RSS news feed help guide

What is RSS?

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication and allows you to stay informed when Web sites add new content. When you subscribe to an RSS news feed, the latest headlines will automatically be sent to a custom Web page that you’ve created. You can view all of the topics that interest you (and not the ones that don’t) without having to visit the original Web site.

How to use feeds

Setting up RSS feeds requires a news reader, a software that makes it simple to collect your favorite site feeds in one place. News readers are available in several different versions, including ones accessible through your browser and others that are downloadable applications.

Browser-based news readers allow you to view your RSS feed subscriptions from any computer. Downloadable applications let you store the feeds on your main computer in the same way that you would download your e-mail using Outlook or access it on a Web-based service such as Yahoo Mail.

Get a news reader

To start using news feeds, download a newsreader application. Below we have listed a sampling of RSS news feed readers. The individual sites will provide more instructions to help you get started.

I have a news reader – now what?

Once you select a news feed reader, visit your favorite Web sites to see if they offer RSS.

They will often put a “subscribe to RSS” icon (i.e., ) or text on their Web sites to indicate if they offer RSS feeds.

To subscribe to a site, click on the RSS news feed link or copy and paste the URL of the feed into your news reader program (click on the RSS icon before you copy the URL).

How to get VCU news feeds

Go to the subscription page to sign up for VCU news feeds.