What is RSS?
RSS (Really Simple Syndication in full) are news feeds that alert you when websites have new content added.
When you have an RSS news feed, you can get the latest updates in one place, as soon as they published, without even having to visit the websites itself.
In essence, the RSS feeds are just web pages sent to you direct.
How do I start using RSS?
In general, the first thing you need is something called a news reader. This is a piece of software that checks the feeds and lets you read any new articles that have been added. There are many different versions, some of which are accessed using a browser, and some of which are downloadable applications.
Browser-based news readers let you catch up with your RSS feed subscriptions from any computer, whereas downloadable applications let you store them on your main computer, in the same way that you either download your e-mail using Outlook, or keep it on a web-based service like Hotmail.
Once you have chosen a news reader, all you have to do is to decide what content you want it to receive. For example, if you would like the latest Woodland Trust information, simply visit the home page and you will notice an orange button on the left hand side.
We have also provided links on the right hand side of this page to take you directly to our current RSS feeds on the home page.
If you click on the RSS button you can subscribe to the feed in various ways, including by dragging the URL of the feed into your news reader or by cutting and pasting the same URL into a new feed in your news reader. Most sites that offer feeds use a similar orange button, but some may just have a normal web link.
How do I get a news reader?
There is a range of different news readers available and new versions are appearing all the time.
Different news readers work on different operating systems, so you will need to choose one that will work with your computer or you can use a web based reader.
You can find a few examples of news readers on the right hand side.
Using Woodland Trust RSS feeds
If you run your own website, you can display the latest headlines from other websites on your own site using RSS.
We encourage the use of Woodland Trust feeds as part of a website, however, we do require that the proper format and attribution is used when our content appears. The attribution text should read "The Woodland Trust" or "woodlandtrust.org.uk" as appropriate. You may not use any WT logo or other WT trademarks.
We reserve the right to prevent the distribution of WT content and the WT does not accept any liability for its feeds.