How Do You Set Up RSS.app Widgets?
Establish a Reliable Feed
Before creating a widget, you need a feed. The widget displays whatever the feed contains, so feed selection is the foundation of widget quality.
Use an existing feed. If the content source already publishes RSS, Atom, or JSON Feed, you can use that URL directly. Most blogs, news sites, and podcasts publish native feeds. Check for RSS icons, look in page source for feed links, or append /feed or /rss to the site URL.
Generate a feed. If the source lacks a native feed, use the RSS.app Generator to create one. The Generator extracts content from webpages and produces a feed URL that updates automatically. This is common for social media profiles, JavaScript-rendered sites, and pages that do not offer RSS.
Bundle multiple feeds. To aggregate content from several sources into one widget, create a bundled feed. Bundled feeds combine items from multiple source feeds into a single stream, which you then connect to your widget.
Verify feed quality. Before building a widget, preview the feed content. Check that items have complete titles, working links, and any images or descriptions you want to display. Feed quality directly affects widget appearance.
Recommendation: Test your feed URL in a feed reader or RSS.app's feed preview before creating a widget. Catching issues at the feed level saves troubleshooting time later.
Choose a Widget Layout
1. News Wall
A grid-style layout that displays feed items as cards. Best suited for news pages and dashboards.
2. List
A compact vertical list of feed items with minimal styling. Best suited for blogs and sidebars.
3. Carousel
A horizontal layout that rotates through feed items. Best suited for featured content or pages with limited space.
4. Imageboard
A gallery-style layout focused on images rather than text. Best suited for photography, portfolios, and image-heavy feeds.
5. Ticker
A horizontally scrolling stream of headlines. Best suited for headers, dashboards, or live update displays.
6. Magazine
A rich layout with large images and extended content previews. Best suited for editorial content and storytelling-focused pages.
7. Feed
A traditional reader-style layout showing items in chronological order. Best suited for users who want a simple, information-dense view.
Embedding Without Coding
Once you configure a widget, RSS.app provides embed code. Placing this code on your website requires no programming—just copy and paste into the right location.
Iframe Embed
The widget loads inside an HTML iframe element. The iframe is a self-contained window that displays content from RSS.app within your page.
Advantages: Complete isolation from your page styles. The widget renders exactly as configured regardless of your site's CSS. Simple to place; just paste the code.
Considerations: Fixed dimensions unless configured otherwise. The iframe is a distinct box within your layout.
JavaScript Embed
A script tag that loads the widget and injects it into a designated container element on your page.
Advantages: More flexible sizing. The widget can adapt to its container width. Potentially smoother integration with page layout.
Considerations: Requires your site to allow external scripts. Some aggressive security configurations may block third-party JavaScript.
Placement Process
Regardless of embed type, the process follows the same pattern:
- Copy the embed code from RSS.app after configuring your widget.
- Open your website editor and navigate to the page where you want the widget.
- Find the "Custom HTML," "Embed," or "Code" block in your editor.
- Paste the embed code into that block.
- Save and publish your page.
Platform-specific steps vary. WordPress uses Custom HTML blocks. Squarespace uses Code blocks. Webflow uses Embed elements. The concept is the same: find where your platform accepts raw HTML and paste the widget code there.
Common mistake: Pasting embed code into a "text" or "paragraph" field instead of an HTML/code field. This displays the code as visible text rather than rendering the widget. Always use your platform's designated HTML or embed feature.
Customization Basics
Before generating embed code, you configure how the widget looks and behaves:
Visual Styling
Colors. Set background, text, link, and accent colors to match your site palette. Use hex codes or the color picker for precise matching.
Fonts. Choose from available font families. Some widgets support custom font imports for brand consistency.
Spacing. Adjust padding and margins between items. Control how dense or airy the widget feels.
Borders and shadows. Add visual definition with borders or subtle shadows. These help the widget integrate with or stand out from surrounding content.
Content Display
Item count. Specify how many items to show. More items provide more content but require more space.
Visible fields. Choose which feed fields to display: title only, title and description, images, dates, authors. Not all layouts support all fields.
Truncation. Set character limits for titles and descriptions to prevent overly long text from disrupting layout.
Behavior
Link targets. Control whether clicking items opens in the same tab or a new tab.
Auto-scroll. For carousels and tickers, configure automatic rotation speed or disable it for manual navigation only.
Customization happens in the RSS.app interface before you copy the embed code. Once embedded, changes you make in RSS.app apply automatically to all instances of that widget.
Maintenance and Long-Term Behavior
Widgets are designed for low maintenance, but understanding their long-term behavior helps you plan:
Automatic Updates
Widget content updates without intervention when the underlying feed updates. You do not need to edit your website to show new content. This is the primary benefit: configure once, stay current indefinitely.
Configuration Changes
To change widget appearance or behavior, edit the widget in RSS.app. Changes propagate to all embedded instances. You do not need to update embed codes on your website unless switching to an entirely different widget.
Feed Changes
If you change the feed a widget uses (different source, different bundle composition), the widget displays the new feed's content. This allows you to redirect a widget to different content without changing your website.
Monitoring
Periodically verify that your widgets display as expected. Check that feeds remain active and that content appears correctly. While widgets are designed to be hands-off, occasional verification catches issues before they affect visitors.
Troubleshooting Scenarios
Widget shows no content: The feed may be empty, unavailable, or returning errors. Test the feed URL directly.
Widget shows old content: The feed may have stopped updating. Check the source. If using a generated feed, verify the source page structure has not changed in ways that break extraction.
Widget does not appear: The embed code may be in the wrong location, blocked by security settings, or contain a typo. Verify placement and check browser console for errors.
Styling looks wrong: Your site CSS may be conflicting with widget styles. Iframe embeds avoid this; JavaScript embeds may need container adjustments.
Long-term success: Widget reliability depends on feed reliability. Invest in stable, well-maintained feeds, and widgets will serve your visitors consistently over time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I embed the same widget on multiple pages?
Yes. Once you create a widget, you can copy the embed code to as many pages as needed. All instances display the same content and update simultaneously when the feed changes.
What if my website builder does not support custom HTML?
Most modern website builders support custom HTML or embed blocks. Check your platform's documentation for "custom code," "embed," or "HTML block" features. If your builder truly lacks this capability, you may need to upgrade your plan or consider a different platform.
How do I update the widget after embedding?
Changes to widget configuration (layout, colors, item count) apply automatically to all embedded instances. You modify the widget in RSS.app; the embed code stays the same. There is no need to update the code on your website unless you want to embed a different widget entirely.
Can I make the widget match my site exactly?
Widgets offer extensive customization—colors, fonts, spacing, borders, and layout variations. Most sites achieve close visual integration. However, widgets use their own rendering and cannot inherit arbitrary CSS from your site. For pixel-perfect matching, you may need to adjust your site's adjacent elements to complement the widget.
What happens if I delete the feed the widget uses?
The widget loses its data source and cannot display content. Before deleting a feed, verify no widgets depend on it. If you accidentally delete a feed, recreate it with the same configuration to restore widget functionality.
Do widgets work with password-protected pages?
Widgets work on any page that can load external scripts or iframes. If your page is behind authentication, logged-in users see the widget normally. The widget itself does not interact with your authentication system.
Can I remove the RSS.app branding from the widget?
Branding removal depends on your RSS.app plan. Higher-tier plans include the option to display widgets without attribution. Check your plan features or upgrade to access white-label options.
How do I troubleshoot a widget that is not displaying?
First, verify the feed URL is accessible and returns valid content. Second, check that the embed code is placed correctly in your page's HTML. Third, ensure your site does not block external scripts or iframes. Browser developer tools can reveal loading errors or blocked resources.