Turn WordPress into a Blog Hub - Aggregate All Your Online Blogs
Centralizing Your Digital Footprint: Building a WordPress Lifestream
The volume of digital content created by many individuals today is substantial, spanning platforms like Twitter, personal blogs, and professional publications. Consolidating this dispersed content into a unified location, often referred to as a 'lifestream,' presents a significant undertaking.
Recently acquiring the domain jamesbruce.me as a central repository for my articles and online content, I was tasked with identifying an effective aggregation method.
Exploring Options and Choosing Self-Hosting
While services like Flavors.me offer a convenient, pre-built solution, they didn't fully align with my requirements and wouldn't showcase technical expertise beyond simple service registration.
I prioritized self-hosting to mitigate the risks associated with relying on third-party web services, a concern repeatedly validated by past experiences.
This guide details the process of creating a custom WordPress lifestream. Following these steps will result in a presentation similar to the example shown below:
The theme utilized is publicly accessible, and each post provides a direct link to its original source.
Defining the Core Requirements
What specific functionalities were essential for this project?
- WordPress Compatibility: Given my professional positioning as a WordPress expert and consultant, implementing the lifestream on any alternative platform would be unsuitable. Demonstrating WordPress's capabilities was a key objective.
- Automated Feed Aggregation: The system needed to automatically collect content from various sources without requiring manual intervention.
- Content Linking, Not Duplication: It was crucial to avoid duplicating content; instead, the lifestream should link back to the original articles. This is vital for maintaining source integrity and avoiding SEO penalties.
- Visual Appeal: Incorporating images wherever possible was important to prevent a monotonous text-heavy display.
Addressing Duplicate Content Concerns
Many Wordpress plugins designed for RSS aggregation encounter a significant issue: they replicate the complete content from the source. This results in pages flagged as duplicates by search engines like Google, potentially leading to a negative reputation.
Google has intensified its efforts this year to identify and penalize websites that engage in content copying, often referred to as "spam blogs." Even legitimate attempts to republish content in full can be adversely affected by these measures.
A Solution for Content Aggregation
To overcome this challenge, a highly effective plugin has been identified. It facilitates content integration into your Wordpress blog while preserving the flexibility the platform offers.
Crucially, this plugin modifies the article's permalink structure. Instead of creating a new, duplicate page, it directs users directly to the original source of the content.
Benefits of this Approach
- Avoids penalties associated with duplicate content.
- Maintains a positive standing with search engines.
- Allows for content curation without compromising originality.
- Preserves the integrity of the original source material.
By implementing this strategy, website owners can leverage the benefits of RSS aggregation without risking their search engine rankings or being perceived as engaging in unethical content practices.
Essential Components
To begin, you'll require the Shaken Grid Lite free theme. A valid email address is necessary to receive the download link; note that a subsequent email requesting subscription to a mailing list may arrive, which can be disregarded if desired.
The Feed WordPress plugin is also crucial, as it will manage the automatic content import and permalink adjustments.
Additional Plugins & Files
Furthermore, the YD FeedWordpress Content Filter plugin is needed to facilitate image importing, enabling their local utilization.
A custom file, designed to address the issue of featured images not being automatically set by Feed WordPress, is also required. Rename this file to loop.php and replace the existing file within your Shaken Grid Lite theme directory.
If a featured thumbnail is unavailable, the script will default to using the first attached image file. Feed WordPress automatically downloads and attaches media from RSS feeds, but doesn't designate featured images; this resolves that limitation.
Access & Resources
You will need either FTP access to your website or the capability to directly edit theme files.
A collection of RSS feeds that you intend to aggregate is also essential.
Finally, a reliable web hosting provider is necessary, one that won't suspend your account due to moderate resource usage. Feed aggregator plugins can sometimes strain shared hosting environments, but steps will be taken to minimize this impact.
If you are managing multiple successful blogs, consider upgrading to a virtual server for improved performance and stability.
Initial Configuration
Begin by installing and activating the FeedWordPress plugin, followed by the YD Content Filter plugin. This is achieved through the standard Plugins -> Add New interface within your WordPress dashboard. Subsequently, upload and activate the Shaken Grid Lite theme.
A new Syndication section will then appear on the administrative sidebar. Expand this section, and the following instructions will guide you through the necessary configuration options on each screen.
Syndication Management
- This area is dedicated to adding feed sources. Input the URL of the desired feed, which can be either a direct feed URL or the general website address.
- The system will then validate the provided feed, or present a selection of feeds automatically detected.
Feed and Update Parameters
- Feeds are not automatically updated by default. Modify this behavior within the Update Scheduling settings. Configure the system to update feeds after each page load, maintaining the default interval of 60 minutes.
Post and Link Settings
- Verify that, under the Links settings, the Permalink directs to the corresponding content on the source website.
- Disable both comments and pings to streamline content presentation.
The remaining options can generally be left at their default values.
- The YD FeedWordpress settings are located under the standard Settings tab in the sidebar. Access these settings and ensure that the option to Import Images as Local Attachments is activated.
Adjusting the Theme for Content Aggregation
Upon initial inspection of your webpage, you may observe that images are not rendering as expected, and the complete article is visible rather than a concise excerpt. To rectify this, obtain the file referenced previously and access the directory of the Shaken Grid Lite theme via FTP.
Substitute the existing loop.php file with the provided one, ensuring it is renamed to loop.php prior to replacement. Should FTP access be unavailable, the file's contents can be copied and pasted directly within the Wordpress interface.
Featured Image Display
Provided that the imported feeds are configured to include featured images, these should now be visible on your homepage.
If featured images continue to be absent, troubleshooting beyond the scope of this guide will be necessary. However, feel free to detail your issues in the comments section, and assistance may be offered to examine your feed's configuration.
Finalizing Content Aggregation
With these adjustments implemented, you should now be successfully aggregating your published content. It’s important to remember that standard blog posts can still be created and published.
These posts will be integrated seamlessly with the aggregated content, appearing alongside it, and linking to their full versions as expected in a conventional blog setup. Enjoy the benefits of content life-streaming!