Full Content or Partial RSS Content Feeds
Should everyone switch to full content RSS feeds?
I recently read an article on devlounge that gave some reasons for having full content feeds. The main points are as follows:
- Full feeds provide a convenience for those that read feeds. As with any "feature" of a website, you should focus on what you are really trying to do for your user. If a user that uses feeds expects full feeds, you should provide full feeds.
- Full feeds help readers "discover" you. Because feeds are used to quickly "skim" the information, using a partial content feed requires that the user take an unnecessary step of clicking through to your website to get the real content.
- Feeds will catch on. I've already commented about my hopes and dreams for RSS .
Now why haven't we all jumped on board the "Full Content Express?" We hadn't because we feared giving scrapers even easier access to our content. However, we've decided to give it a go for a month and see what happens. Leave a comment to let us know if you like the full feed or if we should go back to the partial feed.
Here are some other interesting articles about migrating to full content feeds.