What is RSS, How to Use [Complete Guide on RSS Feed]

Yukta Jaiswal July 20, 2020 0 Comments

If you like to visit some websites/blogs on the internet, and want to stay updated with that website’s latest content, don’t worry, RSS got your back. With the help of RSS, Users can keep track of many websites in real-time.

RSS (stands for RDF Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication.)is a web feed that allows users and applications to access updates to websites in a standardized, computer-readable format.

Complete Guide on RSS Feed:

Feed readers are the programs that enable users to read the RSS feeds for which they have subscribed.

1. Getting started

The official website link: rss.com

To sign up for free:

1) Go to the official site.

2) Click on the “Sign up for free” button in the top right corner of the screen.

3) Enter your e-mail ID, password and then confirm your password.

4) Check the box that says “Agree to terms of services”.

5) Click on Sign Up.

6) Verify your account and sign in.

Note: The official site uses cookies and if you continue to the browser site you agree to the use of cookies.

2. Create your RSS feed

If you want to increase the popularity on your website and want to attract more and more people on your website, you will need your RSS feed.

This feed will keep your users up to date with your latest website content.

Now, let us see how you too can create your own RSS feed by using the following steps:-

1) Download and open “RSS builder”. It is a free, open-source creation program that allows you to create RSS files that you upload to your website. It can also automatically manage the feed on your website without having to upload the file each time

2) Enter the information about your website. Make sure the title of your feed is the same as your website/podcast.

3) Add an image if you want. tIt is optional but highly recommended.

4) After entering your information, click on the first “bullet-shaped” icon at the top.

5) Enter the title. This can be different from the one you entered in the Feed properties.

6) Enter other details and in the description, section click on “HTML Editor” to enter the description. This will automatically translate it into HTML.

7) Now, you are ready with your first entry. Click on the Save icon on the top left side. Make sure to save it in your website folder on your computer.

8) Save it as the name rss.xml.

Note:- Using RSS Builder, you can enter your website’s FTP information to automatically update your feed whenever you edit it. For doing this, click the FTP button in the top toolbar, then click the “New Site” button, and enter your FTP information. When you’re ready to update the XML file on the website, click the Publish Feed button.

To add a new feed:

Open your old feed in Builder.
Click on the first “Bullet-shaped” icon.
Select “<new>” and again click the “Bullet-shaped” icon.
Enter the required information and click the save icon.
Close the Builder.

3. Find RSS feeds on the web.

You can use an RSS reader tool on your PC or on the new personalized Google homepage. All You need to do is to find your feeds.

You can easily find feeds on the web by using the following methods:

Using Directories:

1) Visit the RSS feeds Directory, the sites that attempt to categorize all the feeds out there. Examples of some RSS feeds directory: Alltop.com, Blogarama.com, Bloggernity.com, OnTopList.com, and Specificfeeds.com

2) Search for feeds using a search engine designed to find them on the RSS directory website.

Using source codes:

Open the website’s source code. Although most RSS readers will trigger reading this line, if the source code has errors, the reader won’t trigger the link and you’ll have to work harder to find it.

You might also find them in a line similar to<link rel=”alternate” type=”application/rss+xml” title=”RSS Feed” href=”http://example.org/rss” />. You need to copy the address down after the part that says “href” and post that into your RSS feed aggregator or RSS software to read the feed items.

On the website:

Search through the sites to see if they have any feeds. Chances are that they might, or have ways to find their feeds if they aren’t shown to the user at first. They might have a separate page that lists some of the feeds they host.

Search the Web:

You can also search on the web directly for the feed. Just type the topic of interest followed by a comma and then “RSS” or “RSS feed”.

Using Software:

There are also some software specifically programmed for finding RSS feeds. “Digg” is one of such examples that has its own reader, along with another aggregator i.e., “Blogs” that will help you access feeds that you might not be familiar with.

Subscribe:

You can easily subscribe to the feeds of a website by click on the RSS icon on the website. This button can be found with the Facebook and Twitter icons. If you want to view the feeds from the website, just click on its icon.

Also Read:

What is Reddit & How to Use it [Beginners Complete Guide]

How to Increase YouTube Subscribers 2020 [10 Proven Ways]

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Yukta Jaiswal

An ambitious, studious work loving, person. At the age of 17, I started editing and designing books, and I have also worked as an editor in a publishing company.