Articles on: Integrations

What does a correct RSS feed look like and how can I check if it is correct?

An RSS file usually contains the following components, which are stored in the source code. By "item" is understood in each case a post/article that is transmitted in the data feed.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<rss version="2.0">
<channel>
<title>name of the RSS feed</title>.
<link>full URL: http://www.beispielseite.de</link>
<description>short description of the RSS feed</description>.
<language>[[hreflang|language]] (e.g., "de-en")</language>
<copyright>author of the feed</copyright>.
<pubDate>Date and time of creation("Wed, 24 Aug 2013 12:00:39")</pubDate>
<image>
<url>URL to the displayed image graphic</url>.
<title>title of the graphic</title>.
<link>linked image URL</link>
</image>

Verifying an RSS feed.

To make sure that your RSS feed is correct and complies with the standards, you can use an RSS validator. Here are the general steps you can take:

XML check: ensure that the format is well-formed XML.

Format check: Check for compliance with RSS specifications.

Online validator: Use online tools such as the W3C Feed Validation Service to validate the feed : https://validator.w3.org/feed/.

Manual check: Check elements and formatting, e.g. URLs, dates, and necessary sub-elements.

A correctly formatted RSS feed is essential for efficient sharing of updates and news.

If there are problems with the feed, they can usually be easily fixed at the source (e.g. in your content management system). Once set up and running properly, RSS is a wonderfully simple, very reliable format.

tchop uses the standard RSS 2.0 specification to import RSS XML feeds and convert them into JavaScript objects. Therefore, it is important that the formatting of the feed conforms to this specification, as the system imports and integrates according to this standard.

RSS specification: https://www.rssboard.org/rss-draft-1

Often, correct RSS integration fails due to incorrect formatting of the feed XML, i.e. in case of a problem, the first thing to check is the format of the feed.

Updated on: 23/10/2023

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