not in that browser or on a different device.
Using Your Email Program for Feeds
Your email program can subscribe to feeds and receive updates like any other email. Additionally, I can organize feeds into folders by topic. This way, I don’t have to go to a website or worry about using a specific browser.
You can also subscribe to feeds if you use Outlook. However, it appears this functionality has been removed in the recent OS for those on Macs and iPhones. So there’s an app for that!
How to Use Your WordPress Website’s RSS Feed
Most site owners are interested in how they can find and use their website’s posts feed to keep site visitors updated. So the first question asked is, “Where is my feed?”
You’ll find your WordPress posts feed at yourdomain.com/feed.
Now that you know where it is, what can you do with it? WordPress can create various feeds on the fly. For posts, tags, comments, and pages, you can make a URL for the type of feed you want to offer. Additionally, there are plugins available to help you further customize your feed.
Setting Up Your Website’s New Post Feed via Subscription
Your posts feed allows site visitors to sign up and get an email when you add a new post to your site. Additionally, you can configure the appearance of the email depending on the service you are using for your RSS campaign.
Kit* is a feature-rich email marketing tool that allows you to automate your built-in RSS feed and customize it to match your site’s look and feel. Once set up, an email is sent to all your subscribers when you add a new post. In addition, RSS can be customized to include images, the number of posts, summaries, or entire posts.
You can set up Kit to send at a particular time you have posted something new every day. Alternatively, you can configure the service to send weekly, including an excerpt of all the posts for the week. Then, it’s up to you!
If you use MailChimp, you can install the Featured Images in RSS plugin. This plugin then includes the designated Featured Image for each post, increasing click-thrus.
The Yoast SEO plugin enables you to customize your RSS feed to include information indicating whether your feed is displayed elsewhere. This is because some websites display the feeds of other websites as content.
You can add content before and a link to your website at the bottom of every item on your feed.
Using RSS Feeds from Other Websites on Yours
You can display RSS feeds from other websites on your site or in your sidebar. To do this, you would need an RSS aggregator. Here’s a plugin to check out:
Are you ready to make RSS feeds work for you?
You have an RSS feed to utilize to gain new subscribers and exposure. You can also subscribe to other websites’ feeds to stay informed or display others’ feeds to complement your content.
Now that you know what to do with RSS feeds, how will you use them to your advantage?
At your service,
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