I really like the phrase on the homepage of Inoreader: "Build your own newsfeed, 建立你自己的信息推送" Below is a description:
Follow your favorite websites and creators, collect articles, and discover inspiring content from across the web. Filter out the noise and make the most of your time online.
Follow the websites and creators we like, filter out the noise, and make the most of our online time.
A few days ago, I saw a screenshot of a mobile desktop by a netizen named 阿粒 on Jike. She used Safari's bookmark function to save the addresses of several blogs on her desktop. If there are too many bookmarks on the desktop, it doesn't look good. So I took this opportunity to introduce her to RSS subscription and related software. Today, based on this, I will share my experience on how to subscribe to a blog.
I will introduce two methods: RSS subscription and email subscription.
RSS Subscription#
What is RSS? I can't describe it vividly, but it doesn't matter. General websites, such as blogs built using WordPress, static websites generated by Hugo/Hexo, etc., support the RSS protocol. You can obtain the RSS address of the website through a specific access path. If it doesn't support or you can't find the RSS address, it doesn't matter because you can use DIYgod's RSSHub and RSSHub Radar tools. The former helps you generate RSS subscriptions for the website, and the latter helps you quickly find the RSS address of the website and subscribe to it in one click using reader software.
Whether you understand the above content or not, it doesn't matter. What matters is the reader software used to subscribe to RSS.
After obtaining the RSS address of a website, enter the address in the reader to complete the subscription.
Luckily, I have devices with Windows, Android, and iOS/iPadOS systems, so I will introduce corresponding reader software for these three systems.
Windows#
I always feel that there aren't many RSS readers on Windows. Although searching for "RSS" on the Microsoft Store shows many results, most of them haven't been updated for many years. I hope this is just my illusion.
I recommend Fluent Reader, which has a great appearance and functionality. It not only supports Windows but also has corresponding software for Linux and macOS systems.
The following screenshot shows the interface of the software. If the cover style and format of the blog articles are consistent, it looks pretty good.
Switching to the reading view, this interface is similar to most software on the iOS platform. The left side is the subscription source list, the middle is the article list of the selected subscription source, and the right side is the RSS content obtained.
This is the only RSS software on Windows that makes me feel very comfortable. The UI design and functionality are relatively perfect and smooth. At the beginning, it didn't support multiple subscription sources, but more and more users provided feedback, and the latest version now supports multiple subscription sources and grouping. The functionality is relatively complete, and it can also be synchronized across devices through services such as Inoreader, Fever API, and Google Reader API.
Another one is RSS Reader, which has a similar style. I have also written a related introduction before. Please refer to "RSS 追踪：Windows 平台上一款好用的 RSS 阅读器" for details.
- Project address: GitHub
- Download address: Microsoft Store
Android#
Android, being an open-source system, has a more open software ecosystem, and many excellent open-source software, including RSS readers, have emerged. My top recommendation is ReadYou, which has received 3.2k stars on GitHub.
Although it hasn't been updated for two months, it still can't resist my love, especially its use of Material You style design. It is very friendly to Chinese and English fonts in terms of reading.
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Some websites prohibit full-text RSS output, but this is not important because some RSS readers support full-text parsing, such as Fluent Reader mentioned above and the current ReadYou.
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The above screenshots show the article list and the reading interface. The buttons below provide functions such as bookmarking, next article, and full-text parsing. It seems that there is also a voice reading function that has not been launched yet.
I saw the future plans of this software on GitHub, such as Bionic reading, Android widget, integration with FreshRSS and Inoreader, etc. You can keep an eye on it. It should become more and more useful. At the same time, I want to remotely urge the developer to update more frequently.
iOS/iPadOS#
NetNewsWire#
There are more software options on iOS/iPadOS, most of which support iOS, iPadOS, and macOS systems, and support native iCloud synchronization. I envy this aspect.
I recommend NetNewsWire. It is an open-source software that supports iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. It has been updated since 2002 and is the choice of most RSS enthusiasts. It can be downloaded and used for free on the App Store.
Since I don't have a macOS device, I asked my friend @Demochen for some screenshots of him using NetNewsWire on his MacBook for reference.
I guess @Demochen must be a Virgo. He organizes the subscription sources so neatly and names them so systematically.
I will also share some screenshots of using NetNewsWire on the iPad. The effect is almost the same, except for the difference in screen size.
Well, the UI interface is not very beautiful, but it is not ugly either. It looks very formal, and it doesn't feel cluttered at first glance. It is very neat and clean.
- Official website: NetNewsWire
- Download address: App Store
Reeder 5#
The second one is Reeder 5, a paid software. It has reached the 5th version. It seems that every time a new version is released, the previous version will be made available for free. I borrowed my friend's account to install Reeder 5 on my iPad and I am currently using it.
Perhaps because it is a paid software, it has more features and is designed to be more beautiful than NetNewsWire. It supports iCloud synchronization, iCloud read later, desktop widgets, Bionic Reading, and has comprehensive support for third-party services such as Feedbin, Feedly, Inoreader, and FreshRSS.
My current solution is to self-deploy FreshRSS and use Reeder 5 on the iPad.
However, ordinary users probably don't need self-deployed RSS services like FreshRSS and Tiny Tiny RSS. They only need to obtain the RSS address and subscribe to it using the software mentioned above.
RSS-related software may not be searchable with a Chinese Apple ID. Please switch to a US or other foreign Apple ID for downloading.
Online Services#
Online services refer to RSS services that only require entering the website, registering an account, and subscribing. Common examples include Inoreader and Feedly, most of which have free plans with limitations on the number of subscriptions and also have corresponding mobile apps.
I have introduced these contents in my previous article "我还是更喜欢这样的 RSS 阅读". If you are interested, you can check it out.
As for self-deployed RSS services like FreshRSS and Tiny Tiny RSS, there is more to write about, and there are corresponding introductions and tutorials online, so I won't go into detail here.
Email Subscription#
I was wondering if some people don't like using RSS subscriptions and prefer email subscriptions instead?
For example, newsletters are liked by many people. Although both are very traditional and classic ways of obtaining information, considering the convenience of tools for users, I added the email subscription function to my blog using a plugin.
On the small toolbar on the right side of the blog, enter any email address and click subscribe. After confirming the subscription in the email, you will receive email notifications for blog updates in the future.
Of course, this is just how I do it on my blog. Other blogs may have their own ideas. If there is an email subscription option, choose the one that suits you and your habits.
From the reader's perspective, using RSS subscriptions has an advantage of being able to import and export at any time. No matter how many subscription sources there are, they can be exported as an OPML file and imported into other RSS readers at any time. However, from the creator's perspective, email subscriptions have their advantages. Creators can export the list of subscribers' email addresses and import them into other platforms that support email subscriptions at any time, keeping their works and readers in their hands without being bound by platforms.
So how do you subscribe to my blog?
- Use the RSS reader mentioned above to subscribe to my blog (https://yinji.org/feed).
- Go to my blog, enter your email address, and complete the email subscription.
Final Words#
A few days ago, I read an article by @Dayu titled "个人博客 RSS 订阅数统计", which mentioned that you can use an API to obtain the subscription count of a blog on Feedly, Inoreader, and Feeds.pub. However, not everyone subscribes to blogs through these three websites. How can we count the subscriptions of self-deployed services and local client software? 虹线's author 评论尸 gave an idea.
You can mix statistics. Write an interface for platforms like Inoreader and Feedly to read the numbers regularly. Then, add a 0-pixel image to the full text of the feed to count the number of times it is loaded in self-hosted readers. In theory, it is feasible, but there doesn't seem to be a ready-made solution.
In theory, it is feasible, but there doesn't seem to be a ready-made solution. Let's look forward to the action of developers.
The above is my sharing on the topic of "How to Subscribe to a Blog". If there are any inaccuracies, please feel free to correct me.