Technology has not just taken center stage. It has actually inserted itself into all aspects of humanity’s daily endeavors. Thus, its place in the world is constantly changing and evolving. And with that fact comes the reality that as beings who operate and rely on technology, we must also be able to keep up and constantly learn about it all. There is a lot of new stuff that is continuously coming out and updating, and if we don’t keep up with the times, we will surely be left behind. This mindset and determination should be especially present and strong in business people - not just business owners. It is important for one to always be on the lookout for innovations in tools and resources that you may be able to utilize for your business - whether that business is already big or is just starting out. You must understand that there will always be room for improvement and learning. So in today’s article, we will be taking a look at an innovation that allows you to connect with more people in your target market. Ever heard of RSS? Well, whether you answered yes or no, we will both try to help you today by answering the questions: “What is RSS?”, “What is an RSS Feed?”, “How do RSS feeds work?”, and “How to use an RSS feed?”. This might get a bit technical for some people, so hold on to your seats and let’s get started.
What is an RSS feed?
Before we start to discuss what is an RSS feed, I think we should first answer the question, “What is RSS?” The answer is, that an RSS means “Real Simple Syndication.” It is one of the innovative ways how to distribute content in a standardized and simple way. The whole process is tooted on the web syndication, wherein different websites and blogs share information. It involves something called the XML files. XML files is an important term in understanding what is RSS. See, XML files refer to the files that update information from websites and blogs and are easily read by a computer. Now, the collection of these XML files in a platform answers the question, “What is an RSS feed?”
An RSS feed will contain the headlines, excerpts, or summaries from the website or blog and the information on the updates. From a customer’s, visitor’s, or subscriber’s perspective, an RSS feed allows them to gather websites, social media channels, and blogs in one platform and stay updated on each of them without having to check the website of every single one of them. On the flip side of the coin, business owners or website creators like you are allowed to be part of something extraordinary. This system updates visitors and subscribers about virtually anything you want to keep them updated on. Now while this is most commonly applied to blogs, which you can easily create nowadays with website editors like Strikingly, knowing how to use an RSS feed includes knowing that it can be done with podcasts, forum discussions, and news reports, etc. If it helps you understand it better, an RSS feed is much like your social feed on your website. By simply adding your accounts to the social media feed section, your site visitors can immediately see the most recent updates you have on your social media accounts. This can be a simple answer to “How do RSS Feeds work?” but let’s dive deeper into that, shall we?
Image taken from Strikingly User’s Website
How Do RSS Feeds Work?
The whole concept or process of an RSS feed starts with you - the website creator or author. See, when we discussed what is an RSS feed and how it contains all these information and updates, we were actually also talking about how an author, like yourself, publishes these notifications for updates on new content and posts. Now, keep in mind that there are website builders, like Strikingly, help website authors generate this, but generally, an XML file extension is created by a website creator for the RSS feed. This contains the title, description, and URL for each of the individual pages, content, and posts of their website. This XML file automatically updates and courses the new contents and posts through an RSS reader after the website author uses it to add an RSS feed to their website.
Now, an RSS reader is something that you must know about to know how to use an RSS feed and to understand how do RSS feeds work. See, an RSS reader is a platform or channel that collects information from various XML files of different websites. Its job is to collate this information, organize it in a particular format, and display it in a clean and easy-to-read fashion. There are many different RSS readers that one can get access to online. You can even easily add an extension of a good RSS reader in your Google Chrome. Finally, once your site visitors or customers subscribe to your RSS feed, their RSS reader automatically shows them any updates you have on your website or blog posts.
In the end, remember that you or your business cannot be part of an RSS feed of anyone if you do not have your own website or blog to begin with. You might as well get started on that to easily execute the next steps we are going to talk about - how to use an RSS feed for your business. (And bonus, we are doing it with an awesome website builder, Strikingly!)
Image taken from Strikingly Product
How to Use an RSS Feed?
After you have now understood what is rss and how do rss feeds work, it is now time to utilize them for your own blog. Strikingly allows you to not just create your own website and add a blog section to your website - complete with all the features you need, including an RSS feed for your blog posts. Here’s how to use an RSS feed with Strikingly:
1. Log in or Sign up with Strikingly.
2. Open Your Site Editor. (Or choose a template to get started.)
3. Go to Your Blog Section to Go to the Blog Settings.
The default settings have the RSS feed disabled for your blogs with Strikingly. However, you can easily change this by going into your site editor - your blog section, and then going to your “Blog Settings”. Here, you will find different features and menu settings that you can fix up for your blogs: the RSS feed.
4. Check the box to “Generate RSS feed”
By doing so, you quickly enable an RSS feed for your blog posts. This will allow your RSS readers and/or your customers to directly stream updates into their RSS feeds.
Image taken from Strikingly Product
Clicking on it will automatically lead to an RSS feed icon displayed at the end of each of your blog posts, like this blog post from the Strikingly website, Nami Urban LA.
Image taken from Strikingly User’s Website
Just for your information, this RSS feed icon holds the URL of your blog feed as “yourdomainname.com/blog/feed.xml” as displayed and highlighted in the picture below. This is usually and may be done manually by website authors but Strikingly loves to make your job easier, so it generates it for you. This also automatically applies to all of your present and future blog posts. Meaning, your readers and site visitors can automatically subscribe to your blog - and voila, you now know how to use an RSS feed for your business website.
Image taken from Strikingly User’s Website
Having an RSS feed enabled for your website will be particularly helpful for your website. It can help you reach more audiences because it makes your blog and website more accessible, and thus, it increases traffic to your website. It can also go a long way in improving your search rankings. It allows you to be part of a community of people who constantly view and visit your website. Whether you fully understand the technology and the science behind it, it is crucial to at least learn enough for you to actively participate and benefit from this technological advancement.
Learning all about what is an RSS feed and how you can maximize its usefulness for your business and website can really go a long way in helping you succeed in your mission. You must remember that an RSS feed is not the only thing you can use to grow your audience. And with a partner like Strikingly, you are given all different kinds of tools that can help you increase and maintain your business’ success in the long run. Sign up or log in with Strikingly now!
