Since we run a pretty large WordPress blog, sometimes we come across RSS feed errors that can be quite frustrating. That’s because these errors can prevent our subscribers from getting updates about our new content, which is crucial for maintaining our audience engagement.
Even a small mistake in the XML markup language can make the feed unreadable, causing users to miss out on our latest posts. But thankfully, we’ve found several ways to solve this problem.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to quickly resolve RSS feed errors in WordPress.
What Usually Causes WordPress RSS Feed Errors?
Most common WordPress RSS feed errors are caused by poor formatting.
WordPress outputs RSS feeds in a strict XML markup language. A missing line break or an extra tab can break the RSS feed on your WordPress blog.
The RSS error message will look something like this:
XML Parsing Error: XML or text declaration not at start of entity
Location: http://example.com/feed
Line Number 2, Column 1:
Depending on which browser you are using, your RSS feed error message may vary.
You can also see this error message when visiting your feed in a browser:
Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/username/example.com/wp-content/themes/twentysixteen/functions.php:433) in /home/username/example.com/wp-includes/pluggable.php on line 1228
If you use FeedBurner or other apps like IFTTT for social sharing automation, the error messages might look different. These errors not only affect your feed but can also disrupt services relying on your WordPress RSS feed for content updates to subscribers.
Having said that, let’s look at what causes these RSS feed errors and how to troubleshoot them. You can use these quick links to skip to a specific step:
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Method 1: Use a Feed Validator Tool
Even the smallest formatting error can disrupt your RSS feed. Luckily, there are free online tools that can help you identify these errors, like the W3C Feed Validator.
The first step is to grab your RSS feed URL. In most cases, your WordPress RSS feed URL follows this format: https://yourwebsite.com/feed/. Replace yourwebsite.com with your actual website address.
Then, visit the W3C Feed Validation tool using the link above. Here, simply paste your RSS feed URL into the designated field and click ‘Check.’
The validator will analyze your feed and display any errors or warnings. Don’t worry if you see some warnings, but errors need to be addressed. The tool provides descriptions of the errors, which can help you pinpoint the issue.
Method 2: Disable RSS Feed Related Plugins
If you are using a WordPress plugin that modifies your website’s RSS feed or creates a new one, then you need to disable that plugin.
If you are unsure, then you can temporarily disable all WordPress plugins.
Simply head to Plugins » Installed Plugins in your WordPress admin dashboard. Then, check the box in the top left corner of the plugins list and choose ‘Deactivate’ from the ‘Bulk actions’ dropdown.
Finally, you will need to click on ‘Apply’.
Next, check your RSS feed for the error. If the error disappears, then one of the plugins installed on your WordPress website was the culprit.
You can now reactivate your installed plugins one by one and check your RSS feed after activating each plugin. This way, you can find out exactly which plugin is causing the issue.
Once you have located the plugin, you can contact the plugin’s support team for an update or find an alternative plugin that does the same thing.
Check out our top picks for the best WordPress RSS feed plugins to find a suitable alternative.
Method 3: Temporarily Switch to a Default Theme
Occasionally, a poorly coded WordPress theme function can also affect your WordPress RSS feed. To see if the problem is caused by your WordPress theme, you need to temporarily switch to a default WordPress theme.
Simply go to the Appearance » Themes page, and if you already have a default theme installed, then activate it.
Default themes include Twenty Twenty-Three, Twenty Twenty-Two, and so on.
If you don’t have one installed on your website, then add a new one to your WordPress. See our guide on how to install a WordPress theme for step-by-step instructions.
After switching to the default theme, check your WordPress feed for errors. You can visit your feed in a browser window or test it with a feed validator tool.
If the error disappears, then this means your WordPress theme was causing the issue. You can contact the theme author for support or find a new WordPress theme for your website.
Method 4: Fix Your functions.php File
To manually fix RSS feed errors in WordPress, you’ll often need to address poor formatting. This formatting issue is frequently triggered by an extra space after the closing PHP tag in your plugin or theme’s functions.php file.
If you recently added a code snippet to your theme or child theme‘s functions.php file, then you need to open and edit that file.
One thing you need to make sure is that there is no PHP closing tag at the end of the file, as it’s not required.
If there is a closing PHP tag at the end of your functions file, then you need to either remove the tag or make sure that there is no blank space or line breaks after it, like below. Note how there are no lines or spaces after the ?>.
// Your PHP code here
?>
For more information, you can check out our guide on how to fix syntax errors in WordPress.
Method 5: Create a Custom RSS Feed With WPCode
While you can certainly add custom code snippets to your functions.php file to modify your RSS feed, as we discussed earlier, this approach can introduce formatting errors or conflicts if not done carefully.
For a safer and more user-friendly way to create a custom RSS feed, we recommend using the WPCode plugin.
WPCode provides a dedicated interface for adding custom code snippets. This eliminates the need to modify your theme files directly, reducing the chance of breaking your website if a mistake is made in the code.
Plus, your custom RSS feed code will remain separate from the theme files, so it will always remain even after theme updates.
WPCode also has a built-in error-handling feature. If a code snippet you add encounters an error, WPCode can automatically disable it to prevent website malfunctions.
For more information, you can check out our guides on how to create a custom RSS feed and how to completely customize your WordPress RSS feed.
Method 6: Check Your Permalinks
Did you know your permalink settings can also affect your RSS feed? Permalinks are the permanent URLs for your WordPress posts and pages. If your permalink settings aren’t configured correctly, your RSS feed might not display content properly.
One way to fix the issue with permalinks is to regenerate them. You can read our guide on how to regenerate permalinks in WordPress for step-by-step guidance.
If Nothing Else Works, Do This
If you can’t find the culprit behind this error, then you need to seek professional help. Sometimes, RSS feed errors can be caused by complex issues that aren’t immediately apparent, even after trying all the methods we’ve outlined.
You can read our guide on how to properly ask for support for your WordPress website for more information on how to effectively communicate your problem to support forums or theme/plugin developers.
Or, we also offer an emergency WordPress support service. Our experts can pinpoint the exact cause of your RSS feed error and fix it quickly, minimizing downtime and ensuring your content continues to reach your subscribers without interruption.
Feel free to book a free appointment with our team to see how we can help.
You may also want to read our article on how to optimize your WordPress RSS feed for more information.
We hope this article helped you fix WordPress RSS feed errors on your site. You may also want to take a look at our guide on how to fix the most common WordPress errors and our expert picks for the best news aggregator websites and how to build your own.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Charles Jones
Under settings / reading, increase the number of syndication feeds to show
WPBeginner Support
It would depend on the error but if our methods from the article did not work you could certainly try this
Admin
Sahariar
When i update feedburner rss link, and save website feed link its shows me this error. and for that reason my RSS campaign in Mailchimp was no working properly. “Received HTTP error: “Forbidden” while fetching source feed. “
WPBeginner Support
That sounds like a 403 error, in that situation, you would want to follow the recommendations in our article below:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-fix-the-403-forbidden-error-in-wordpress/
Admin
Babatunde
Whenever a user clicks on the RSS feed icon on my website, it displays the XML source code.
Is this safe for my website?
If not, how can I solve this issue?
WPBeginner Support
That is fine, the RSS feed by default is set up for sites that crawl your site rather than users to directly visit unless they’re adding it to their preferred RSS tool
Admin
Aylin
Hi there! My feed only shows my very 2 posts which I deleted later and not use at all. Now I have too many pages on my website but feed is not updated and subscribers do not receive updates. What can I do? Thanks fot he help.
WPBeginner Support
We would first recommend clearing any caching on your site to ensure there isn’t an issue with the old feed being shown. For other common troubleshooting steps you can try you would want to take a look at our article below:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/beginners-guide-to-troubleshooting-wordpress-errors-step-by-step/
Admin
Caroline
Thank you! I tried the feed validator tool and got this message: “Feeds should not be served with the “text/html” media type”.
I clicked on the link but there are no instructions on what to do in WordPress. I also tried the RSS Fix but doesn’t help either! Do you know what I can do about this? Many thanks!
WPBeginner Support
There are a few possible reasons, you may want to start by disabling your plugins to see if this error is caused by a specific plugin
Admin
Wendela Kilmer
After migrating to a new theme (Soledad) my “automatic RSS campaign” sent out by MailerLite shows my readers the latest published post in full PLUS three snippets of the same post with a link. No idea where to look to fix this to get rid of the three additional snippets.
WPBeginner Support
For a starting point, you may want to check your MailerLite to ensure it is still set up properly. Your RSS may have looked like it updated when you updated themes.
Admin
Wendela Kilmer
Yes, I checked with MailerLite immediately. They said it is all set up properly with my feed. The feed did not change. I’ve deactivated all my plugins, and nothing made a difference. I put in a support ticket with the PenciDesign about my new theme and they said they do nothing with RSS. I’ve checked my WordPress settings, and all is fine. It is a mystery, and I have no idea where to go from here.
WPBeginner Support
If it happens with your next published post then please reach out to us using our contact form for us to take a look. Our contact form can be found here: https://www.wpbeginner.com/contact/
E C Nielsen
Most of the 9 RSS feeds I’m subscribed to haven’t been working for some time, I get an error message that seems to be linked to Microsoft
I tried this morning to see if I could fix the problem, only to have WordPress say I don’t have an account, even though I’ve successfully subscribed to these blogs for years! I don’t get it. I just want my feeds to work again. Help??
Sylver
i got this error when i try to import what should i do
Fatal error: Uncaught Error: Call to undefined function set_magic_quotes_runtime()
Anthony T.
Thanks for the tip. For me my RSS Feed for my podcast was throwing the following error: XML parsing error: :1:1: not well-formed (invalid token)
It ended up being a missed PHP close tag at the end of my functions.php file on the new theme I had installed. It actually may have been attributed to the favicon.ico refusing to be applied when trying to save the settings.
Donato
This worked for me!!
imrane
Hi,
I tried thoses solutions but not worked with me.
RSS page shows all the text and images of all the posts withous css.
László Várkondi
Hi,
If curl_init or other curl functions disabled on server, it can be also a reason of RSS error in Wordpress.
Munna Hossain
Great sharing. I have already fix RSS feed errors using this plugin. This is really an excellent plugin. Thanks for your article and many many thanks for your help.
asad
How to fix this broken link ????
Michael Manago
My RSS problems is none of the above. You can view it from my Entries RSS and Comments RSS found in my Meta Tags widget at my right side bar.
What could be wrong with them?
Wally
The problem I have is conflict Mailchimp and 3W cache, mailchimp will not send newsletter out unless I temporary deactivate the 3W. I not able to find someone to help yet. I contacted both no response from both. and sound it has to do with RSS because when I want to create campaign the stage where it ask example.com/feed I get error.
Thank you
Marie
Hi Wally,
Have you found a solution to your problem? because I seem to have something similar.
Joseph
Nice tips for RSS feed error. I got from Google to fix this error. Thank you for helping me now.
Have a nice day. I will check back for more tips. God bless you.
John
Thanks for the help..
Still I see 404 not found on links like :”/feeds/1175639818555185176/comments/default”