how to make rss link: A Practical Guide for Any Website

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Sometimes, creating an RSS link is as simple as adding /feed to the end of your website’s URL, especially if you’re using a platform like WordPress. For custom sites or platforms without built-in support, you can use a feed generator or create a simple XML file to get the same result.

Why Creating an RSS Link Still Matters Today

In a world dominated by chaotic social media algorithms, RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a refreshingly direct line to your audience. Think of it as your personal content delivery service.

Instead of battling for a spot in a crowded, ever-changing social feed, an RSS link lets your most dedicated followers get your latest updates—blog posts, news, or podcasts—sent right to their favorite feed reader app. It empowers users to build their own information streams, completely free from algorithmic gatekeepers.

For creators, this is a golden opportunity. You get a reliable, unfiltered channel to reach people who have actively chosen to hear from you.

The Enduring Power of a Direct Connection

Some might see RSS as a relic, but it still maintains a strong, dedicated user base. This isn't about nostalgia; it's about control and efficiency. RSS strips away all the noise, delivering pure content without the usual distractions.

For you, the benefits are even more tangible:

Audience Ownership: You’re building a subscriber list that isn't tied to the whims of a third-party platform.

Content Syndication: Your feed can be picked up by news aggregators and other sites, expanding your reach automatically.

Improved SEO: When your content gets syndicated, it can lead to more backlinks and faster indexing by search engines, signaling to Google that your site is active and relevant.

An RSS feed gives your audience a stable, predictable way to consume your content. It’s a return to a creator-centric model where you, not a platform, control the distribution.

Despite the rise of social media, millions still rely on this straightforward tech. As of 2022, around 50 million people were still actively using RSS feeds to stay in the loop, which just highlights its relevance for anyone tired of the algorithmic echo chamber.

If you want to dive deeper, check out the insights on why RSS is far from dead on Andrew Blackman’s blog. Learning how to make an RSS link means tapping into a powerful tool for building a loyal, engaged community around your work.

Finding Your RSS Link on Popular Platforms

Before you go building a brand new RSS link from scratch, it's a smart move to check if your blogging platform has already done the heavy lifting for you. Most popular content management systems generate feeds automatically, they're just not always easy to spot. The good news? They usually follow a predictable URL pattern, making this a quick copy-and-paste job.

Not sure if RSS is for you? This little decision tree sums it up perfectly.

If you're tired of algorithms deciding what you see, an RSS feed puts you back in control with a direct, curated content stream. Simple as that.

Locate Your WordPress RSS Feed

With WordPress powering over 43% of all websites, there's a good chance your blog already has an RSS feed working behind the scenes. Finding it is usually a piece of cake.

For most WordPress sites, just tack /feed/ onto the end of your domain.

Main Blog Feed: yourdomain.com/feed/

Comments Feed: yourdomain.com/comments/feed/

This out-of-the-box feature is a huge plus. Of course, a great feed starts with great content, so mastering WordPress blog posts is key to making your feed valuable.

You can also create more specific feeds for different content streams, which is a fantastic way to serve niche audiences.

Category Feed: yourdomain.com/category/category-name/feed/

Tag Feed: yourdomain.com/tag/tag-name/feed/

This lets you offer subscribers updates on only the topics they care about, which is a surefire way to boost engagement.

Generating an RSS Feed from Notion

Notion is a powerhouse for organizing and writing content, but it doesn't have a native RSS feature. This is where a specialized tool like Feather comes into play. Feather turns your Notion databases into a full-blown, professional blog—and part of that magic is automatically creating a standard RSS feed for you.

By connecting your Notion workspace to a blogging platform, you instantly gain features that are essential for audience building, including a ready-to-use RSS link, without any technical work on your end.

Once you’ve set up your blog with Feather, your RSS feed will pop up at yourdomain.com/feed. It's a seamless process for anyone who loves Notion's flexibility but needs the distribution power of a traditional blog. Honestly, choosing the https://feather.so/blog/best-platform-for-blogging often comes down to smart integrations like this that just make your life easier.

Common RSS Feed URL Structures by Platform

If you're not on WordPress or using Notion with Feather, no worries. Most other major platforms also have default RSS feed structures. This little cheat sheet should help you track down your link without digging through endless settings menus.

Here’s a quick reference guide to help you find your default RSS feed link on a few other major content management systems.

Platform	Default Feed URL Structure	Category Feed URL Structure
Squarespace	`yourdomain.com/blog-page-url?format=rss`	Not available
Shopify	`yourdomain.com/blogs/news.atom`	`yourdomain.com/blogs/news/tagged/tag-name.atom`
Medium	`medium.com/feed/@your-profile`	`medium.com/feed/publication-name`
Tumblr	`yourblog.tumblr.com/rss`	`yourblog.tumblr.com/tagged/tag-name/rss`

By trying these common URL patterns, you can often find your feed in seconds. Just swap out the placeholder text with your own domain and page names, and you should be good to go.

Creating an RSS Link for a Custom-Built Site

If your website is a custom build or runs on a static site generator like Jekyll or Hugo, you probably won't have an RSS feed created for you automatically. But don't worry—building one from scratch is much simpler than it sounds.

At its core, an RSS feed is just a specially formatted XML file that lives on your server. This file acts as a structured list of your latest content. When someone subscribes, their feed reader app simply checks this file for new entries. Knowing how to create an RSS link in this scenario just means getting familiar with a few basic XML tags.

The image above gives you a peek into the basic structure of XML, which uses tags to define different elements. It’s this simple, text-based foundation that makes your RSS feed readable by any aggregator or app out there.

Understanding the Essential RSS Structure

An RSS feed file follows a clear hierarchy. Think of it like a container: there's one main <channel> that holds all the information about your feed. Inside that, you'll find multiple <item> tags—one for each piece of content, like a blog post or a new podcast episode.

Here are the most critical tags you'll need to define:

<channel>: This is the parent tag that wraps your entire feed. It contains the metadata about your blog or site.

<title>: The name of your website or blog. This is what subscribers will see as the feed's name.

<link>: The main URL of your website.

<description>: A short summary of what your feed is all about.

<item>: This tag represents a single piece of content. You’ll have one for each new blog post.

Within each <item>, you'll include more specific tags like <title> for the post's headline, <link> for the direct URL to the post, and <description> for a summary or the full text.

A Basic RSS Feed Template

The easiest way to get going is with a template. You can manually create a file named feed.xml or rss.xml and drop it right into your site's root directory.

If you want to go deeper into the formatting specifics, our guide on how to build an RSS feed offers more advanced examples.

Here’s a simple, copy-pasteable structure to get you started:

Pro Tip: The <pubDate> tag is crucial. It tells feed readers when your content was published, making sure items appear in the correct chronological order. Always use a consistent date format (RFC 822 is standard).

Automating Your Custom Feed

Let's be real: manually updating this XML file every time you publish a new article is tedious and a recipe for typos. The real power comes from automating its generation.

Thankfully, most static site generators have plugins or built-in features to handle this for you.

For instance, Jekyll has the jekyll-feed plugin that automatically generates a valid Atom feed for you. Hugo can create an RSS feed from a simple template file. If you have a fully custom-coded site, you can write a script that pulls from your database and rebuilds the XML file whenever you add new content. Automation is the key to making a custom RSS feed sustainable and effective in the long run.

Using a Generator to Create Your RSS Link

What happens when your favorite website, social media profile, or YouTube channel doesn't offer a native RSS feed? For years, this was pretty much a dead end unless you knew how to code. But now, RSS feed generators have completely changed the game, acting as a bridge between any online content and your feed reader.

These tools are refreshingly simple. You just give it a URL—whether it's for a news site, a Twitter profile, or an Instagram page—and the service intelligently scans it for new content. From there, it builds and hosts a fully functional RSS feed that you can subscribe to. This is a lifesaver for anyone wanting to follow sources that have moved away from traditional RSS.

How RSS Generators Work Their Magic

Services like RSS.app or FetchRSS operate on a simple but powerful principle: they monitor a public webpage for changes. When a new post, video, or tweet appears, the generator automatically adds it as a new <item> in the XML feed it maintains for you.

This approach comes with a few huge advantages:

It's dead simple. No coding or technical skills are needed. If you can copy and paste a link, you can create a feed.

They're incredibly versatile. You can generate feeds for sources that would otherwise be impossible, like social media accounts or specific sections of a news site.

Totally hands-off. The service handles all the hosting and updating, giving you a reliable link to plug right into your favorite feed reader.

This screenshot from RSS.app shows just how straightforward the process is. You're immediately prompted to paste any link to get started.

The clean design makes it obvious that creating a custom feed is just a few clicks away, removing all the technical hurdles.

Understanding the Trade-Offs

While generators are incredibly useful, you need to know what you're getting into. Since they rely on a third-party service, you're placing your trust in their platform to stay online and work correctly.

Using a generator means you don't own the feed infrastructure. It’s an effective workaround, but it introduces a dependency that building your own feed avoids.

On top of that, many of these services use a freemium model. A free plan might limit how often the feed updates or how many feeds you can create. For more frequent updates, more feeds, or advanced features, you'll probably need to upgrade to a paid subscription.

Ultimately, it’s a trade-off between convenience and control. For quickly creating a feed from a source you don't manage, they're an amazing solution. They put the power back in the hands of the content consumer, which is what RSS has always been about.

Time to Validate and Promote Your New RSS Link

You've successfully created or found your RSS link. Awesome. But the job isn't quite done yet. A link is only useful if it works flawlessly and people can actually find it. A broken or hidden feed might as well not exist.

First things first: validation. Before you start sharing your link far and wide, you need to be absolutely sure it's formatted correctly and free of any sneaky errors. This isn't a step you can skip—even a tiny syntax mistake can render your feed useless to most readers.

Make Sure Your Feed is Error-Free

The most reliable way to double-check your work is to use a feed validator. My go-to, and the long-standing industry standard, is the W3C Feed Validation Service.

Just paste your feed's URL into their tool, and it will run a full diagnostic on your XML structure. It's great at catching common slip-ups like unclosed tags or wonky date formats.

A successful check gives you the green light to start sharing your feed with total confidence. You'll know it's compatible with the vast majority of feed readers and aggregators out there.

Think of it this way: validating your feed is about more than just a technical thumbs-up. It ensures a smooth, reliable experience for your subscribers, which builds trust and keeps them coming back for more.

Make Your RSS Link Easy to Discover

Once your feed is validated and ready for prime time, your focus needs to shift to visibility. Don't make your audience go on a treasure hunt for your feed; put it right where they can see it.

Here are a few simple, proven strategies I've seen work time and time again:

Add the classic RSS icon. That recognizable orange icon is a universal symbol. Pop it into your site's header, footer, or sidebar where it’s easy to spot.

Create a dedicated "Subscribe" page. This gives you a space to not only provide the direct feed link but also to explain why someone should subscribe via RSS.

Mention it in your newsletter. Give your existing email subscribers another great option to follow your content. It shows you're offering convenience, which people appreciate.

Promoting your RSS feed should be a natural part of your overall website content management strategy. When everything is integrated, your messaging stays consistent. If you want more ideas for getting the word out, our guide on how to promote the site is packed with actionable marketing tips.

Believe it or not, RSS is still a workhorse for content syndication, powering distribution for countless platforms around the globe. Even in 2025, news aggregators, podcast directories, and countless websites rely on RSS to automatically pull in new updates. By validating your feed and making it visible, you're tapping directly into this powerful, enduring ecosystem.

RSS Links: Your Questions Answered

Once you start working with RSS feeds, a few common questions always seem to pop up. Let's clear the air on some of the most frequent ones I hear.

Not directly, no. Platforms like Instagram or X (formerly Twitter) phased out native RSS support a long time ago. They'd much rather you stay logged into their apps, scrolling through their algorithm-driven feeds.

The good news? You can still get around this with a third-party RSS feed generator. These tools are pretty clever—they monitor a public social media profile for new posts and then bundle them into a standard RSS feed. It's a great workaround for following creators without dealing with the platform's whims, but just remember you're relying on another service to keep the feed alive.

What Is the Difference Between RSS and Atom?

Think of RSS (Really Simple Syndication) and Atom as two different file types that do the exact same thing, like a .jpg and a .png. Both are web feed formats made for syndicating content.

RSS: This is the old guard. It's been around forever and is what most people are talking about when they say "RSS feed."

Atom: This format came along later to fix some of RSS's quirks and limitations. It’s built on a more standardized and technically robust XML structure.

In reality, the distinction doesn't matter much for most people today. Almost every modern feed reader and app handles both formats without a hitch. While either is fine, RSS is still the more common name you'll see thrown around.

How Can I Track My RSS Subscribers?

This is the million-dollar question, and the honest answer is: you can't, really. Tracking RSS subscribers is notoriously difficult. The whole point of the protocol is that it's decentralized, which means there’s no built-in way for a feed reader to report back and say, "Hey, someone just subscribed!" You can't just log into a dashboard and see a neat subscriber count like with an email list.

The most popular workaround involves using a feed management service. These tools act as a middleman, passing your feed through their servers, which lets them gather some basic analytics. But for most bloggers and creators, the effort isn't worth it. Time is better spent making the feed easy to find in the first place.

Does Having an RSS Feed Help with SEO?

Yes, but indirectly. Having an RSS feed isn't a direct ranking signal that Google's algorithm hunts for. But it's a powerful tool that supports your broader SEO strategy in a few key ways.

An RSS feed is, at its core, a syndication engine. When other websites, apps, and content aggregators pull your articles through your feed, it gets your content in front of more eyes. This can lead to more organic traffic, social shares, and—most importantly—valuable backlinks from people who discover and appreciate your work. It also helps search engines find and index your new content faster, which is always a win.

Ready to turn your Notion content into a high-performance blog with a built-in RSS feed? With Feather, you can launch a beautiful, SEO-friendly site in minutes, no coding required. See how simple it is at https://feather.so.