Atom Vs RSS - Choose One, Using FeedBurner

Occasionally, we see a blog owner in Blogger Help Forum: Learn More About Blogger, asking about newsfeed formats.

Which is better, for my readers - Atom or RSS? How do I choose, what to provide, in my blog?

The competing newsfeed formats - Atom and RSS - have been a part of Internet life, for many years. Both formats have their devotees - and this is why there are two formats.

Both formats have their own advantages - and disadvantages.

You can change the URL of a FeedBurner source feed, to select Atom or RSS feed formats, from your blog.

You can use FeedBurner, or edit the blog template, to select a feed format.

Use the FeedBurner "Edit Feed Details" wizard, if you redirect your blog feed to FeedBurner.

If you don't use FeedBurner, you can edit the blog template, and manually change feed URLs. Note this will involve editing the post template, to change some links in the blog. This is not a recommended solution.

You may choose from 5 blog posts feed URLs, provided by this blog. You can do the same, with your blog.

• Atom (classic): http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/atom.xml
• RSS (classic): http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/rss.xml
• Atom (autodiscovery default, new): http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/feeds/posts/default
• Atom (new): http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/feeds/posts/default?alt=atom
• RSS (new): http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

Do you really want to select Atom or RSS this way?

FeedBurner has two services, that let you mix and match Atom vs RSS.

• SmartFeed dynamically serves the right choice - Atom vs RSS.
• Convert Format Burner lets you statically select one format, or another.

Using either service, FeedBurner selects the desired feed format for you - regardless which Original Feed URL you provide, in "Edit Feed Details". Just give FeedBurner the default feed URL for your blog " ... /feeds/posts/default" - and let FeedBurner do the work, depending upon the service that you select.

You activate either service from the FeedBurner dashboard "Optimize" tab. Note that you should choose only one service, for each FeedBurner feed provided.

Important: We recommend not using this service if you use SmartFeed. SmartFeed will override any Convert Format settings in order to make your feed compatible with all feed readers, whether they support Atom, RSS, or both.

"SmartFeed" selects the best format, dynamically.

For the best experience by all readers, SmartFeed will automatically provide the feed format favoured by any feed reader used - as each reader views your feed.

Translates your feed on-the-fly into a format (RSS or Atom) compatible with your visitors' feed reader application.

Enable SmartFeed - and let FeedBurner choose the best format, for each different feed reader being used.



"Convert Format Burner" lets you choose the format - and version.

If the choice of feed format (Atom, RSS) - and even choice of format version (Atom 0.3, Atom 1.0, RSS 1.0, RSS 2.0) - matters to you, you can use Convert Format Burner, and select a specific format and version.

Nine flavors of RSS and now two formats of Atom ... who has time to keep track of it all? FeedBurner does! Let us convert your feed to any of the format choices listed below.

Enable Convert Format Burner - and you choose what feed format and version gets served, to all feed readers.



You can have multiple feeds, and multiple FeedBurner outputs.

If you have conflicting requirements, you can always setup multiple different FeedBurner feeds - and use different feed service options, for different feeds. You can then provide each feed in a consistent display, using the "BrowserFriendly" service.

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If you want to serve the right newsfeed format from a #Blogger blog, you can either tweak the code in the blog template - or you can use a #FeedBurner feed, and activate the "SmartFeed" or "Format Burner" service. Using FeedBurner is a simpler choice, than the template editor.

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Blogger Magic - Supporting A BlogSpot URL Change

Blog owners are always changing the URLs of their blogs - then asking why Blogger does not provide automatic redirection, to the new URL.

We see the occasional query, in Blogger Help Forum: Learn More About Blogger.

How do I redirect my readers, to my new URL?

And this is a need that will likely go unfulfilled.

If Blogger provided automated redirection, spammers would abuse it, as part of a spam publishing strategy.

Blogger wants to keep the Blogger infrastructure as free from spam, as possible.

Changing the URL is simple enough.

Just use the Publishing wizard, in the Settings - Basic page, and Edit the "Blog Address". Subject to availability, your blog will have a new URL - as you watch.


The change is not difficult. Just Edit "Blog Address".


But with a new URL, unplanned, you'll lose traffic.

Blogger does not support automated blog to blog redirection.

Trying to keep the Blogger ecosystem clean from spam, Blogger actively discourages automated redirection. Neither JavaScript or meta refresh redirection is recommended.

You can use passive redirection, though - and give your readers the choice, to read the blog using the new URL.

• Setup a blog cluster.
• Setup a stub blog, at the old URL.

Setup a blog cluster.

Publish a blog at the old URL - and pair the old and new blogs, actively. There are a number of possible techniques to use, to combine two blogs as equals.

You will need informative, interesting, and unique content, for both blogs, to get the most from this approach.

Setup a stub blog, at the old URL.

Publish a blog at the old URL - and add a single post, advising your readers about the change - with a link, taking them to the new blog. You can use a custom 404 display, to collect all existing links to posts in the blog, which will take your readers to the single post.

A Featured Post is perfect, as the single post in the stub blog.

You can redirect the blog posts feed, even though you can't redirect the posts themselves. Just redirect the old blog feed, to the new blog posts feed URL.

Combine the two approaches, if you like.

There's no need to consider the two approaches as mutually exclusive. You can use techniques from each, if you like. Simply pick an approach that suits your readers.

Just don't look for automated redirection. That's not likely to happen.

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Some #Blogger blog owners decide to change the URL of their blog - then ask how to setup automated redirection, from the old URL to the new. That is, however not likely to be an option provided, or even allowed, by Blogger.

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BlogLovin Has Problems With Some Blog Feeds

We see occasional reports, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, from Blogger blog owners who want to share their blogs using BlogLovin.

Why can't I claim my blog?

BlogLovin is somewhat monolithic. They use the blog feed, and a BlogLovin URL with embedded token, to process / validate blog claims - and their diagnostics, when a claim is a problem, are not always effective.

Some blog feeds can be validated, yet not be found by BlogLovin. And other feeds won't validate.

Blog owners have reported several common problems, when trying to claim their blog with BlogLovin.

• Start with the published blog URL.
• Empty / very short feeds.
• Redirected feeds, generally involving FeedBurner.
• Feeds containing GeoRSS datapoints.
• Feeds with content formatted in Microsoft Office.
• Positioning the claim verification link / token.

Start with the published blog URL.

Even though BlogLovin uses the blog posts newsfeed for content source, when you claim your blog, you need to use the published URL. You do not specify the feed URL. BlogLovin finds the feed URL from the blog header - after you give it the published URL of the blog.

Feeds can be validated, using either the W3C Feed Validator, or the FeedValidator.org Feed Validator. You have to use the right W3C validator, though.

If the blog is published to a custom domain, the published URL - and the feed - will be most consistently accessible to BlogLovin when the domain is properly setup. Bogus DNS addressing, or poorly setup domains, will cause feed access issues - and BlogLovin won't process your claim.

Empty / very short feeds.

An empty or very short feed just does not contain enough material, for BlogLovin to reliably claim a blog.

It's best to let your blog mature slightly, before trying to use it with BlogLovin. Half a dozen good posts are better than just one or two, when claiming a blog.

Redirected feeds, generally involving FeedBurner.

A FeedBurner redirected feed looks completely different from a native Blogger feed. If you're going to use a Blogger blog in BlogLovin, it's best to use a non redirected version of the feed for your blog.

Feeds containing GeoRSS datapoints.

A feed from a blog that includes a GeoRSS datapoint will fail validation.

GeoRSS will disrupt BlogLovin, and cause problems with FeedBurner. If you want to use either service, you have to edit any post using GeoRSS, and remove the GeoLocation element.

Feeds with content formatted in Microsoft Office.

A Microsoft Office formatted blog will produce a validated feed - yet BlogLovin and FeedBurner will both have problems, when using the feed.

We've been dealing with Microsoft Office generated problems, in various Blogger features, for years. BlogLovin is one more service where Microsoft Office formatted posts just don't work.

Both the W3C and FeedValidator.org feed validators are generally used, to diagnose non claimable blogs.

But neither is 100% useful, when there's a problem. Some blogs with valid feeds still can't be claimed.





Use the right validator.

You do need to use the right W3C validator, when checking the feed for your blog. Some BlogLovin diagnostic instructions may mention the wrong validator.

W3C provides 2 validator services.

This is for HTML / XML Markup Validation:

http://validator.w3.org/

This is for Feed Validation:

https://validator.w3.org/feed/

If you use the Markup Validator, with a blog feed, you're going to see a lot of irrelevant errors. You have to use the Feed Validator.

Use a properly coded template.

Some blogs cannot be claimed, because BlogLovin cannot detect a feed. If your blog lacks the necessary header records in the template, your blog cannot be claimed.

This problem is not caused by BlogLovin. This is a problem caused by you, using a custom template that lacks the necessary template content.

BlogLovin does have a good Help contact page, though.



Positioning the claim verification link / token.

BlogLovin suggests publishing a new post, with the claim link / token at the top of the post - or alone. I found that the link, added to an HTML gadget, and positioned in the sidebar, works - and makes more sense than cluttering the blog posts newsfeed with a gratuitous post containing a claim link.

Proper positioning of the claim link - whether in a post or the sidebar - is also essential to the success of the claim process.

As last resort, contact BlogLovin Support for help.

If you just can't get your blog claimed, you can contact BlogLovin Support - or you can read the BlogLovin Help database.

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Some #Blogger blog owners use BlogLovin as a social sharing platform. Unfortunately, not every blog owner can successfully claim their blog, in BlogLovin, immediately.

BlogLovin has several possible problems with Blogger blogs - and not all problems are well known.

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Confusion About The Post Feed Redirect Feature

The world of Blogger blogs contains a lot of confusing terminology.

Some Blogger features don't even have names. Some names, which I use, are terms which I made up on my own, years ago - simply because Blogger did not provide a name, at that time. One term, which Blogger did give us, still causes confusion. The term "Post Feed Redirect" seems to describe an option, in Blogger, to redirect the post feed to a different URL.

The Post Feed Redirect feature is used by some confused blog owners, improperly.

There are several specific cases, all too common.

• Change the URL of the feed. Redirecting the blog feed, to simply change the URL, causes the feed to redirect to non existent content - or a dead feed.
• Publishing the blog to a non BlogSpot URL. Custom domain publishing provides automatic redirection of the blog URL - and by extension, the blog feed URL. Adding a feed redirect causes an infinite loop.
• Randomly expose the blog to new audiences. Redirecting the blog feed to a random redirector causes the blog readers to report a hijacked Reading List - and later, to simply remove the blog, using a redirected feed, from the Reading List.

This redirection, contrary to the term "Post Feed", also affects the comments feeds and the labels feeds, relevant to the blog where the setting is used.

Besides the fact that the option in question affects all feeds in the blog, the biggest confusion is that using the option does not actually redirect the feed - it redirects the references to the feed. People use this option in the expectation that it will change the URL of the feed. This option does not change the URL of the feed - it changes the URL used by references to the feed.

To change the feed references, successfully, you must have the URL mentioned by the setting already published, in a separate effort.

• If you renamed the blog to a different BlogSpot URL, you can redirect the feed reference, from a stub blog, to the feed published under the new URL.
• If you used a different service, like FeedBurner, to create a reformatted feed replica, you can redirect the feed reference to the FeedBurner feed URL.
• In either case, the URL has to exist, from a separate effort.

If you are reading this post, look down the page, after the "Newer Post Home Older Post" links.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

There is an example of the original feed reference. The purpose of the post feed redirect feature, long ago, was to let the blog owners generate a different feed for the blog - maybe a FeedBurner republished post feed - and force that link to reference the FeedBurner republished feed.

If you use that link, and subscribe to the feed from this blog, you should get a subscription offer, using the FeedBurner feed for this blog.

The Post Feed Redirect simply lets people setup and use an alternate feed URL, without having to update the code for all links which reference the post feed - such as that link.

That's it - pure and simple.

If you have - even unintentionally - misused the post feed redirect in your blog, it's easy to correct the mistake. Just understand why you should correct the mistake.

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Clear, Or Set, The Post Feed Redirect

One of the most mysterious settings, in our blogs, is the ability to redirect references to the blog feed.

Some people use the "Post Feed Redirect" setting improperly. When this is done, the problems created can be easily solved, by clearing the setting.

1. Go to the dashboard menu Settings - Other - Site feed.
2. Look at the entry for "Post Feed Redirect URL".
3. If that option is incorrectly set, click on "Remove".
4. Click on "Save settings".
5. You're done.

If you actually need the feed redirected, it's similarly simple to set it.

1. Go to the dashboard menu Settings - Other - Site feed.
2. Look at the entry for "Post Feed Redirect URL".
3. If that option needs to be set, click on "Add".
4. Paste or type the correct URL, into the box.
5. Click on "Save settings".
6. You're done.

The setting, for this blog, for instance, is:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/Nitecruzr-Blogging

Just understand what the setting does, how to clear, and how to add, the setting - and when you should use it, or not use it.

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The Content Of Your Reading List Is Your Responsibility

Occasionally, we see an odd problem report about Reading List content, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken.

How did this blog get into my Reading List? I did not Follow this blog!

Most people will not, knowingly, Follow a spam blog. This is one reason why Following is so popular - each blog owner, and blog reader can easily bypass, and actively block - spam. Spammers have, however, found devious ways to convince people to Follow them.

Nobody will, intentionally, Follow a spam blog. If we unintentionally Follow a blog which is owned by somebody gullible to the spammers suggestions, it's not difficult to identify, and stop Following, any blogs owned by gullible people.

You can, using the right reporting procedure, identify the blogs which offend you. It's possible that Blogger / Google will, given the right complaints, remove such blogs.

• Any action taken upon your report of problem blogs is subject to delay - and due process of law - before any results will be seen.
• The content which offends you may not be provided in a Blogger blog. Google has no power over non Google hosted websites.
• Any blogs removed as a result of your complaints will be replaced, in the spam blog cloud, which you are seeing, thanks to the blog which you are Following.

When you see content which offends you, in your Reading List, the proper resolution will be simple.

• Find, and remove, the blogs which you are Following - and which provide the problem content presence in your Reading List.
• Report the blogs which you are Following - not the blogs / websites which provide the unwanted content.

You may, at your discretion, add a third step.

• Report the blogs or websites which provide the unwanted content.

But do the third step, as a third step - not as the only step. Report the problem blogs - as Step #2 - here, or in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken. Be part of The Solution - not The Problem.

>> Top

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Redirecting The Traffic From Your Blogger Blog

Some Blogger blog owners are confused about their ability to redirect traffic to, or from, their blogs.

Sometimes this leads to problems, as in the need to report a problem with spam classification, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken

Why was my blog just deleted, for "Malicious JavaScript"?

Other people will want to know why, after renaming their blog, all the search engine references now point to a dead URL. Still others may want to rename specific posts, and yet have the post URLs match the new titles.

Blog URLs, and Post URLs, are complex details, for Blogger blogs. By default, both are managed for you. Not everybody understands how to manage blog and post URLs, when necessary.

Not every blog owner understands that ones readers are not possessions, to be manipulated at will.

Spammers would appreciate the ability to use Blogger blogs as starting points.

Many spammers would love to use various Blogger blogs as gateways, redirecting their readers either to other Blogger blogs, or to non Google controlled websites. In order to discourage spamming activity, neither type of redirect is permitted, by the Blogger spam classifier.

Even if automated redirection was permitted, many redirection techniques may not work for everybody. Modern browsers, designed to prevent abusive activity like hacking and spamming, may have filters which explicitly block DNS settings, and scripts, designed to redirect traffic from one website to another.

If you migrate a blog, then redirect, you may not see consistent results.

If you design your URL migration strategy to require automated redirection - and even if Blogger / Google does not delete the blog for abusive technique - you may still not see a consistent transfer of existing traffic, to your new URL.

You can redirect a Blogger blog, to a non BlogSpot URL, using properly setup custom domain publishing - "CNAME" referral. That is the only valid way to redirect a BlogSpot URL, to a non BlogSpot URL. Any other method will eventually leave you posting, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken

Why was my blog just deleted, by Blogger?

If you migrate to a new BlogSpot URL, use a Welcome post in a stub blog.

If you rename your blog - and publish to a new BlogSpot URL, your only recourse is to publish a "stub" (empty) blog to the old URL, and visually redirect your readers.

This blog is now published as "blogger-status-for-real.blogspot.com". Please update your bookmarks.

Blogger does not offer ".htaccess" features, such as redirection.

One disappointment, experienced by non Blogger webmasters, is the lack of ".htaccess" based redirection. You do not have access to the "blogspot.com" root folder - and you cannot use ".htaccess" based redirection.

You can redirect the feed - after you setup a new feed.

You can, if you wish, redirect the blog feed, after renaming the blog - but this should be done only when necessary.

There are several specific cases where the blog feed should not be redirected.

Custom redirects does not provide BlogSpot to BlogSpot redirection.

Blogger recently provided us the option to redirect traffic from one blog post to another - but the syntax used by the custom redirects wizard explicitly prevents redirection outside the base blog URL. That said, we have seen some imaginative redirections, between different URLs in the same blog.

Use of the custom redirect feature can generate interesting problems, not all of which can be prevented, easily. You can redirect some URLs - but you need to understand what you can, and cannot do - and why you cannot do everything that you would like.

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