As a WordPress publisher you must have come across RSS Feeds. Each WordPress website automatically publishes RSS feeds for content and comments. Did you ever wonder what is RSS and how you can use RSS in WordPress? In this article we will explain what is RSS feeds, what are the benefits of RSS, how to use RSS feeds, and how to take your WordPress RSS feeds to the next level.
What is RSS
RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary however it is often referred to as the feed or news feed. In the early days, if you wanted to keep track of updates on your favorite website, then you had to bookmark it in your browser and manually visit it frequently to see if there were any updates. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could tell your favorite websites to let you know every time they update? Well, this is exactly what RSS does. RSS allows users to keep track of their favorite websites without having to manually visit the website each time.
RSS allowed publishers to automatically syndicate their content, so that people can read it in their mailboxes, feed reader and/or other devices. RSS is basically an structured XML document that includes full or summarized text along with other metadata such as published date, author name, etc. RSS feeds can be read by using programs called “RSS reader”, “feed reader”, or “aggregator” which can be
What are Benefits of RSS
RSS makes it easier for other people to subscribe to your content. Using an RSS feed, they can receive updates from your blog or website directly in their web browsers (except Google Chrome), feed readers, desktop applications, and many other devices and services. Subscribers don’t have to remember your website URL because they can bring the content into a central location where they like to read all of their websites at once. Your content becomes portable and your subscribers can even take it with them for offline reading.
RSS feeds also help build and nurture a loyal following around your website and content. RSS subscribers are more likely to share your content around their social circles and spread the word about your website. A lot of our readers automatically tweet every new article that come out using RSS feed and PostRSS.
By using RSS feeds, you can subscribe to your favorite websites and read them all at one place in your feed reader. As a content publisher, it helps you quickly scan through your favorite news and blog sites. It also enables you to sort your reading lists into categories and groups. By using RSS efficiently, you can really maximize your reading time.
