WordPress already creates RSS feeds for your published content. Connect the right feed to an email platform and each new post can become part of an automated newsletter—without copying content into a campaign by hand.
This guide covers the WordPress-specific setup: where to find feed URLs, how to choose between one feed and several feeds, how to test the result and what to check when a campaign does not work as expected. For a broader overview of the service and its use cases, see our RSS-to-email automation page.
The quick answer
For a standard WordPress installation, add /feed/ to the end of the website address:
https://example.com/feed/
Open that address in a browser or feed validator. If it returns an XML document containing recent posts, you can normally use it as the source for an RSS-to-email campaign.
The basic workflow is:
- Find the WordPress feed that contains the content you want to send.
- Validate the feed and check its latest items.
- Connect it to your email platform or RSS-to-email service.
- Design and test the email template.
- Choose a schedule and activate the automation.
How WordPress RSS feeds work
WordPress generates feeds from published content. The exact URL depends on your permalink configuration, but these are the most common patterns:
| Content to include | Typical feed URL |
|---|---|
| All posts | https://example.com/feed/ |
| One category | https://example.com/category/category-name/feed/ |
| One tag | https://example.com/tag/tag-name/feed/ |
| One author | https://example.com/author/username/feed/ |
| Comments | https://example.com/comments/feed/ |
Replace example.com, category-name and username with the values from your own site. Custom post types, multilingual plugins and unusual permalink settings may produce different addresses.
If you cannot locate the right endpoint, follow the steps in how to find a website’s RSS feed.
Choose the right WordPress feed
The main site feed is suitable when every new post should be offered to every subscriber. A category, tag or author feed is more useful when only a subset of the site belongs in the newsletter.
Before connecting a feed, check:
- Relevance: every item in the feed should be appropriate for the intended audience.
- Freshness: the newest published WordPress posts should appear at the top.
- Titles and links: each item should have a clear title and link to its permanent page.
- Descriptions: excerpts or full content should contain enough information for the email design.
- Images: any images required by the template should be present in the feed and use complete URLs.
Do not use the broadest feed simply because it is easiest to find. A narrower category feed often creates a more useful newsletter and prevents unrelated posts from being sent.
Set up a single-feed WordPress newsletter
A single-feed campaign is the simplest option when all subscribers receive the same content.
1. Confirm the feed URL
Open the feed URL and make sure it returns feed content rather than a normal web page, login screen or error. Then run it through the W3C Feed Validation Service to identify formatting problems before building the campaign.
2. Check WordPress reading settings
In the WordPress dashboard, go to Settings → Reading. Review:
- the number of recent items included in syndication feeds; and
- whether each feed item contains the full text or an excerpt.
An excerpt gives the email platform less content to work with but encourages readers to visit the website. Full text provides more flexibility inside the email, although the final result depends on the template and feed markup.
3. Connect the feed to your email platform
Create an RSS-based automation in your email service and paste in the validated WordPress feed URL. Configure the audience, sender information and rules that determine when a new email is generated.
If you use Mailchimp, our Mailchimp RSS-to-email guide explains the integration and template requirements in more detail.
4. Build and test the template
Map the feed title, description, link and image fields into the email design. Send test emails to multiple devices and email clients. Confirm that:
- titles and images do not overflow the layout;
- every article link opens the correct WordPress post;
- missing images have an acceptable fallback;
- the sender, subject line and preview text are correct; and
- unsubscribe and preference links work.
5. Choose a schedule
The schedule should match how frequently the website publishes. A daily check can work for a busy newsroom; a weekly digest may suit a site that publishes less often. Confirm how the email platform behaves when there are no new feed items so subscribers do not receive empty campaigns.
Use several WordPress feeds in one newsletter
One feed is limiting when a WordPress site covers several subjects or serves several audiences. Category and tag feeds let you separate the content at source—for example, news, events, research and vacancies.
There are two common approaches:
- One combined newsletter: selected items from several feeds appear in the same edition for everyone.
- A personalised newsletter: each subscriber receives content from the feeds that match their interests.
FlipRSS can connect multiple WordPress feeds to Mailchimp and use audience preferences to decide which content blocks each subscriber receives. The email still uses your Mailchimp audience and template, while the repetitive feed selection and content assembly are automated.
See how automated email works with multiple RSS feeds for the wider planning process, or review the RSS-to-email service when you are ready to compare single-feed and multi-feed workflows.
Plan categories and subscriber preferences
Multi-feed automation works best when the WordPress content structure and subscriber preference structure use the same clear topics.
For example:
| WordPress source | Subscriber preference | Newsletter content |
|---|---|---|
/category/research/feed/ | Research | New research articles |
/category/events/feed/ | Events | Upcoming event posts |
/category/jobs/feed/ | Vacancies | New job listings |
Keep the labels understandable to subscribers. Avoid using internal WordPress category names that only make sense to editors. If posts can belong to several categories, test how duplicates are handled before activating the campaign.
Control excerpts, images and formatting
RSS-to-email results depend on what WordPress places in the feed. A visually rich website page does not guarantee that the feed contains the same image or formatting.
Excerpts and full content
Choose between excerpts and full text in Settings → Reading, then inspect the actual feed output. Theme code and plugins can alter the result. For most digest emails, a consistent excerpt plus a clear link to the full post is easier to scan.
Featured images
WordPress does not always expose featured images in a form every email platform recognises. If images are missing, first inspect the feed rather than the web page. A feed extension or a small WordPress customisation may be needed to add the image URL to each item.
Email-safe markup
Complex page-builder HTML, scripts, forms and embedded media will not reliably transfer into email. Keep feed content simple and let the email template control typography, spacing and calls to action.
Test before activating the automation
Use a test category or unpublished audience segment before connecting the live workflow. Publish representative posts with:
- a long title;
- a short and a long excerpt;
- a featured image;
- no featured image;
- special characters; and
- more than one category.
Then check the generated campaign on mobile and desktop. Also confirm what happens when several posts are published between scheduled checks and when a post is updated after it has already been sent.
Troubleshoot common WordPress RSS-to-email problems
The feed URL returns a 404 error
Re-save the WordPress permalink settings, then test /feed/ again. If the main feed works but a category feed does not, confirm the category slug from the WordPress dashboard. Caching, redirect and security plugins can also interfere with feed URLs.
The validator receives HTML instead of XML
The feed request may be redirected to a login page, security challenge or ordinary webpage. Test it in a private browser window and check redirects. The email service must be able to access the feed without cookies or authentication.
New posts do not appear
Confirm the post is published, belongs to the category or tag used by the feed and is newer than the other items. Clear WordPress and CDN caches. Then compare the feed’s publication date with the schedule and timezone used by the email platform.
Images are missing or stretched
Check whether the image URL is actually present in the feed. Use absolute HTTPS URLs and avoid relying on CSS from the WordPress theme, because that CSS is not carried into the email. Set dimensions and responsive rules in the email template itself.
The same post appears more than once
This can happen when one post belongs to several category feeds that are combined in a campaign. Decide which source should own the item, simplify the category assignment or use a workflow that deduplicates repeated links.
No email is sent
First check whether the feed contains an item newer than the platform’s last successful check. Then review the campaign schedule, audience, paused status and sender verification. Test with a newly published item rather than repeatedly editing an older post, because some services only compare item identifiers or publication dates.
WordPress RSS-to-email checklist
Before launch, confirm that you have:
- selected the narrowest useful WordPress feed;
- validated the feed and reviewed its newest items;
- chosen excerpts or full text intentionally;
- tested posts with and without images;
- checked links, subject lines and preview text;
- prevented duplicates across category or tag feeds;
- tested the email on mobile and desktop;
- confirmed the no-new-content behaviour; and
- documented who owns the WordPress feed and email automation.
When to use FlipRSS
A standard email platform may be enough for one WordPress feed sent identically to every subscriber. FlipRSS becomes useful when you need to combine several feeds, match content to subscriber preferences or keep a more complex newsletter running without rebuilding it manually.
Explore personalised RSS-to-email automation or start a 30-day free trial.