[Drupal] How to test RSS feed in a Drupal Website?
The term 'RSS' refers to Really Simple Syndication(Rich Site Summary). RSS allows you to group the content in your website and provides an easy way to view and share the contents in the site. RSS files are automatically updated whenever new content is published in the site. A user can subscribe to the RSS feed of a website using feed readers, such as Google, My Yahoo, Bloglines, Live Bookmarks etc. This keeps the user updated when new content has been added to the site. RSS is written as an XML file.
If a website has an RSS feed, an RSS icon (orange button) or a link to RSS will be displayed in the website. On clicking the link/button, the user will be redirected to the RSS feed page. In this page, the user can subscribe to the RSS feed. If the user subscribes to the RSS feed of a website, he will get a notification whenever new content is posted in the website. The RSS feed is used to increase the traffic of a website by sharing the contents of the site with other websites.
How to test the functioning of RSS feed in a website?
- Verify whether the user is redirected to the RSS feed page on clicking the RSS link or icon.
- Verify whether the user can see the list of contents in the site.
- Verify whether the user is able to subscribe to the RSS feed using one of the feed readers.
- Verify whether the user gets a notification on the feedreader when new content is posted in the site.
The working of a RSS feed can be tested with the help of the following validators:
- feedvalidator.org
- validator.w3.org/appc
- rssboard.org/rss-validator
On copy pasting the URL of RSS feeds in the above validators, the user can find out whether the RSS feed is valid or invalid.
