This is a bare-bones RSS template. Well it is a bit more than "bare-bones" however, it only contains the information at the minimum you should have in your RSS file. My next two articles will have the "medium level" and "full level" (good if you intend to Podcast).

You can easily copy and paste this into a template. If you are not a techie and dealing with XML for the first time, use a decent text only editor, unless you can use FrontPage or DreamWeaver or a dedicated XML editor. Be careful of any extra charcters that you may sneak in with your typing, and remember not to touch the opening or closing brackets. If you do not know what you are doing do NOT touch the first three lines. The line beginning with the "channel" element is where you should begin to substitute the information on your feed.

Below we have two items in this channel. You can of course add as many items as your heart desires. Just keep on adding the entire section of beginning and ending with

First a template with information and then a template without. (The editing software forces an empty line between each command however in your Feed you should not have any empty lines. Just delete the lines with no information if you copy & paste)

<channel>

<title>Randy Pandy's Perfumery</title>

<description>RSS Feed for The Great Perfume Products Sold At Randy's Pandy's Perfumery</description>

<copyright>"Copyright 2006 Randy Pandy's Perfumery - All Rights Reserved"</copyright>

<link>http://www.randypandy.com</link>

<language>en-us</language>

<pubdate>Mon, 5 Dec 2005 23:00:00 GMT</pubdate>

<image>

<title>Randy Pandy's Perfumery</title>

<width>142</width><height>99</height>

<link>http://www.randpandy.com</link>

<url>http://www.randpandy.com/images/randylogo.jpg</url>

</image>

<Item>

<title>Heaven Scent Perfume At 50% Discount</title>

<link>http://www.randypandy.com/perfumes/heavenscent.html</link>

<description>Heaven Scent Perfume - your lover will love. Created especially by Skunk Perfumes it is their newest and best selling perfume on the market today. Purchase a beautifully shaped skunk bottle with this incredible perfume and get a whopping 50% off! And if you purchase over $100 we will throw in Free overnight delivery as well!</description>

<pubDate>Sat, 10 Dec 2005 23:00:00 GMT</pubDate>

</Item>

<Item>

<title>Angel Face Cream</title>

<link>http://www.randypandy.com/cosmetics/angel.html</link>

<description>A new face cream which will get rid of all your wrinkles in 7 days or your money back! Buy the lover in your life the best present she ever had!</description>

<pubDate>Sat, 10 Dec 2005 23:00:00 GMT</pubDate>

</Item>

</Channel>

Now Just the Bare Bones Template.

<channel>

<title></title>

<description></description>

<copyright></copyright>

<link></link>

<language></language>

<pubdate></pubdate>

<image>

<title></title>

<width></width><height></height>

<link></link>

<url></url>

</image>

<Item>

<title></title>

<link></link>

<description></description>

<pubDate></pubDate>

</Item>

<Item>

<title></title>

<link></link>

<description></description>

<pubDate></pubDate>

</Item>

</Channel>

This will work and without too much trouble if you want to create a simple RSS feed this is what you need.

This Article was Part Ten of the RSS Mania - Understanding RSS series. All parts of this series are available at Ezine Articles (www.ezinearticles.com)

1. RSS Mania Addiction - An Introduction to RSS and the Terminology

2. Outline of How to Create an RSS Feed

3. The Template File

4. The Basic Elements of the Channel Element

5. How The RSS Feed Works & Some Programming Constructs

6. RSS Channel Sub-Elements Specifically Image & How To Use It

7. Understanding RSS - The Elements Within the "Item" Element

8. Understanding RSS - Podcasting, VideoCasting & The Magic of the Enclosure Sub-Element

9. Understanding RSS - Rounding Out The Multi-Media - The CDATA Command

Copyright 2005 Ted W. Gross. All rights reserved. (You may publish this article in its entirety with the following author's information with live links only.)