The Reader app gives you the ability to have dynamic RSS feeds on your site.

What is Feed?

A feed is a web technology that pulls in rapidly or frequently updating information from a web source. The information is often displayed as dynamically changing list. A common type of content used in web feeds are news headlines. New headlines are constantly being created, so this content really lends itself to being displayed as a feed.

The great thing about a feed is that once you set it up, the information will automatically update as it changes. Having feeds on your site is a way to make your site lively and dynamic.

How I find feeds for my site?

The Reader app will process feeds from external web sources. Many web sites will offer feeds for their content, such as latest news. You should browse web sites that have interest and relevance to your web site and look for the orange feed icon. It may say "RSS" feed, which is a type of feed format.

Enabling the Reader App

Before adding any Feeds, you must first make sure the app is enabled.

1. Go to the control panel at the top of the page.
2. Hover over BUILD.
3. Click on APPS within the Manage menu.

4. Search for READER.
5. In the drop down menu, click PUBLIC.

6. SAVE CONFIGURATION at the bottom of the page.

Return to Home Page

The "Reader" link should now appear in the primary menu.

I found a feed that I want on my site, now what?

You'll need to get:

1) The URL of the feed. (Click on the orange feed icon on the external site and copy the URL.)
2) The name or title of the feed. (This is for your reference when you add the feed to your site.)

After you have obtained the pieces on information above, you can go ahead and create the actual feed on your site.

To add a feed from your site, click the "Reader" link in your primary menu. Next click on the link that says and begin entering the feed information.

The "Add Feed" Form

You'll need to enter some basic information to the add feed form. Here is where you use the information that you captured in the "You'll need to get:" list above. Populate the "Title" and "Feed URL" fields with this information.

Where can I see the feeds after they've been set up?

The feeds that you add to your site will automatically appear in the "Reader" section for your site. The latest feed items will also appear in the default widget:

Widgets

The Reader app comes with default widgets:

Latest Feed Items- The 10 most recent feed items will be listed in this widget. These list items will refresh as new feeds content aggregates.
* If you have more than 1 feed, you can choose which one appears on the "Latest Feed Items" widget. To do this go into the "Reader" page and find the "Latest Feed Items" Widget. Hover over the widget until you see the grey gear, click on it and hit "Edit Widget". On the form you will have the option to chose which Feed you would like to showcase on the widget. You can also rename the widget, add a widget description, choose the number of items to display, etc. Remember to save.

AddThis button - The AddThis button allows users to share your site's content to social networking sites by book creating shared bookmark lists.

How long are feed items kept?

Feed items older than 2 weeks will be automatically deleted from your site. Keep in mind that a feed, like a news flash, focuses on the latest information. People who view or subscribe to your feed will expect feed items to update frequently. Your feeds will check for and display new feed items about every hour.

Managing Feeds

All of your feeds can be viewed by clicking on "Reader" in the primary menu of your site. You can also view and manage links by navigating to the Control Panel and clicking on the "Content" button . On the right column, under "Type" you will see a "Feed" link and after applying will display a list of your links.

Can I have feeds for the content that I create?

You already do. The content that you create will automatically be available in an RSS feed format for others to subscribe to.

Keep in mind that the Reader app is designed to pull information from external web sources. Having a collection of feeds from a variety of sources is known as aggregation...and having a web site that aggregates content makes the site lively and interesting for your visitors.

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