RSS Feed Integration Standards

Technical requirements for integrating agency content with the Forbes Pakistan platform via RSS 2.0.

1. Core Specification

Your feed must be valid RSS 2.0 with the following required namespace declarations:

<rss version="2.0"
     xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
     xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/">

Namespace	Purpose	Required
`content`	For article body (`content:encoded`)	Yes
`media`	For featured image (`media:content`)	Yes

Note: You may include additional namespaces (e.g., dc, atom) if needed for your system, but they are not required for Forbes Pakistan integration.

2. Channel Elements

The <channel> section describes your publication.

Element	Description	Required
`<title>`	Name of your agency	Yes
`<link>`	URL to your agency homepage	Yes
`<description>`	Brief tagline or summary	Yes
`<language>`	Language code (e.g., `en-us`)	Yes
`<lastBuildDate>`	Timestamp of the last feed update	Yes

3. Item Elements

Each article must be wrapped in an <item> tag.

Element	Maps To	Description	Required
`<title>`	`title`	Article headline (plain text, max 500 chars)	Yes
`<guid>`	`rssGuid`	Unique identifier for deduplication	Yes
`<content:encoded>`	`content`	Full article body in HTML (wrapped in CDATA)	Yes
`<link>`	`sourceUrl`	Permanent URL to the original article	Optional
`<pubDate>`	`publishedAt`	Publication date in RFC 822 format	Optional
`<description>`	`excerpt`	Short summary (plain text, 150-160 chars)	Optional
`<media:content>`	`coverImage`	Featured image URL	Optional

Note: Optional elements are recommended for better SEO, attribution, and user experience. If <media:content> is missing, a gradient placeholder will be used.

4. Element Guidelines

4.1 Title

Rule	Requirement
Character Limit	Maximum 500 characters
Format	Plain text only, no HTML tags
Style	Avoid ALL-CAPS and trailing periods
SEO	Aim for 60-70 characters for optimal display

4.2 Link

Rule	Requirement
Format	Absolute URL (must start with `https://`)
Parameters	Avoid UTM tracking parameters or session IDs
Usage	Saved as canonical link for SEO attribution

4.3 GUID

Rule	Requirement
Uniqueness	Must be unique across all articles in the feed
Permanence	Once assigned, must never change
Stability	Must return same GUID on every request
Recommended	Use the article's permanent URL as the GUID
Warning	Changing a GUID will cause duplicate imports

Stability Check: The RSS validator fetches your feed twice and compares GUIDs. If any GUID changes between requests, validation will fail. Random or timestamp-based GUIDs are not allowed.

4.4 Publication Date

Rule	Requirement
Format	RFC 822 (e.g., `Mon, 03 Feb 2025 09:30:00 +0000`)
Timezone	Must include UTC offset (e.g., `+0000`, `+0500`)
Usage	Used for chronological sorting on the platform

4.5 Description

Rule	Requirement
Format	Plain text only, no HTML
Length	150-160 characters recommended
Usage	SEO meta description and social sharing preview

5. Content Standards

5.1 Article Body

The <content:encoded> tag contains the full HTML content of your article.

Rule	Requirement
Wrapper	Must be wrapped in CDATA: `<![CDATA[ ... ]]>`
HTML Tags	All standard HTML tags are supported
Styles	Inline CSS styles are allowed
Images	Image `src` must be hosted URLs (no base64 data URIs)
Embeds	YouTube, Twitter, and other iframes are supported

5.2 Featured Image

The <media:content> tag defines the cover image for the post.

Rule	Requirement
Attribute	Must include `url` attribute with direct image link
Formats	Any standard image format (jpeg, png, webp, gif, etc.)
No Base64	URL must point to a hosted file, not raw data
Fallback	If missing, a gradient placeholder will be used

Example:

<media:content url="https://example.com/image.jpg" medium="image" type="image/jpeg" />

6. Example Feed

See feed-sample.xml for a complete, compliant implementation.