How Do I Use the RSS Widget in SoCast?

How Do I Use the RSS Widget in SoCast?

How Do I Use the RSS Widget in SoCast?

Warning Warning:

This widget is being deprecated in February 2020.

Info This Article Is For:
  • All users who have access to one or more of the following: pages, blogs, contests, and sidebars.
  • This applies to all themes.
Tip Features:
  • SoCast's RSS Widget displays posts from any RSS feed, including password-protected feeds (as long as you have the password).
  • RSS feeds are a great tool for displaying the latest posts and news stories from your favorite websites.
Note Tips:
  • To find RSS feeds on a website, look for words like “subscribe” or “feed”, or look for the standard RSS feed icon.
  • To copy the feed URL, right-click and select “copy link” or “copy link location”.
  • Check the feed with a validation tool. If there is an error, contact the feed provider.
  • When creating an RSS feed, publishers (e.g., NBC) may allow you to show either a preview or the entire article.
  • Many websites limit their RSS feeds to only show excerpts of the full posts.
  • Feeds often provide only a truncated (shortened) version of an article, usually a short excerpt and perhaps a featured image.
  • Examples of RSS feed URLs:

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Widget Name: This is the name of the widget shown in the Drag-and-Drop Editor. It will not be displayed on the website.
  2. Display Title: Choose whether you’d like the title displayed by selecting “Yes” or “No” from the drop-down menu.
  3. Feed URL: Enter the RSS feed URL you have copied from a website.
  4. Feed Username: (Optional) Provide a username to access a secured feed, if required.
  5. Feed Password: Enter the password for a protected feed, if necessary.
  6. Format: Choose the type of format for your feed:
    1. RSS: Usually displays a short paragraph with a “read more” link to the full article.
    2. NewsML: Usually displays the full article on the page.
  7. Target: Choose whether you want articles in the feed to open in the current window or a new window.
  8. Items to Display: Set the number of articles you want displayed. We recommend multiples of 5.
  9. Allow Multiple Pages: Select “Yes” if you want to display a paginator when there are more items than the set display limit; otherwise, select “No.”
  10. Click the Save button.

Example

RSS Widget Example