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4 of the Best WordPress RSS Feed Plugins

Best WordPress RSS feed plugins

“Why would you even look at the best WordPress RSS feed plugins?! I thought RSS was dead!” – you’re thinking. 🤔

Well, yes and no.

Yes – it’s no longer such a popular mechanism used by people to stay updated with their favorite sites … most of that went away with the demise of Google Reader.

And no – because it’s still an active technology, which means that we can use it for a lot of cool things happening behind the scenes on our WordPress sites. So today, we’re looking into the 4 best RSS feed plugins for WordPress:

Best WordPress RSS feed plugins: SUMMARY
Plugin Rating Active Installs
Feedzy 94% 50,000+
Super RSS Reader 94% 10,000+
Category Specific RSS 88% 6,000+
WP RSS Aggregator 90% 60,000+

Best RSS feed plugins for WordPress in detail

  1. FEEDZY RSS Feeds
  2. Super RSS Reader
  3. Category Specific RSS Feed Subscription
  4. WP RSS Aggregator

1.FEEDZY RSS Feeds

Feedzy is the most complete of the best RSS feed plugins out there. And we’re not just saying it because it’s part of the family. You can figure it out yourself after assessing its features and advantages.

Feedzy works through shortcodes. This means that you can add various feeds wherever you wish (posts, pages, custom content types), right via the WordPress editor screen. In the premium version, the plugin does all the work you would otherwise do manually. It can be scheduled to automatically import multiple feeds from various sources in the same page/post via Import Setup Wizard.

Furthermore, you can group the sources into categories (to re-use them across your website anytime) and extract elements from a custom feed tag (available only for single feeds).

WordPress RSS plugins: Feedzy

Once you activate a feed or category, the plugin starts to import the posts either by directly publishing them or by saving them as pending.

The way the imported items are presented on the front-end is totally up to you. You can decide over the featured images, excerpts, post status and type, quantity, text length, layout – Feedzy provides three templates to choose from.

If Feedzy identifies HTTP images while importing the feeds, it will let you decide how to handle them: show with HTTP link, force HTTPS, or simply import the image as is.

Wizard settings

Another nice thing about this RSS feed plugin for WordPress is that you can filter articles by keywords, so you can choose to display only the ones that meet your criteria exactly. Or you can even aggregate multiple feeds together. Moreover, Feedzy automatically adds your affiliate/referral IDs to the links in the feed so you can make money if people click on the posts.

Speaking of links, the plugin gives you the option to remove the ‘dofollow’ tag from all the posts in the feed.

If you want to avoid publishing duplicate content on your site, Feedzy Pro comes integrated with WordAI and SpinnerChief. These tools can rewrite the original articles in a human, non-robotic style. They will be of help when you import a full-length article from external sources, which is also possible with Feedzy. You are not limited to excerpts, you can actually fetch the full text from any feed. This includes product prices if you own an ecommerce business.

But the features don’t end here. The plugin keeps pace with the latest WordPress trends. It is integrated with Elementor and Gutenberg, which means that you can add feeds via their builder interfaces without trouble.

Feedzy via elementor

Last but not least, importing a significant number of external posts won’t be a burden because the plugin has feed caching, which means that the loading speed of your site won’t be affected at all.

You can also post your RSS feeds as widgets – go to Appearance / Widgets and drag the “RSS” widget to any widget area.

This is a sample of how your imported feeds will look on the front-end (I’m using Twenty Seventeen theme):

Feedzy front end

👉 Get this RSS feed plugin if you need an RSS importer with powerful features yet lightweight interface. While Feedzy can be a good fit for personal matters, we mostly recommend it to business owners whose goal is to grow / monetize their websites and automate their work. This combination likely makes Feedzy the all-around top selection among the best RSS feed plugins.

2.Super RSS Reader

With this plugin, you can import RSS feeds to your website and display them as widgets. It lets you add multiple feeds separated by tabs to a single widget and gives you options to stylize their appearance.

To use this plugin, you have to go to Appearance in your WordPress menu and click on Widgets. Here, select the location of the widget (sidebar, footer, header, etc.) and insert it via the + button at the top left of the page. Search for “Super RSS Reader” and drag it wherever you want inside the desired widget. Fill all the empty fields and customize the feed to your liking (all from the same content box).

Super RSS Reader widget demo

Once you finish the customization of the widget, click on Update and you will see your feed live on your site looking like this:

Super RSS Reader demo

You can make the posts in the widget static or dynamic – either by mouse scrolling or automatic rotation in a loop.

What else does this plugin offer? It comes with feed thumbnails, color themes, different date formats, custom descriptions and titles, and more.

👉 Get this WordPress RSS feed plugin if you want to display posts, events, job listings, articles, or announcements only as widgets. It can also import your own website content such as comments, recent posts, or forum topics. The plugin displays the widgets in a beautiful way, giving you various color themes and effects for the feeds.

3.Category Specific RSS Feed Subscription

This plugin is completely different and unlike anything else here. Whereas the other ones are about importing stuff, this one is about giving your readers the option to subscribe to category-specific RSS feeds on your blog.

💡 Note: There’s a trick you can use to get this RSS WordPress plugin to display external feeds as well. More on that in a minute.

Say that you publish a lot of different content, and your audience might not be interested in all of it. For example, you have a “food” category and a “travel” category. Well, with this plugin, you can let people subscribe to each of these categories separately.

After installing the plugin, go to the Settings section in the wp-admin and then to Category Specific RSS. You’ll see a list of the categories that you can create a feed for.

Category categories

As you can see, I also used the section for custom categories and pointed them to external sources. This is the trick I mentioned above. That being said, those external RSS feeds aren’t getting imported or anything, they are just links pointing to another site.

Now, you have three options when it comes to displaying your custom feed links: widget, shortcode, or a line of PHP code:

Category usage

I used the shortcode. Here’s what my listing of feeds looks like when put on a sample page:

Category Specific RSS plugin demo

👉 Get this WordPress RSS feed plugin if you publish a lot of different types of content and want to give your audience the option to subscribe to just what’s of interest to them. Also useful for displaying links to external feeds alongside your own.

4. WP RSS Aggregator

I have to give it to this one among our best RSS feed plugins; it’s quite friendly and intuitive. Install it, go to its section in the wp-admin, and it will guide you along through the settings.

To add a feed, just click on “Add New,” set your preferences, and publish it.

WordPress RSS aggregator add new window

Okay, so I created a feed for our blog, CodeinWP to test things out. I’ve set it to remain active, so it can update automatically whenever there’s new content.

WordPress RSS feed sources

After adding the RSS feed, you can click on “View Items” to see the articles currently in that feed.

WP RSS Aggregator also comes with a “Blacklist” section, so you can stop specific content from popping up. Plus, there are some great add-ons too (paid).

Okay, so the next step after creating an RSS feed is to add it to your posts or pages. You can go to the text editor of a specific post, and you’ll see an icon labeled “WPRSS Aggregator Shortcode” there. After clicking it, you can select a given feed and add it as a shortcode:

WordPress RSS agg add shortcode

Here’s what it looks like once you save the page:

WordPress RSS feed demo

👉 Get this WordPress RSS feed plugin if you’ll be working with multiple feeds at the same time. The plugin is intuitive, and it provides great management for each individual feed.

WordPress RSS feeds FAQ 🙋

What are the pros of a WordPress RSS feed?

  • Efficient content distribution: RSS feeds allow you to subscribe to updates from your favorite websites, blogs, or podcasts, enabling you to receive new content automatically without visiting each site individually.
  • Time-saving: You can quickly scan through headlines and summaries in your RSS feed reader to decide which articles or posts to read in detail.
  • Customizable content consumption: You have control over the sources you subscribe to, allowing you to curate a personalized stream of content.
  • Privacy-friendly: RSS feeds don’t require you to provide personal information or sign up for accounts, preserving your privacy.

What are the cons of a WordPress RSS feed?

  • Limited content presentation: RSS feeds often provide only brief summaries or excerpts of articles, which may not give the complete picture of the content.
  • Decreased engagement: Because RSS feeds deliver content directly to subscribers, it can reduce direct visits to websites, potentially impacting engagement metrics such as page views and ad impressions.
  • Lack of standardization: RSS feed formats can vary, leading to compatibility issues with certain feed readers or platforms. This can result in inconsistent display or difficulties in subscribing to feeds.
  • Declining popularity: RSS feeds have lost some popularity over time as social media platforms and other content distribution methods have gained prominence.

Is it legal to post RSS feeds on your WordPress website?

Yes, it is generally legal to post RSS feeds on your website, as long as you have the necessary rights or permissions to display the content included in the feeds. RSS feeds typically provide a way to syndicate and distribute content from other websites, blogs, or sources with the intention of allowing users to subscribe to updates.

However, it’s important to respect the terms and conditions of the content providers whose feeds you display. Some content providers may have specific guidelines or requirements for using their feeds, so it’s essential to review their terms of use to ensure compliance.

Additionally, keep in mind that displaying RSS feeds does not grant you ownership or copyright over the content itself. The ownership and copyright of the content remain with the original content creators or providers.

Where is the RSS feed file in WordPress?

In WordPress, the RSS feed file is dynamically generated by the software rather than being a physical file that you can locate within the file structure of your website. WordPress automatically generates RSS feeds for your site’s posts, comments, and other content types.

The main RSS feed for your WordPress site, which includes your latest posts, can typically be found at the following URL:

https://www.yourwebsite.com/feed/

Why is my WordPress RSS feed not working?

There can be several reasons why your RSS feed is not working in WordPress. Here are a few common issues and possible solutions:

  1. Plugin or theme conflict: Sometimes, conflicts between plugins or the active theme can interfere with the generation or display of WordPress RSS feeds. Try disabling any recently installed plugins or switching to a default theme temporarily to see if the issue is resolved.
  2. Permalink settings: WordPress relies on proper permalink settings to generate RSS feeds. Ensure that your permalink structure is set correctly. Go to “Settings” > “Permalinks” in your WordPress admin dashboard and choose a suitable permalink structure. Saving the settings can sometimes resolve feed-related issues.
  3. Caching plugins: If you are using a caching plugin, it may be serving a cached version of your feed, causing it to appear outdated or not update correctly. Clearing the cache or temporarily disabling the caching plugin can help troubleshoot the problem.
  4. Incorrect feed URL: Double-check that you are using the correct feed URL to access your WordPress RSS feed. The standard feed URL for posts is typically https://yourwebsite.com/feed/. Verify that you are using the correct URL and that it is accessible.
  5. Feed validation errors: WordPress RSS feeds need to adhere to specific XML standards. If your feed has structural or formatting errors, it may not work properly. Validate your feed using online RSS feed validators to identify and fix any errors in the feed’s XML structure.
  6. Plugin or code customization: If you have customized your site using plugins or added code snippets related to WordPress RSS feeds, they could be causing conflicts or issues. Review any customizations you have made and ensure they are correctly implemented.

If none of these suggestions resolve the problem, it might be helpful to consult a web developer who specializes in WordPress.

What is an online RSS feed validator?

An online RSS feed validator is a web-based tool that helps you check the validity and compliance of your WordPress RSS feed with the XML standards. It analyzes the structure, formatting, and content of your WordPress RSS feed and identifies any errors or issues that may be causing problems.

Using an online RSS feed validator is straightforward. You need to provide the URL of your WordPress RSS feed, and the validator will process the feed and generate a report highlighting any errors or warnings. The report will typically include information about the specific line or element causing the problem, making it easier to identify and fix the issue.

If you would like to try it out, you can use the W3C Feed Validation Service.

📚 Further reading:

What’s your top WordPress RSS plugin?

Are you using any of these best WordPress RSS feed plugins? Let us know if there’s anything we missed.

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Adelina Tuca
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VirtueNetz Limited
September 7, 2018 10:41 pm

Not sure if any of these importing full story/news as post description with featured image. Is there any? Kindly guide as i couldn’t find any as per above mentioned criteria

The Welding Warrior Ltd
May 16, 2018 1:19 pm

having a realluy bad experience with wp-aggregator

Mike Caldwell
May 7, 2018 10:10 am

MOST if not all LACK SCHEDULED PULLS that should be the norm, manual or every 2 minutes, hours,days. NOT 1 pull TAGS , most dont push tags. That’s BS as TAGS are used to search and how they didn’t end up part of the RSS is a huge oversight. I need one that pulls in the ANCHOR,.FM RSS feed, daily not manually.

steven denger
April 20, 2018 4:49 am

If these are the best RSS plugins then I would dread trying out the worst ones!! These are the most pathetic plugins I have ever seen. All these rss developers are in this just to make a buck by giving free versions that are non-usable and look horrid on a website. These all should have images and the ability to be added along side the regular posts for free. These people are just trying to make money – what pathetic shape the world is in!!!!

Mark Zahra
July 20, 2018 2:22 pm
Reply to  steven denger

Hey Steven, any particular reason you’d say that?

WP RSS Aggregator’s add-ons can achieve what you’re looking for. As you may understand, developing add-ons as extensive as our Feed to Post add-on is no small feat. It requires a dedicated development and support team and years of work and gathering feedback. Giving that away for free results in the team being unable to support itself, so the plugin would die out. We don’t want that.

I’d just like to point out that, in the past, some individuals did provide extensive free versions of plugins like ours. These individuals could not keep up with the users, and the plugins very quickly died out and were removed from the plugin repository. This is further proof of what I described above.

george christoforou
April 18, 2018 1:19 am

which of these plugins is fastest? I find that most RSS plugins slow your site down back to the stoneage.

Mark Zahra
July 20, 2018 2:22 pm

Hey George, we try to help your site’s performance as much as possible with WP RSS Aggregator, but yes, it does affect performance if the hosting is not adequate for the job. It is a server-intensive process to import content continuously, but it’s nothing that a good host can’t handle 🙂

Sabina Ionescu
July 25, 2018 5:41 pm

Hey, as far as Feedzy is concerned, it automatically adds caching to feeds, so it shouldn’t affect the website’s speed.

But if you’d like to investigate further, here’s a more detailed review of the top RSS plugins https://wpshout.com/blog/best-rss-to-post-wordpress-plugins/

steven denger
April 15, 2018 8:43 pm

Never could get the WP RSS Aggregator to work. It seemed to have simple settings to deal with and after adding the new feeds , I could see articles that were fed to the right of the dashboard list, but after adding the shortcode on a page – nothing. They want extra money for every little thing that they call “add-ons” – which some of these addons should come out of the box. Terrible experience with this plugin. I have a premium template and my site is hosted with wp engine as well – so there is no reason this plugin did not work on my end that I could think of. Their supposed “help” videos were of no assistance for me for this major problem. And I do not like digging thru the wordpress forums just to find out why. They very seldom to never help me. Sent a support ticket, but no answer. I would not suggest this plugin to anybody – unless you like misery and failure.

Akash
January 25, 2018 3:58 pm

Awesome RSS feed plugins list! Thanks for sharing with us. It is very helpful for my EmploymentNotice blog and also for all especially who are in search of best RSS feed plugins for WP blog.

wale
August 10, 2017 4:51 pm

if you have money to waste, go for WP RSS Aggregator. They’re scammers. they will make you pay $80 for Feed to post add on first, then after that you will have no choice but to pay additional $80 for another add on called Full text RSS add on. In other for you to get the full content, cos the first one(FEED TO POST) you paid for will only bring in excerpts of the content not full text.

Mark Zahra
October 6, 2017 3:15 pm
Reply to  wale

Hey wale, Feed to Post can bring in what is in the RSS feed. Many sources provide the full content themselves, while others limit it to just an excerpt. That’s where the full text service comes in. We provide a fully fledged demo site for exactly this reason – so you can test out your own feeds to see what you’d need. You may also look at the RSS feeds themselves to see what content they provide.
Also, if you’d like, you can purchase the Advanced Feeds Bundle at a cheaper price than the two add-ons separately, and it also includes our Keyword Filtering add-on.

Conceal Carry
June 27, 2017 11:02 pm

I believe I would like to install WP RSS Aggregator on the blog that I’ve been building… but i get a warning that this plugin has not been tested on the current theme… which is Twenty Sixteen
FEEDZY, also, has not been tested on my theme.
I am looking to bring news articles into my site… to help give my readers added news – besides our personal articles that will be written in-house…
Is it going to take two months to get a reply here? I see just below me that it took that long.

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