RSS

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An RSS feed is a machine readable version of the content of a blog or a website. With the RSS block you can display updates on your site dynamically. The feed is updated automatically after you added the block. Learn more about RSS on Wikipedia

The RSS block is found in the “Widget” category of the inserter. It is used to display items from a RSS feed, for instance of another Blog or WordPress site. You can display the Title, Author, Date and Excerpt of each item in the feed. You can display it in a list or as a grid in a set number of columns.

Detailed instructions on adding blocks can be found here.

You need to know the RSS Feed’s URL. Some websites display an orange icon with a link together with their links to their social network profiles
Learn more about WordPress Feeds 

Our example uses the feed of the News section on WordPress.org.  https://wordpress.org/news/feed

Embed Place Holder for RSS block

Once you paste or type the Feed’s address in to the “Enter URL here…”-box, and click on “Use URL”-button, the block displays the titles of the feed items. 

Use the options in the Block Toolbar and the controls in the Block Settings panel in your editor’s sidebar to fine-tune the display.

Block Toolbar

TheBlock Toolbar shows six buttons: 

Transformer 

RSS block is not transform-able to any other block. 

Alignment-dropdown

Alignment:

  • Align Left
  • Align Center
  • Align Right
  • Wide Width (if supported by your Theme)
  • Full Width (if supported by your Theme)

Edit 

You can change the feed’s address by entering a different URL.

List

The “List” option displays the feed items in an unordered list. Use the Block Settings controls to adjust the display.

Grid 

Display the feed items in a grid. Use the Block settings controls to adjust the number of columns and the other display options. 

More Options:

Show/ Hide Block Settings

TheHide Block Settings option hides (or shows) the Block Setting panel in the editor’s Sidebar

Copy

Copy can be used to copy a selected block and then you can paste it wherever you want in the editor.

Duplicate

Duplicate block can be used to duplicate selected blocks.

Insert Before

Insert a new block before the selected block(s).

Insert After

Insert a new block after the selected block(s).

Move To:

If you select Move To, you will get a blue line inside your content, you can then use the arrows to move that line up and down to where you want the selected content to be moved into, hitting return on your keyboard at that point moves the block to that position.

Edit as HTML

The Edit as HTML option allows you to modify the HTML code of the embed block.

Add to Reusable Blocks

Using the Add to Reusable Blocks option lets you add the selected block to a list of reusable blocks, so you can use them on other posts or pages as well.

Group

Select the Group option if you want to create a group of blocks and treat them as a unit. You can for instance add a common background color or other blocks to the group.

Remove Block

With the “Remove Block” option you can delete the selected block from your content.

Block Settings

Screen shot Block Settings for RSS block

Number of items

Slider and number box to adjust the number of feed items you’d like to display. To change the number move the dot on the slider or update the number in the box next to it.

Display author

Switch on/off the display of the author’s name 

Display date

Switch on/off the display of the published date of the feed items

Display excerpt

Switch on/off the display of an excerpt from the feed items content. 

Max number of words in excerpt

Control the number of words that you display from the feed item’s content.  The minimum number is 10. This section is not visible if “Display excerpt” is in the OFF position. 

Columns

Slider to control the number of columns for the grid view. This option is only visible when you select the Grid view on the Block Toolbar. )

Advanced

The advanced tab lets you add a CSS class to your block, allowing you to write custom CSS and style the block as you see fit.

The advanced section lets you add a CSS class to your block.
The advanced section lets you add a CSS class to your block.

Changelog:

  • Updated 2020-08-17
    • Converted More Options reusable block to regular blocks
  • Updated 2020-04-28
    • changed category to “Widget Blocks”
    • Changed dates in Changelog to universal format
  • Updated 2020-04-18
    • Converted reusable block to regular blocks.
    • Added to “Core Blocks” category
  • Updated: 2019-11-25
    • change the first sentence and
    • aligned images to the right of the text where it adds to readability
  • Created: 2019-11-23 / WordPress 5.3