RSS still does one job well: it lets a reader follow new posts without opening every site or joining an email list. WordPress creates those feeds for you. You do not need FeedBurner to publish them, count subscribers, or hand people a working URL.
What changed: This page replaces WPArena’s older RSS basics and FeedBurner write-ups. Google retired FeedBurner as a product you should build a workflow on. Native WordPress feeds, a maintained newsletter tool, and a public frontend feed are the current stack.
What RSS is, and what it is not
RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a small XML document that lists recent items: title, link, date, and usually an excerpt or full text. A feed reader polls that URL and shows new items. It is not email, it is not a popup, and it is not a substitute for a sitemap.
Use RSS when you want readers to follow the site on their schedule. Use email when you want to send a message you wrote. A headless site such as WPArena can offer both, but they are different controls.
WordPress already publishes feeds
On a conventional permalink site, these URLs are the ones to verify first:
| Feed | Pretty permalink | Query string fallback |
|---|---|---|
| All posts | /feed/ | /?feed=rss2 |
| Comments | /comments/feed/ | /?feed=comments-rss2 |
| Category | /category/tutorials/feed/ | /?feed=rss2&cat=ID |
| Tag | /tag/example/feed/ | /?feed=rss2&tag=example |
| Author | /author/editorial-staff/feed/ | /?feed=rss2&author=ID |
| Search | /feed/?s=permalinks | /?feed=rss2&s=permalinks |
| Atom | /feed/atom/ | /?feed=atom |
Replace the example slugs with real ones from your site. Plugins, custom permalinks, and security rules can change which addresses work. Open the URL and confirm you receive XML with public entries, not a login page or an HTML 404.
On WPArena’s public frontend, WordPress feed paths are gathered at https://wparena.com/feed/. That is intentional: the Faust site is the public hostname, and a reader should not have to know the WordPress origin.
Find the feeds WordPress does not advertise
The theme footer or a browser’s feed icon usually only expose the main posts feed. Category, tag, author, and search feeds still exist. If you want readers to follow one topic, link that category feed in a widget or the topic archive. Do not assume visitors will guess the URL.
- Confirm pretty permalinks are on under Settings → Permalinks.
- Open the archive you care about, then append
feed/. - Check that each entry link points at the public article URL, not an internal preview or admin host.
- If you use a headless frontend, test the public hostname as well as the WordPress origin.
Why FeedBurner is not the 2026 answer
FeedBurner was a Google-owned feed proxy. Sites pointed readers at a FeedBurner URL so they could count subscribers, add email delivery, and brand the feed. That extra hop is now a liability: the product is not a current Google workflow, accounts get stuck, and you add a third-party hostname in front of content WordPress already serves.
If an old theme still prints a FeedBurner URL in header.php or a widget:
- Change the public feed link back to your own
/feed/(or the frontend feed you actually serve). - Move email subscribers to a maintained list tool. Do not treat FeedBurner email as a backup of those addresses until you have exported them.
- Redirect the old FeedBurner path to the native feed so existing reader subscriptions keep working.
Keep email and RSS labeled as different things
A feed reader polls XML. A newsletter needs a confirmed address, a sender domain, and unsubscribe handling. If your header says “Subscribe” and then copies a feed URL, readers will think they joined a list. Label the controls: “Copy RSS address” versus “Join the email list.”
WPArena’s contact page is the place to reach the team; it is not a feed signup.
Feeds on a headless WordPress site
GraphQL and REST do not replace RSS for readers. If the public site is a Next.js frontend:
- Decide one public feed URL and keep it stable.
- Make sure item links use the public canonical URLs, not the WordPress origin.
- Do not expose drafts, private services, or coupon codes that are meant to stay in the dashboard.
- After you trash or merge a post, the feed should drop that item; old URLs should 301 to the replacement.
A short launch checklist
- Main feed returns XML on the public hostname.
- Category and author feeds work if you plan to promote them.
- No leftover FeedBurner or third-party feed proxy in the theme header.
- Email signup, if you offer one, is a separate, current tool.
- Feed item links match the canonical article URLs.
Frequently asked questions
Do I still need RSS in 2026?
Yes, if you want a durable, login-free way for people and tools to follow new posts. It is not mandatory for ranking, but it is still the simplest public update stream WordPress ships.
Can I count subscribers without FeedBurner?
You can log request volume on the feed URL, or you can stop treating subscriber counts as a goal. Email lists give a clearer opted-in number. Feed-reader counts were always approximate.
Should I full-text or excerpt the feed?
Excerpt is enough for most publications and keeps scrapers from mirroring the whole article. Full text is better when you want readers to stay inside their feed app. Set this under Settings → Reading.
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