What is RSS Feed?
RSS Feed stands for Rich Site Summary and Really Simple Syndication. It’s a data format for publishing new headlines and content that can be viewed in RSS reader.
RSS is one of the technologies that are extremely simple but very powerful. RSS is a group of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works like blog entries, news headlines, audio, and video in a standardized format.
RSS document includes full or summarized text and metadata like publishing dates and authorship.
It’s one of the most important ways where you can find out about information worth reading. RSS feed is open format uses a simple set of XML tags to define the content distribution.
It allows a website to provide basic meta-information about your new content like headline, link, and description.
RSS can make simpler, organizes and delivers web-content without visiting a website. All Internet news websites and almost every single blog in the world send out information in RSS format.
RSS feeds can be read using a software called an RSS Reader, Feed Reader, or Aggregator which can be web-based, desktop-based or mobile-based.
The RSS experience revolves around two components:
# RSS Feed – It delivers to the aggregator also known as a Feed Reader.
# News Aggregators – News Aggregators come in 3 shapes: Mobile Apps, Browser-based Interfaces, and Offline Desktop clients. RSS aggregators automatically confirm a series of RSS feeds for new items on a regular basis.
An RSS feed or reader is also known as RSS aggregator is used to view all of the RSS headlines from all of the interested websites.
The RSS feed will keep track of headlines and stories and you can always see at a quick look what you’ve seen before and what is new.
RSS is becoming increasing popular because it’s a free and easy way to promote a website and content without the need to advertise.
RSS is a way to receive regularly updated web content and gather it in one place for easy reading.
You can subscribe to feeds with an RSS reader instead of constantly checking multiple blogs, news websites, podcasts, and other sources through the day.
Some Internet browsers like Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari have built-in RSS readers. Websites with RSS feeds are normally indicated with the word RSS and the orange RSS icon.
How RSS Feed Reader Works –
RSS is the best way to stay updated with your favorite content. RSS feed readers are a diverse set of options. It gives a list of feeds and a list of posts.
# Desktop – There are desktop applications for consuming your RSS feeds like Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. An RSS reader or aggregator may also be installed on the operating system (Windows, Linux, Mac OS, etc.)
Accessing the content depends upon the reader. It may be accomplished by a click on an add button to get the URL of the RSS feed and allow it added to a list of feeds.
# Web-Based – The commonly web-based feed readers will be a webpage where your feeds and posts are listed.
RSS feed is displayed as a list of titles and will optionally summaries. A click on a title displays the new. Titles are updated automatically.
A script in PHP or any other language builds the list every time when the page is displayed by loading the RSS file and it extracts the data.
# Browser – Microsoft Edge, Opera, and Firefox provide built-in solutions for following RSS feeds. These are generally not very featureful but serve as a good start into the world of RSS.
# Email-Based Feed Readers – The receiving emails when a feed has updated can be very useful if you want to keep your existing flow in your inbox.
# Mobile Apps – There are many available options for RSS on the mobile phone. It’s a convenient format and can replace other websites such as Reddit, or Facebook feed. Some apps might fetch RSS feeds using mobile data and other offloads to their cloud.
List of Available RSS Feed Readers –
A feed reader will store and views the content of an RSS feed.
RSS readers generally divide into three categories: 1) Browser-based Interface, 2) Mobile-Apps or programs, 3) Access from Software.
Here are a variety of RSS feed readers you may consider:-
# Feedly (iOS/Android/Chrome/Firefox/Safari – It offers both a browser-based interface and a software-based interface.
Feedly is a slick little news-reader that syncs with Google Readers and also generates new content and suggested feeds.
It features a hosting service that many mobile apps doesn’t and many other features like advanced search and filtering options, keyword alerts and backups to dropbox in the paid version of around $6 per month. You can subscribe up to 100 feeds in the free version.
# FeedMe – It’s the most data and time-efficient out of all the RSS readers. It’s considered for mobile devices and Javelin browser.
# Tiny Tiny RSS – It’s a great RSS reader and it syncs with self-hosted services if you want to go through the trial of hosting your own feeds.
History of RSS –
RSS was created by Netscape in 1999 by two software designers Dan Libby and Ramanathan V. Guha a Site Summary system called Resource Description Framework.
It’s a representation of a webpage using a modeling framework. It was interpreting page content and categorized it to represent somewhere else as a knowledge-base type entity.
It was an automatic information gathering tool. Libby and Guha created another version of this software and labeled as RSS.
Over the next few years, the biggest change was in the amount of software that supports RSS in web browsers.
Now RSS is commonplace and RSS feed is found on millions of web pages and can display as an RSS widget. It can read an XML file and translate instructions into a list of content items.
What Does RSS XML Look Like –
XML (Extensible Markup Language) is similar to HTML. XML doesn’t contain styling data.
The RSS feed specifications don’t include styling information. RSS feed’s XML will describe the content of the source data.
An XML RSS feed is broken up into two elements:
- Header – It contains the title of the overall feed and a link to the source. The header section also contains information to define the XML version used.
- Content – It contains one or more feed entries.
Importance of RSS Feed –
RSS feed contains all of your products’ information like title, image, description, MP3 file URL, and category.
RSS feed allows you to syndicate content to different platforms so that you can reach diversified audiences without the need for them to visit your website.
WordPress websites/blogs automatically produce an RSS feed for every post published. An RSS feed is written in a cryptic looking code called XML (Extensible Markup Language).
Blogs on all standard blogging platforms automatically include RSS feed and don’t use words or an RSS Icon to indicate the presence of the RSS feed. Pages don’t appear in RSS feed so readers need to visit your blog to view latest page updates.
Benefits of RSS Feed –
An RSS feed provides immediate information to the subscribers. The user subscribes to a feed by entering the feed’s URL into the feed reader or by clicking an RSS icon in a web browser which will initiate the subscription process.
The RSS reader will check the users subscribed feeds regularly for new work, or to download any updates. It also provides a user interface to monitor and read the feeds.
# For Readers – It means they don’t need to sign up for emails or push notifications for shows which interest them. They can stay-up-to-date and find all their favorite content.
# For Podcasters – It makes easy to reach new listeners without having to invest great amounts of time in creating e-mail databases or newsletters.
You can improve engagement by linking back to your website via the RSS reader. The great benefits it that you only need to upload your content to one place and the RSS feed will distribute your show for you.
Diversified Uses of RSS Feed –
An RSS feed is created via XML that is capable to delivers all kinds of media. If you can display an item on a webpage you can easily feed it using RSS-complaint XML.
A program output or script can’t be displayed through an RSS feed. Authentication is another barrier to using feeds from protected or paid subscription webpages.
A program or script can’t be added to an RSS feed due to security risk. RSS compliant XML doesn’t include that functionality and a script or program would not be able to run.
# News Aggregator Websites – You can draw content from a variety of sources, categorize them and display in a reader-friendly format. You can use plugins to automatically create WordPress posts for content and also add to them before publishing.
# Online Stores – Online stores can source product categories for their shop shelves. You can type in the name of the product in the search bar and scroll to the bottom of the page. You’ll find an RSS button that allows you to subscribe to the list of classifieds for that product.
# Google Alerts – You can compile a list of Google Alerts for your business name. It can help manage the reputation of your business by keeping track of your business mentions in the press and other media forums.
You can change from the default email delivery to RSS feed in the Settings. You can filter and use the feed to create content for a page on your website about your business in the media.
# Stock Prices or Foreign Exchange Rates – You can track select stocks or currencies by setting up a customized RSS feed.
e.g. Nasdaq supports stock quote feeds of Top 5 Up/Down on unusual volume. It allows you to build own custom stock quote feed.
It can be a huge value to a finance-related website and also helpful to display the live-stock price of any company’s shares on a widget on your home screen.
# Coupon and Discount Websites – A discount or coupon websites can rely on RSS feed to stay up-to-date with the latest offers and best deals.
You can subscribe to RSS feeds from coupons website and display the information on your website. Some websites allow you to enter your zip code to receive updated about deals in your locality.
# Inspirational Quotes – You can inspire your audience with inspirational quotes from other websites. Once you add the feed to your website, you’ll have fresh quote on your website every day without work on your part. You can educate readers with a new quote per day and help them to start off their day with a smile or a joke.
# Weather Updates – You can offer regular updates on the weather to help your readers stay on the top. The regular updates are available via feeds from different websites. You can click on the RSS icon and enter a postcode to receive updates on local weather through an RSS feed.
Conclusion – RSS is designed to make your Internet life easier. RSS is alive and well on the web today, despite rumors of its death and working behind the scenes. RSS is still important and there’s widespread and easy-to-use replacement format.