Rich Site Summary, or RSS, is a group of XML formats used to describe news feeds, article announcements, and blog innovations. Online services or special programs collect, process and provide users with information in a convenient way.
RSS technology determines how to receive and publish information from various resources. Makes it possible to receive and transmit important data presented in a structured, short form, in automatic mode with the ability to provide complete news material at the appropriate link. The technology is widely used in various information and news resources, commercial blogs and websites. With its help, readers and customers are informed as soon as possible about new publications.
Principle of operation
The processing of materials published on the site with a view to their subsequent distribution is carried out by the program on the basis of the generated text file. It contains information on the structure of text and images presented in the form of meta tags. Its recognition is handled by aggregator applications. The functions of such programs - receiving and processing RSS feeds - are performed by modern browsers.
The file is generated by a special script. Its launch occurs after the appearance of new material on the site; In the process, the RSS file is updated with the addition of new information. RSS feed programs - aggregators - function on the part of the user. Their task is to periodically check the date of updating the data stream specified in the settings. Download begins immediately after detecting changes in the file, as a result of which the reader receives new data in a convenient format. Information can be downloaded either automatically or at the request of the user.
Format Features
RSS versions differ in nuances of implementation and use due to their inherent features, advantages and disadvantages. Aggregator programs must support all existing data transfer formats. Differences between versions make it difficult to insert RSS-descriptions of small fragments, presented in the form of HTML-code. Various metadata and date formats can cause problems with updating the RSS feed.
The most common versions are:
- RSS 0.9x. With its help, structurally simple information is published.
- RSS 2.x. Used to publish general purpose data.
- RSS 0.9 and 1.0. RDF and XML based formats.
The file contains information about one or several channels that serve as a source of specific information. Sources of information on a news item or blog post are indicated in channel points.
RSS Use Area
What is an RSS feed and what are its advantages for users and in the field of website promotion? The need for structured data arises from suppliers and recipients of information.
User Benefits
Using RSS feeds saves the user from having to visit the site, view the desired section and search for unread information. A specialized program or browser allows you to add different RSS feeds to your favorites and track the appearance of new publications on them automatically.
Benefits for site and portal owners
What is an RSS feed for web portal owners? This is an opportunity to show a large audience your product, service, site at different stages of development. A channel is one of the effective ways to send end users interesting or advertising information. This method is characterized by high conversion, since it involves sending data only to users interested in it.
How to use RSS feed
RSS feeds are read by email clients, a browser, communication applications, and specialized programs. For information, you must click on the button on the site or the appropriate link, giving consent to regularly check for updates.
Special programs for RSS feeds - what is it? RSS feed reader software - aggregators - is most effective when working with a large number of RSS feeds: they have more functionality and are user friendly.
Why RSS Feeds Are Convenient
This tool is intended to provide a wide audience of announcements of informational publications. Programs that collect data from RSS feeds of different sites also sort and filter information, bringing it into the most convenient form for reading. Such programs are called Reader and are embedded in most modern browsers.
The so-called readers allow the user to subscribe to news sites and feeds, view useful information without visiting its sources while maintaining traffic to the web resource. Thanks to this, the user saves part of his time, getting instant access to the content of interest, and traffic, since there is no need to load standard web pages.
After opening the aggregator program, the user receives a notification about the availability of new publications. The principle of using programs for RSS feeds is simple: site owners create the title and announcement of the article, users after viewing them decide to follow the link and view the full version.
Information or news portals actively use the feed. It is required to attract and retain the attention of the audience. Accordingly, webmasters should not give up such a tool.
Increasing the popularity of the RSS feed is possible due to the distribution of the RSS feed address on third-party sites - this increases the flow of traffic and allows you to collect a constant audience. Some experts are of the opinion that the feed improves the position of the web resource in the search results. Such indicators as highly specialized articles, frequent updating of content, the ability to isolate the target audience from the readers' stream give an advantage in ranking.
The downside of RSS is the fast indexing of the feed by search robots, as a result of which the source can be blocked by search engines.
How to make an RSS feed
The newsletter is created manually or using special programs. The process of creating RSS feeds does not require special skills.
Using special programs
Software, the functionality of which allows you to create a newsletter, is presented on the Internet in a wide range. There are online services where you can use the finished program or download it to your computer. The most popular are the following:
- RSS Builder Freeware with simplified functionality. It is enough for the user to create files that are uploaded to the site. There is an automatic setup function.
- Feedit and RapidFeeds. Online services with an almost identical principle of work for a fee. The tools provided to the user allow you to serve multiple web resources without having to select settings. Using the Feedit online service, you can create links to RSS feeds and use them later as an XML file.
- FeedForAll. Paid software with the help of which it is possible to create and configure RSS feeds with subsequent uploading.
Software for creating newsletters differs in its interface and algorithm of action, however, the principle of creation remains unchanged. In the process of creating an RSS feed, the first step is the designation of metadata: the title, link address, and article announcement.
To add an RSS feed to a site, an XML file is generated that will allow users to subscribe, and then add it to the site. As a rule, it is placed in the most visible part of the web resource.
Self-forming RSS feeds
What is an RSS feed assembly and how to implement it? The first stage of the process involves creating a text computer and adding articles published on the website to it. The list is necessarily entitled and accompanied by links to each publication.
The second step is to create an XML file. For this, a text editor is also used and a header file is added.
- The encoding of the document is characterized by the first attribute.
- RSS feed is indicated by the second attribute.
- Title - Title.
- The link to the web resource is indicated in the Link item.
- An abbreviated description of the article is Description.
Additional tags can be used to indicate the language of writing the article, feedback from the author, date of loading content, and other parameters.
After creating the tape, material is formed and added. At the beginning of each publication, a tag describing the new document is indicated. For similar purposes, ready-made code can be used.
The above allows you to understand how to set up an RSS feed. The final step in its creation and configuration will be to save the file in .xml format and upload it to the site using special tools. The link to the RSS feed should be located in a convenient and noticeable place so that visitors to the web resource can subscribe to it.
News feeds on other CMS
The popularity of RSS feeds is very low today: owners of many web resources leave the choice to users, allowing them to independently install modules for subscribing to feeds. For example, in Jumla, the RSS feed is presented as a separate component and is included only as administrator.
Installation of additional plug-ins is required when using RSS-feed as a tool for creating Yandex services. However, plugins can conflict with other modules.
Feed pickers
Collectors enable users to collect content from various sources. At the moment, they are not relevant, most of them do not work, but the probability of finding a current one is high.
Conclusion
Connecting RSS feeds to many web resources is not required. Many experts working with WordPress know that there is RSS in it and are looking for ways to disable it.
In other CMS, hard work is required to get the tape to function. Despite the effectiveness of the tool, its relevance is lost every day.