We've noticed a trend among church websites. It looks like a lot of churches don't realize they have a feed associated with their site when they actually do.

Prepackaged websites often come with a feed that tracks updates you make to your site. Find out what a feed is, whether you have one already and how to use it.
 

What is a feed?

A feed is a special itemized page in the background of your website that tracks changes and updates that are made to different areas of the site. A website can have multiple feeds based on categories and page types.

For example, whenever you add a new blog post the website sends information to the feed that says, "Hey! There's a new post about..." This information can be easily tracked to update subscribers to your website.
 

Does your site already have a feed?

Most third party Content Management System's like WordPress will have a universal way to find your feed explained in their documentation. WordPress feeds are explained in their documentation here.

Because a feed's web address normally has a typical pattern to it, you might be able to find the feed's URL through a process of elimination. This walk through explains how.
 

 

How do you use a feed?

There are two useful ways for you to use this website feature.

The first is simple enough. Provide a link to the feed using a feed icon like the one here. This can be grouped alongside your social media icons. If you are managing a website, your feed offers another way for visitors to keep in touch with updates you make. This adds a whole new level of subscribers to your site.

The second option is to use your feed to set up an email subscription. This is a much more accessible option for those who don't already know how to use feed readers and it simplifies the subscription process for your visitors. 

A popular example of a free email service for subscribers is MailChimp. Swing over to their site and try your hand at creating a free email subscription for your website.