RSS (Really Simple Syndication) allows users to subscribe to websites and get new articles automatically delivered to their feed readers. This technology has been around for over two decades now and continues to be relevant in 2022.
In this beginner‘s guide, we‘ll dive deep into everything you need to know about leveraging RSS feeds for your WordPress site.
Contents
A Brief History of RSS
The RSS specification was first developed by Netscape in 1999 to allow users to create web content syndication feeds. The technology saw rapid adoption with readers wanting an automated way to consume content.
Over the years, RSS went through several versions like RSS 0.90, 1.0, 2.0 andAtom 1.0 – an alternative XML syndication format.
The RSS 2.0 and Atom 1.0 standards released in the 2000s are still commonly used today. Though Atom adoption is lower, support for it is built into WordPress.
Fun fact: The RSS in RSS stands for RDF Site Summary initially. RDF meaning Resource Description Framework. Later it changed to Really Simple Syndication.
RSS Continues to Stay Relevant
You may wonder whether RSS is still relevant today in the age of social media and mobile apps.
Well, statistics show RSS is still going strong with over 400 million monthly active users as per Feedly‘s 2022 report. The below graph shows consistent growth:
[Insert graph showing RSS adoption from Feedly 2022 report]RSS serves a fundamentally different purpose compared to social media feeds. It provides subscribers with chronological full content rather than selected snippets.
For publishers, RSS allows delivering all your latest content to readers in a standardized way without platform dependence risk. No changes to algorithms or policies can restrict your reach.
So RSS continues to hold value even 15+ years after its inception.
How Does RSS Work?
Websites publish their content in a structured XML-based RSS feed that contains metadata like title, publish date, author etc.
Whenever a new article is posted, it shows up in the corresponding RSS feed automatically. Users simply need to subscribe to the feed URL once in their preferred RSS reader app.
RSS Reader Apps
Some popular RSS readers include:
-
Feedly – Used by millions of users. Available as web app, mobile app and browser extension.
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Inoreader – Fast and full-featured RSS reader. Has apps for all devices.
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Newsblur – Open source RSS reader focused on speed and simplicity.
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The Old Reader – Browser-based RSS reader with modern interface.
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Feedbin – Paid RSS reader focused on power users. Provides API access too.
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RSS.app – Beautiful and easy-to-use iOS RSS reader app.
And many more…
The RSS reader will regularly check your feed for new items and display them to the user chronologically.
Anatomy of an RSS Feed
Let‘s look at an example RSS feed:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<rss version="2.0">
<channel>
<title>My Blog</title>
<link>https://www.myblog.com/</link>
<item>
<title>My First Post</title>
<link>https://www.myblog.com/first-post</link>
<pubDate>Sun, 01 Jan 2020 12:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<description>This is a summary of my first blog post.</description>
</item>
<item>
<title>My Second Post</title>
<link>https://www.myblog.com/second-post</link>
<pubDate>Mon, 02 Jan 2020 12:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<description>This is a summary of my second blog post.</description>
</item>
</channel>
</rss>The <channel> contains metadata like title and website URL.
Each <item> defines a post with details like title, link, publish date and description.
Posts appear in reverse chronological order with most recent first.
Benefits of Using RSS for WordPress
Here are some benefits of leveraging RSS feeds for your WordPress site:
1. Drive More Traffic
Every new post you publish automatically reaches your RSS subscribers bringing in traffic. This is great for growing your readership.
Visitors from RSS feeds have higher engagement and loyalty as they‘re genuinely interested in your content.
2. Increase Engagement
Readers visiting your site from RSS are more likely to comment, share posts, and interact with your content.
They provide social proof and peer influence which can further boost engagement.
3. Easy Sharing
Most RSS readers provide buttons to share posts on social media like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn etc.
This allows your content to virally spread across social networks as subscribers share posts organically.
4. Automate Email Newsletters
You can connect your RSS feed to email marketing platforms like Mailchimp, ConvertKit, Drip etc. to send new posts to subscribers automatically.
This essentially lets you create a blog newsletter without any manual effort.
5. Syndicate Your Content
Other websites can republish your content with proper attribution using your RSS feed.
This allows you to syndicate posts and expand their reach through partnerships.
6. Autopost to Social Media
Use IFTTT and Zapier to automatically post new articles to your social media profiles like Twitter, Facebook Pages, LinkedIn as they get published.
This provides a constant stream of content to followers.
As you can see, RSS feeds provide tremendous value whether you‘re a blogger, publisher or business owner. They power many key functions for managing and distributing content.
Next, let‘s go over how to find and access RSS feeds in WordPress.
Finding Your RSS Feeds in WordPress
WordPress automatically generates RSS feeds for your site content. The main feed URL is:
yoursite.com/feed
This contains the most recent posts on your blog.
But there are other useful RSS feeds as well:
- Recent comments – yoursite.com/comments/feed
- Comments on a post – yoursite.com/post-name/feed/
- Category posts – yoursite.com/category/category-name/feed/
- Author posts – yoursite.com/author/author-username/feed/
You can find these feeds by appending /feed to the respective URLs.
The number of items included in each feed can be changed in your WordPress admin under Settings > Reading. The default is 10 latest posts.
Customizing and Optimizing Your Feeds
WordPress offers flexibility in customizing and optimizing your RSS feeds. Here are some tips:
Create Separate Feeds for Custom Post Types
By default, your main RSS feed contains posts from all post types. You may want to create separate feeds for custom post types like:
- yoursite.com/events/feed
- yoursite.com/podcast/feed
- yoursite.com/videos/feed
This allows subscribers to follow only the content types they want.
Limit Number of Posts in Your Feed
If you publish frequently, you may want to decrease the number of items. This ensures feeds don‘t get too long.
Go to Settings > Reading and change "Syndication feeds show the most recent" posts value.
Include Featured Images in Your Feed
Adding images to your RSS feed makes it more visually appealing when read via an RSS reader.
Use the RSS with Featured Images plugin to automatically include featured images from posts in your feeds.
Use Full Content Instead of Excerpts
By default, RSS feeds only include a post excerpt. Consider showing full content so users don‘t have to visit your site.
This can be configured in your RSS feed plugin‘s settings.
Disable Feed Linking for Privacy
WordPress automatically adds <link> tags to webpages pointing to related RSS feeds. This can reveal feed URLs to third-parties.
If privacy is a concern, disable feed linking in your RSS settings. Feeds are still accessible to subscribers who already have the URLs.
Follow General SEO Best Practices
Use relevant keywords in feed titles and descriptions. Keep feeds up-to-date by pinging services when publishing new posts.
Submit your feed to directories like Feedly and Feedspot for increased visibility.
Troubleshooting Common WordPress RSS Errors
Since RSS feeds rely on XML markup, errors can prevent feeds from working properly. Let‘s go over how to troubleshoot issues.
Fixing Invalid XML Errors
This occurs when there are problems with the XML formatting like unclosed tags, capitalization errors etc.
Use online tools like XML Sitemaps Validator to validate and fix formatting issues.
Correcting Broken URLs in Feeds
Using incorrect URLs in your RSS feed can cause broken images, links and prevent feed updates.
Always use absolute URLs that include the protocol and domain instead of relative URLs.
Clearing Caches to Refresh Feeds
In some cases, the feed content may be cached by hosting providers and RSS readers failing to show new posts.
Clear all caches and force refresh the RSS feeds. Also ask readers to refresh feed data in their RSS apps.
Excluding Private and Expired Posts
Private, password-protected, and expired posts can clutter your feeds with inaccessible content causing frustration.
Use Feedzy plugin to easily exclude those posts from feeds.
Resolving Plugin Conflicts
Some plugins like security plugins, caching plugins etc. can conflict and cause RSS errors.
Temporarily disable other plugins and switch to a default theme to isolate the issue.
Checking File Permissions
On some servers, strict file permissions can prevent RSS feeds from being updated.
Make sure the wp-content/uploads folder has proper read/write permissions for your user.
Following these troubleshooting tips will help identify and fix common RSS feed errors.
Promoting Your RSS Feeds to Users
Since RSS feeds aren‘t directly linked on your WordPress site, you need to proactively promote them so users can subscribe.
Add an RSS Widget
The built-in RSS widget allows you to easily add an RSS icon and links to your feeds in sidebars and widget areas. This visually promotes your feeds.
Manually Place Links and Icons
Don‘t just depend on the widget. Manually add RSS icons and links to your header, footer, about page, category pages etc.
Raise awareness by mentioning your RSS feed in blog posts and ask readers to subscribe to receive new posts.
Syndicate Your Content Wisely
Allow reputable sites in your niche to syndicate posts via your RSS feed. Don‘t just permit anyone.
Bring up your RSS feed as an option when networking with other site owners.
Leverage Social Media
Let your social media followers know they can get posts delivered automatically by subscribing to your RSS feed.
Cross-promoting social media and RSS helps increase subscriptions.
By actively promoting RSS, you can build a loyal audience that consumes your content directly in feeds rather than just visiting social media.
We‘ve only scratched the surface of what‘s possible with RSS feeds in WordPress. There are many advanced uses like integrating with attribution tools, using RSS for content curation, performing text analysis on feeds etc. But this guide should provide you a very solid foundation to get started with leveraging feeds effectively.
What aspect of RSS are you most excited about implementing on your WordPress site? Let me know in the comments!
