I really like the phrase on the homepage of Inoreader: "Build your own newsfeed, 建立你自己的信息推送". There is also a description below, which says:
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 subscriptions 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 with 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 RSSHub and RSSHub Radar developed by DIYgod. 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 with one click to the reader software.
Whether you understand the above content or not, it doesn't matter. What matters is the RSS reader software used for subscribing.
After obtaining the RSS address of a website, enter the address in the reader to complete the subscription.
Luckily, I have devices with three systems: Windows, Android, and iOS/iPadOS. So I will introduce corresponding reader software for these three systems.
Windows#
I always feel that there are not many RSS readers on Windows. Although searching for "RSS" on the Microsoft Store shows many results, most of them have not been updated for many years. I hope this is just my illusion.
First, I recommend Fluent Reader. It has a great appearance and functionality, and it not only supports Windows but also has corresponding software for Linux and macOS.
The following screenshot shows the interface of the software. As you can see, it looks good if the cover style and format of the blog articles are consistent.
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 I find very comfortable. The UI design and functionality are relatively perfect and smooth. At the beginning, it did not support multiple selection of subscription sources, but more and more users provided feedback on this issue. The latest version now supports multiple selection of subscription sources and grouping of subscription sources. In terms of functionality, it is relatively complete. In addition, it can also keep 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 an introduction to it before. For details, please read "RSS 追踪：Windows 平台上一款好用的 RSS 阅读器" (in Chinese).
- Project address: GitHub
- Download address: Microsoft Store
Android#
Android is open-source and has a more open software ecosystem, so many excellent open-source software, including RSS readers, have been developed. My top recommendation is ReadYou, which has received 3.2k stars on GitHub.
Although it has not been updated for two months, it still can't stop my love for it, especially its design in Material You style. It is very friendly to both Chinese and English fonts.
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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 ReadYou introduced now.
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The above images 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 released 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 also support native iCloud synchronization. I envy this aspect very much.
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 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 neat at first glance, without feeling cluttered.
- Official website: NetNewsWire
- Download address: App Store
Reeder 5#
The second one is Reeder 5, a paid software. It has already released the 5th version. It seems that every time a new version is released, the previous version will be available for free download. 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 may not need self-deployed RSS services like FreshRSS and Tiny Tiny RSS. They only need to obtain the RSS address and then subscribe to it using the software mentioned above.
Note: RSS-related software may not be searchable with a Chinese Apple ID. Please switch to a US or other foreign Apple ID to download.
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. They also have corresponding mobile apps.
I have introduced these services in my previous article "我还是更喜欢这样的 RSS 阅读" (in Chinese). If you are interested, you can check it out.
As for self-deployed RSS services like FreshRSS and Tiny Tiny RSS, there is much 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 email subscription functionality to my blog through plugins.
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 of blog updates in the future.
Of course, this is 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 perspective of readers, using RSS subscriptions has an advantage: you can import and export at any time. No matter how many subscription sources you have, you can export them as an OPML file and import them into other RSS readers. However, from the perspective of creators, 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" (in Chinese), which mentioned that you can use APIs to obtain the subscription numbers of blogs 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. It is theoretically feasible, but there doesn't seem to be a ready-made solution.
It is theoretically feasible, but there doesn't seem to be a ready-made solution. Let's look forward to the actions 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.