Putting an RSS Feed On Your Web Site

EXtensible Markup Language (XML) is being used more and more across the Internet to deliver content to users, either as static HTML pages generated by the web site itself, or as a web service from one web site to another. An example of this is Resource Description Framework Site Summary (RSS). An RSS feed is an XML document that is served up on request by a web site as a web service. The advantage for the user of the service is that the document is generated dynamically, reflecting the current state of the service, or in response to parameters submitted along with the request.

OK, that was a pretty technical explanation of what is simply a way to add content to your web site without having to write a program or page yourself, or maintain it periodically to keep it updated. Let's say that you know your customers are interested in a particular topic, and you find that there's a web site on the Internet that provides a web service listing articles of interest on that topic that have been gleaned by monitoring other Internet sites. It would certainly be an attraction for your site if you could provide that listing on your site, while not having to send your customers to another site, and away from yours. As an example, if your web site is targeted to individuals with an interest in business, then you could put the RSS feed from the New York Times technology section on your site as a service to your audience.

Conversely, perhaps there is an RSS feed that you can offer as a web service to other sites. Not only will you upgrade your search engine rankings by having other sites link to yours, but you can also bring customers to your site that may not have found you yet, but who have discovered other related sites. We have set up our "Tip of the Week" section as an RSS feed, along with a sample page that uses this web service .