How Do RSS Feeds Work

This tag covers the basic mechanics of RSS: a standard, machine-readable file format that lists a website's latest content — usually a title, link, publish date, and short description for each item — which updates automatically every time something new is published. Rather than requiring a visitor to check back manually, a feed reader or an automation tool like PostRSS can check that file on a schedule and detect new items the moment they appear. Articles here explain the underlying XML structure in plain terms, why nearly every blog, news site, and CMS generates one automatically, and how that simple, decades-old format became the foundation for automated content distribution. This tag is aimed at readers who are new to RSS entirely and want the fundamentals before exploring PostRSS's specific automation features. Expect background and explanation here rather than PostRSS-specific configuration steps.