RSS Feeds

RSS (which stands for “Really Simple Syndication�) is a way of syndicating content that is in a news-like form. Virtually any information that can be divided into distinct articles can be syndicated through RSS.

Feeds can then be read through “news aggregators”, software programs that retrieve syndicated content. RSS is becoming more and more prevalent as a way for Bloggers to release syndicated content. A news aggregator allows users to see recent content (articles, news, Blog entries, etc.) from their selected feeds.

These feeds can be accessed online and offline, allowing customers to read a website’s content without even seeing its design. Content is a primary driver of RD2 design; it is imperative that the content be able to stand alone in such an environment.

The typical RSS user profile is a college-educated male, age 18-34, with an above-average household income. In August of 2005 11% of all people reading weblogs were using RSS to manage content. Now, almost 10 months later, the number is presumably much higher.

What does it mean for web design?

RSS makes us think about design differently. Many people reading updated content on a site will never see the design, only content. Thus, the content must become an integral component of design. It must be able to stand alone and make meaningful sense to the RSS feed viewer.

We had a discussion recently about how a designer’s problem is not “How do we make it look good?� but “How do we communicate the message in a clever way?� At RD2, we strive to maximize a site’s audience: whether its content is accessed by RSS feeds, on a handheld device, a text reader, or a traditional web browser, the message needs to prevail.