What Is An RSS Feed - Create An RSS File

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a document format (called a "feed") used to publish content such as blog entries, news headlines, etc.  (RSS files are .xml formats).  It displays a summary of content from a website.

An RSS feed makes it possible for your visitors to keep in touch with you automatically.  Software such as an "RSS reader" (aggregator) is used to read RSS content.  The user subscribes to a feed by clicking an RSS icon in a browser (initiates the subscription process).  The reader checks the user's subscribed feeds for new content, and downloads any updates that it finds.

Get people to subscribe to your blog by adding RSS...so readers can receive automatic blog entries from your site. Having RSS feed on your site is another way to attract visitors. Instead of going from one site to another to get the daily headlines and news updates, current commentary or blog postings, people can simply come to your site and get the info they want.  RSS feeds your posted topics on your website, thus, giving your site new content whenever you post something.

Use RSS when you want to get updated information from other websites (the providers). It gives you the ability to read the provider's content yourself, or to have the information displayed on your website for your visitors to view.  It is a great way to get web traffic.

Example:  You, as a provider, want your web pages to be shown by other websites (the list of your web pages is considered the RSS feed).  A file (an .xml file format defining the RSS feed) holds your URLs, the title of your web pages, and a brief summary of each web page you want displayed.  A person who wants to read the feed (provider's content) on his/her computer uses an RSS reader or a browser, and just adds the feed.

Example:  If you want to display the feed (provider's content) on your website, you will need to download the RSS file from the provider (this extracts the URL of the web pages and displays the titles and summaries; uses a PHP script).  When someone visits your website, the script is launched...it recalls the RSS file from the other provider's website and displays the information.  By clicking on a line in the list, your visitors can be shown a web page from the other provider's website.

Create Your RSS Feed

Using a text editor (Notepad or an "xml" editor), create a simple text file and give it a filename such as "feed.xml" for example.

The filepath (address to RSS file) will look like below:

<a href="http://yoursitename.com/feed.xml"></a>.

This will be the structured format of your RSS document...the file "must" hold one channel (defines the source - website that provides the web pages or web pages from other sites). The channel will be the same for all your RSS feeds. Take a peek at an example of an RSS file format at RSS Feed File Format.

Tags "Required" For A Channel:

title - Title of your website link - Your website URL description - Description (less than 200 characters) item tag - (See item tags below)

Item Tags "Required" As Sub-Elements Of A Channel (add as many items as you want):

title - Title of your web page link - Your web page URL description - Description (less than 200 characters)

Click here to view WebRSS and create an RSS Feed for "free"!

Visit Tutorials Point to view another example of an RSS Feed file (you can use this file format...alter it to match your website criteria):

After you have created your RSS file, upload your "feed.xml" file to your server in your "root directory" with your .html files. Now, you will validate the RSS file using an RSS Feed Validator...just type in your RSS address.

The last step...add an "RSS" button on your "index.html" page...a click on the button should display the .xml file you created.  The code is as follows:
<a href= "http://www.yoursitename/feed.xml><imgsrc="rss.gif"></a>

To publish more information (update your feed)...just add more items to your file and remove older items to keep your content current.

Now, that you created an "RSS" feed...you will have to let the browsers (Internet Explorer/Mozilla Firefox) know that your RSS feed file exists.  You just insert the following code anywhere inside the <head>...</head> section of your index.html or homepage:

<link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" href="http://www.yourwebsitename/feed.xml" title="Your title">

Submit your RSS file to RSS Feed Directories, and register it with the three major search engines. Here is a list for your convenience:

Submission To Directories:    Syndic8       RSS Network       RSS Feeds

Submission To Search Engines:    Google       Yahoo!       MSN Live

Now, you have some knowledge about an RSS feed. Continue reading the next topic titled "Guide On Ebooks".

Next Topic:  Guide On Ebooks

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