Back
guide

Onboarding new RSS content sources

Introduction

This guide is intended for publishers that want to deliver new content to The Content Exchange (TCE) via RSS feeds. It provides information on the onboarding process for new content sources.

Prerequisites

Before TCE can onboard a new content source, certain requirements must be met. If the new source is from a publisher that is new to TCE, we need the following information of this publisher:

  • Public name of the publisher (to be used on the public website)
  • A logo for the publisher (to be used on the public website)
  • A short description of the publisher (to be used on the public website)
  • A signed seller contract

The following details are required for each content source:

  • The public name of the source.

    This is the name that will be displayed to users when they are browsing content.

  • The RSS feed URL

    This could be a TCE-specific RSS feed or one already in use by other services. If applicable, credentials for the RSS feed (such as a username and password) must also be provided. This RSS should include the entire content of the article, including the title, body, and any images.

  • An icon image for the source

    • This should ideally be in SVG format, but PNG is also fine.
    • The image should ideally be square and 512x512 pixels in size.

    Please note that a brand logo might not be suitable for this purpose due to its dimensions or shape. It is better to provide an icon that fits well within the specified dimensions.

  • A short description of the source

    Detailing what kind of content it will be delivering. This will be displayed to users when they are browsing content. It should be no longer than around 50 words or 350 characters.

  • The language of the source

    This is the language that the source will be delivering content in. This will be used to filter content by language.

  • The origin country of the source

    This is the country from which the source will be delivering content. This will be used to filter content by country.

  • The topics that the source will be delivering content for.

    Refer to the list of topics on the TCE website to see if the source's content aligns with any existing topics. List one or more topics that the source will be delivering content for.

  • The associated TCE user account for the source (if available).

    This is the user account that will be used to manage the source. This user account will be able to edit the source details.

Detailed RSS Feed Requirements

TCE adheres to both standard RSS and MRSS (Media RSS) protocols. We require the RSS feed to encapsulate the complete content of the respective article, which encompasses the title, body content and associated images.

We strongly advocate for compliance with the official (M)RSS guidelines to ensure consistency and compatibility. For the inclusion of additional metadata, we recommend the use of media-extensions as stipulated in the MRSS specification.

While we do have the capacity to accommodate custom elements, our preference is to limit their use to exceptional circumstances in order to maintain standardization across feeds.

Process

Once all the above information is gathered, the onboarding process can begin. The TCE team will handle this process, which typically takes a few days (and up to 2 weeks) to complete.

After the onboarding process, the new content source will undergo a review process. If the review is successful, the content source will be available for users to browse on TCE.

We hope this guide has been helpful in outlining the steps necessary to onboard a new content source via RSS feed for TCE. If you have any questions or encounter issues during the onboarding process, please contact our support team.