The term RSS is used often in web design, and many of my customers have heard of it but are unsure about what it actually is or how to use it. So I thought I would put a little article together to try and shed some light.

What is RSS?

Really Simple Syndication, or RSS for short, is an incredibly easy and time saving way of having frequently updated content sent to you from all of your favourite sites.

Instead of you having to visit each of your bookmarked blogs or news sites in turn, these sites will send any new content straight to you so you can browse the sites latest articles and news stories at your leisure.

To set this up is quite simple, first you need to find a feed reader which suits you.

Feedreader Software

There are many different feedreaders out there. Some are web based, like Google feed reader and others are actually programs you have on your computer.

Both types have their advantages, if you use a web based reader, you can read your articles wherever you are.

Whereas if you use a feedreader app on your computer you can bring all of your articles up in a matter of seconds.

The next thing you have to do is subscribe to the sites which interest you. To do this you need to find which of favourite sites offer RSS.

How do you know which sites offer RSS?

The way most sites show they offer RSS is by displaying an RSS icon which links to their feed on their site or in their address bar.

How to Subscribe to RSS?

Once you have found a site which you would like to subscribe to, all you have to do is click the big orange icon.

Once you want to subscribe you simply need to choose which reader you use.All you need to do here is choose which reader you use.
 
Your web based reader is now set up! You can now receive updates from all of your favourite blogs and news site without having to trawl through them all..
 
The next step is to use your login details from one of these web readers to enable you desktop app to access it. This will then bring your feeds direct to your computer.