This document provides an overview of RSS, or Really Simple Syndication, explaining its purpose, structure, and benefits, particularly in relation to WordPress. It details how RSS feeds operate, the difference between importing and aggregating content, and the legal considerations surrounding copyright issues. Additionally, it introduces two plugins, CM RSS Aggregator and CM RSS Importer, highlighting their features and functionalities for managing RSS feeds.

1. Using RSS in
WordPress
WWW.CMINDS.COM
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO GET STARTED

2. WWW.CMINDS.COM
WHAT IS RSS?
RSS STANDS FOR: "REALLY SIMPLE SYNDICATION"
IT'S A WAY TO DISTRIBUTE A SET LIST OF
HEADLINES, NOTICES, AND CONTENT TO A WIDE
NUMBER OF PEOPLE.
IT'S USED BY COMPUTER PROGRAMS TO ORGANIZE
THOSE HEADLINES AND NOTICES FOR EASY READING.

3. WWW.CMINDS.COM
WHAT IS RSS FEED? Pt. 2
A FEED IS A FUNCTION OF SOFTWARE OR A WEBSITE THAT
AUTOMATICALLY LOOKS FOR NEW CONTENT WITHIN SET PARAMETERS.
A FEED CAN POST INFORMATION ABOUT NEW CONTENT AND UPDATES
FROM ONE SITE TO ANOTHER.
RSS FEEDS PROVIDE A WAY FOR USERS TO KEEP UP WITH THE LATEST
INFORMATION POSTED ON DIFFERENT SITES.

4. WWW.CMINDS.COM
RSS STRUCTURE
RSS PROVIDES VERY BASIC INFORMATION ON EACH
PIECE OF CONTENT.
IT IS MADE UP OF A LIST OF ITEMS PRESENTED IN
ORDER FROM NEWEST TO OLDEST.
EACH ITEM USUALLY CONSISTS OF A SIMPLE TITLE
ALONG WITH A MORE COMPLETE DESCRIPTION AND
LINK TO THE SITE WITH THE INFORMATION SOURCE.

5. WWW.CMINDS.COM
RSS FORMAT & XML
RSS IS PROVIDED USING XML CODE.
XML IS A A METALANGUAGE WHICH ALLOWS USERS TO DEFINE
THEIR OWN CUSTOMIZED MARKUP LANGUAGES, ESPECIALLY IN
ORDER TO DISPLAY DOCUMENTS ON THE INTERNET.

6. WWW.CMINDS.COM
RSS STRUCTURE EXAMPLE
<?XML VERSION="1.0" ENCODING="UTF-8" ?>
<RSS VERSION="2.0">
<ITEM>
<TITLE>ARTICLE TITLE</TITLE>
<LINK>HTTPS://WWW.YOURDOMAIN.COM/DETAILS-LINK</LINK>
<DESCRIPTION>ARTICLE DESCRIPTION</DESCRIPTION>
</ITEM>
</RSS>

7. WWW.CMINDS.COM
WORDPRESS RSS FEED
EVERY WORDPRESS SITE SUPPORTS AN RSS FEED
BY DEFAULT, FOLLOWING THESE EXAMPLES:
OVERALL SITE FEED
CATEGORY FEED
HTTP://EXAMPLE.COM/FEED/
HTTP://WWW.EXAMPLE.COM/CATEGORY/CATEGORYNAME/FEED

8. WWW.CMINDS.COM
HOW CAN I BENEFIT FROM RSS?
YOU CAN BENEFIT FROM USING RSS WITH ONE OF THE FOLLOWING
OPTIONS:
PROVIDE AN RSS FEED ON YOUR SITE
LET OTHER USERS SYNDICATE INFORMATION ABOUT NEWS AND
UPDATES THAT APPEAR ON YOUR SITE
USE THE RSS FEED FROM AN EXTERNAL SITE
AGGREGATE INFORMATION TAKEN FROM EXTERNAL SITES AND DISPLAY
IT ON YOUR SITE

9. WWW.CMINDS.COM
AGGREGATION vs. IMPORT
USING RSS YOU CAN AGGREGATE THE CONTENT OR IMPORT IT TO YOUR
SITE.
IMPORT - COPY THE ENTIRE POST FROM AN EXTERNAL SITE TO YOUR
SITE
AGGREGATE - USUALLY SHOW ONLY HEADLINES AND LINK TO THE
EXTERNAL SITE FOR A MORE DETAILED DESCRIPTION

10. WWW.CMINDS.COM
RSS LEGAL SIDE - COPYRIGHTS
SYNDICATING CONTENT FROM AN EXTERNAL SITE ON YOUR SITE
FALLS INTO ISSUES WITH COPYRIGHT LAWS.
THIS MEANS YOU NEED TO GET THE APPROVAL OF AND FOLLOW THE
COPYRIGHT NOTICE FOUND ON THE EXTERNAL SITE YOU LINK YOUR
FEED TO.
IMPORTING A WHOLE DOCUMENT INTO YOUR SITE IS A MUCH
BIGGER COPYRIGHT ISSUE THAN AGGREGATING HEADLINES AND
LINKING TO THE ORIGINAL SITE.

11. WWW.CMINDS.COM
CM RSS AGGREGATOR PLUGIN
AGGREGATE MULTIPLE
RSS FEEDS INTO A LIST
AND FILTER CONTENT BY
KEYWORDS.
ONLY THE POST TITLE
AND BASIC DESCRIPTION
IS IMPORTED.

12. WWW.CMINDS.COM
AGGREGATE MORE
ADDITIONAL FEATURES:
-CREATE MULTIPLE LISTS AND USE A SIDEBAR
WIDGET TO DISPLAY POSTS BY CATEGORY FROM
MULTIPLE FEEDS
-ENABLE TOOLTIPS TO FOR EXPLANATIONS OF
CONTENT TERMS
-FILTER IMPORTS BY KEYWORD IN THE POSITIVE
AND NEGATIVE

13. WWW.CMINDS.COM
CM RSS IMPORTER PLUGIN
IMPORT THE ENTIRE CONTENT OF POSTS FROM A SOURCE SITE INTO
YOUR SITE, WHILE LETTING YOU FILTER AND CURATE THE CONTENT
YOU CAN IMPORT:
- FULL POST CONTENT
- IMAGES IN POSTS
- SPECIAL FIELDS IN THE FEED
(EX. PRICE)

14. WWW.CMINDS.COM
IMPORT MORE
ADDITIONAL FEATURES:
-CONTROL AMOUNT OF CONTENT THAT IS
IMPORTED AND DEFINE POST TYPE
-CUSTOMIZE CONTENT STRUCTURE USING
TEMPLATES
-SUPPORT SEO SETTINGS SUCH AS NO-FOLLOW
AND YOAST METADATA

15. WWW.CMINDS.COM
RSS IMPORTER vs. AGGREGATOR
- AGGREGATOR WILL ONLY IMPORT TITLE AND BASIC DESCRIPTION
WHILE IMPORTER WILL IMPORT FULL POST CONTENT
- AGGREGATOR DOES NOT CONFLICT WITH COPYRIGHT LAWS WHILE
IMPORTER DOES (AS YOU ARE NOT HOSTING THE ORIGINAL CONTENT
ON YOUR SITE)
- AGGREGATOR IS LIGHTER ON SERVER RESOURCES THAN IMPORTER

16. FOR MORE INFORMATION
VISIT WWW.CMINDS.COM