RSS

RSS stands for Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication. In its simplest form, it is another way to distribute news and announcements over the internet, and deliver content directly to subscribers. It can complement and augment your existing online publishing system, make your site more visible to search engines and enhance public relations.

Why should I?

RSS is well-suited for some forms of interoperability and syndication. For example, you can make an RSS feed of a minister’s media releases appear simultaneously on the department’s home page or media release page, along with media releases from within the department.

RSS is particularly useful for regularly-updated web-based information including:

  • latest publications
  • media releases
  • latest news
  • alerts and notifications
  • search results
  • incidents and observations (Geo RSS)
  • recent videos, audio or images (Media RSS)

If you are creating this type of content, consider providing it as an RSS feed to keep visitors informed after they leave your site. Properly harnessed, RSS can give your agency, minister or department a wider, more immediate way to make their message heard with a minimum of cost and effort.

What should I do?

RSS feeds may be used to complement or replace existing email-based subscription services, reducing (and possibly removing) the need for agencies to manage users’ email addresses.

You will need to decide what type of content will be most effective and relevant to an RSS feed audience. Content that is updated fairly frequently is most suitable. RSS users will receive notifications of the latest entry whenever the content is updated.

How do I?

Generate the RSS feed

Modern content management systems often are able to create feeds on-demand, either for an entire site, or for certain sections or functions within a site. Agencies should ensure that a feed correctly attributes them as the author, validates, and uses metadata appropriately.

Ensure the feed is discoverable by machines and humans

Several methods of feed discoverability should be supported:

  • Described in a page’s HTML in the <head> section using a <link> tag
  • Linked to from a global footer (particularly if your site produces several feeds)
  • In-page links, with appropriate iconography (e.g. RSS icon)

Subjects:

Last Reviewed: 2010-08-31

 

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