Why my RSS Feed doesn't work

If your RSS feed isn’t displaying in the RSS Feed widget, the file format might be the reason. In this article, you'll learn more about what structure the widget expects and how to adjust your feed if needed.

RSS Feed File Format

Our RSS Feed widget supports different kinds of RSS feeds, as long as they’re based on the XML format. The link to your feed might look different depending on the source — the key is that the file follows a standard RSS XML structure.

The basic structure of XML RSS files includes <channel> tag with general feed info (title, link, description), and multiple <item> tags for individual posts. Here’s an example:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<rss version="2.0">
  <channel>
    <title>Your Site Title</title>
    <link>https://www.example.com</link>
    <description>A short description of your feed</description>
    <lastBuildDate>Mon, 17 Jun 2025 12:00:00 +0000</lastBuildDate>
    <language>en-us</language>

     <item>
      <title>Post Title</title>
      <link>https://www.example.com/post-url</link>
      <description>A short summary or excerpt of the post</description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 17 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
      <guid>https://www.example.com/post-url</guid>
      <enclosure url="https://www.example.com/image/post-image.jpg" type="image/jpeg" length="12345"/>
    </item>

    <!--<item> tags are repeated for each new post -->
  </channel>
</rss>

Here’s what the RSS file may look like when opened:

How to Check Your RSS File Structure

To ensure your feed displays correctly in the widget, it's crucial to check that the RSS file follows the proper XML format. A well-structured file guarantees that everything works smoothly.

In some cases, XML files may display differently in your browser. If this happens, there are several ways to view the actual RSS file structure.

Using a Text Editor

For instance, your RSS feed is automatically rendered by the browser and displayed in an organized format:

To check the raw file structure, you can follow these steps:

1. Right-click the RSS feed link, select “Save link as...” and download the file to your computer.
2. Open the downloaded .xml file with Notepad (Windows), TextEdit (Mac), Sublime Text, or any other text editor.

In the text editor, the file structure will appear without any styles, allowing you to verify the file format more easily:

Using Browser Console

Alternatively, you can check the file using the browser’s Developer Console tools. To open it, press Ctrl + Shift + J (Windows) or Cmd + Shift + J (Mac) for most browsers.

A correctly formatted RSS file will have a clear structure and render as text or HTML in the Console. You can inspect the structure of the file by using Ctrl + Shift + C (Windows) or Cmd + Option + C (Mac), and clicking on any element.

Here's an example of what the correct format may look like in Chrome:

However, if you see the file rendering as text inside quotations without HTML, like in this screenshot:

This likely means the server isn't sending the correct content type for your XML file, causing it to not parse correctly in the widget. In this case, you will need to adjust the format of your feed.

How to Fix and Resave Your RSS File

If your RSS file parsing is incorrect or if you've made changes that need to be saved in XML format, you may need to resave the file to use it in the widget. Follow the steps below:

1

Open your feed link in the browser:

2

Open a Notepad/TextEdit app (or any equivalent) on your computer and copy-paste the feed file content:

3

Click File → Save As:

4

Choose All Files from the "Save as type" dropdown and add the .xml extension to the File name:

5

Upload the feed to your own or any external server.

We hope this article helps you ensure that your RSS file follows the correct structure and format to avoid any display issues in the widget. If you have any questions, feel free to contact our Support Team — we’re always happy to help! 🙌