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How To Use RSS Feeds

Many web sites are making the content of their sites available through a service called RSS, which stands for “really simple syndication”, and this service allows readers of those sites an easy way to keep up with what’s new.You can read about RSS in detail on wikipedia.org, but here is a quick summary in five easy steps:

  1. Web sites that make frequent updates to their content (either new writing, new photos, or just plain news), set up an RSS feed.
  2. Visitors to the site set a bookmark to the site’s feed address.
  3. When the owner of the web site updates the site, the site’s RSS feed is updated.
  4. The visitor’s feed reader sees that the RSS feed is new, and provides a notification to the reader.
  5. The site visitor then clicks on the feed link and reads the new content on the site.
    Steps Completed By The Webmaster:
    • Step 1: Set up the RSS feed
    • Step 3: Update the web site
    		 Steps Completed By The Web Visitor:
    • Step 2: Set a bookmark to the RSS feed address
    • Step 5: Click on the RSS feed and read the new content

    Perhaps you noticed that in the table above, neither the site’s webmaster NOR the site’s visitor is responsible for Step 4. Step 4 is completed by the software. But what software?If you have a web browser that does not read the kind of code that an RSS feed uses, then you probably saw something that was either impossible or hard to read. If that’s the case, you need a better web browser.There are several options for getting a web browser that handles RSS feeds properly. I listed them in order of what I think is best:

    Windows computers:
    Mozilla Firefox 2

    Safari 3

    Internet Explorer 7

    		 Apple computers:
    Safari 2 or 3

    Mozilla Firefox 2

    Mac Mail 3

    (Personal disclosure: I use a Mac most of the time, and sometimes use Linux, but I rarely use Windows.)

    		 Linux computers:
    Mozilla Firefox 2

    Mozilla Thunderbird(Linux users no doubt have many other alternative RSS readers they call favorites, such as the ones listed here.)

    Choose a web browser that works best for you, or if you already have an older version than listed above, download the latest version and install it.Once you have a good web browser, go to the web site you want to subscribe to, and look for its RSS feed address. Some sites don’t use an icon, but instead just use one of the following words: RSS, Subscribe, or Feed. Most web sites that provide RSS feed services use one of the following standard icons:

    Most web sites are set up so that when you click on the RSS icon, your browser displays the feed. Some will automatically bookmark the feed address for you, but most browsers are set up so that you must add your own bookmark. There are a few ways to do that.In my favorite web browser, there is a + button on the browser, and when I click that button, the browser asks me where to store the bookmark. Other web browsers have a menu item called “Add Bookmark” that does the same thing.After you’ve set your bookmark to the RSS feed address, you may not notice anything special. But after the web site you’ve bookmarked is updated, your bookmark will show you that you have a new entry to read. In Mozilla Firefox, you’ll have something new in the “Latest Headlines” listing.RSS feeds are a great service. I use them quite a bit to keep up with the latest blog postings by my friends, the latest photos by some of my favorite photographers, the latest news from my favorite news sources, and even the latest special deal from a discount computer web site. Once you’ve started using RSS feeds yourself, I think you’ll enjoy keeping current with a number of different web sites.

    Note: If you found this page helpful, please link to it from your web site. If you don’t have a web site and would like me to help you set one up, please send me an email at Thomas@WoodsWebDesign.com.

    Thursday ~ January 01, 2007 by thomas Posted in Helpful Hints |

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