WPBeginner

Beginner's Guide for WordPress

  • Blog
    • Beginners Guide
    • News
    • Opinion
    • Showcase
    • Themes
    • Tutorials
    • WordPress Plugins
  • Start Here
    • How to Start a Blog
    • Create a Website
    • Start an Online Store
    • Best Website Builder
    • Email Marketing
    • WordPress Hosting
    • Business Name Ideas
  • Deals
    • Bluehost Coupon
    • SiteGround Coupon
    • WP Engine Coupon
    • HostGator Coupon
    • Domain.com Coupon
    • Constant Contact
    • View All Deals »
  • Glossary
  • Videos
  • Products
X
☰
Beginner's Guide for WordPress / Start your WordPress Blog in minutes
Choosing the Best
WordPress Hosting
How to Easily
Install WordPress
Recommended
WordPress Plugins
View all Guides

WPBeginner» Blog» Tutorials» How to Fix WordPress RSS Feed Errors

How to Fix WordPress RSS Feed Errors

Last updated on October 3rd, 2019 by Editorial Staff
285 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share
Pin
Free WordPress Video Tutorials on YouTube by WPBeginner
How to Fix WordPress RSS Feed Errors

Are you encountering RSS feed errors on your WordPress site? RSS feeds help users subscribe to your blog using news reader apps like Feedly.

Since RSS feeds are published in the XML markup language, a tiny mistake in the feed can make it unreadable, and users will not be able to see new content in their news feeds.

Other apps also rely on getting content updates from your WordPress RSS feed. For example, if you use IFTTT to automate social sharing of your new posts, then that would stop working as well.

In this article, we will show you how to easily fix RSS feed errors in WordPress. We will also talk about what causes those errors and how to avoid them in the future.

Fixing WordPress RSS feed errors

Most Common WordPress RSS Feed Errors

Most common WordPress RSS feed errors are caused by poor formatting.

WordPress outputs RSS feeds in XML which is a strict markup language. A missing line break or an extra tab can break your RSS feed.

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 what 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 are using FeedBurner, then your errors may look different.

Having said that, let’s take a look at what causes these RSS feed errors and how to fix them.

Manually Fixing RSS Feed Errors in WordPress

The most likely reason for your RSS feeds to show error is poor formatting. This poor formatting can be caused by a blank space after closing PHP tag in a plugin or in your 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 edit your functions file.

If there is a closing PHP tag at the end of your functions file, then you need to make sure that there is no extra space or line breaks after it.

Ideally, the closing PHP tag is not required at the end of the file. This is why it would be best if you remove the closing php tag altogether.

This should fix the problem in most cases. However, if it does not fix your RSS feed error, then continue reading.

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.

Deactivate all WordPress plugins

Next, check your RSS feed for the error. If the error disappears, then this means one of the plugins installed on your 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 will be able to find out exactly which plugin is causing the issue.

Once you have located the plugin, you can contact the plugin’s support for an update or find an alternative plugin that does the same thing.

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 Appearance » Themes page and if you already have a default theme installed then activate it.

Activate default WordPress theme

Default themes include Twenty Nineteen, Twenty Seventeen, Twenty Sixteen, and so on. If you don’t have one installed on your website, then you can click on the Add New button to install and activate it. See our guide on how to install a WordPress theme for step by step instructions.

Install and activate a default WordPress theme

After switching to the default theme, check your WordPress feed for error. 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 suitable new theme for your website.

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 increase your website traffic and why you need to build an email list right away.

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.

285 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share
Pin
Popular on WPBeginner Right Now!
  • Google Analytics in WordPress

    How to Install Google Analytics in WordPress for Beginners

  • How to Fix the Error Establishing a Database Connection in WordPress

    How to Fix the Error Establishing a Database Connection in WordPress

  • How to Start Your Own Podcast (Step by Step)

    How to Start Your Own Podcast (Step by Step)

  • Revealed: Why Building an Email List is so Important Today (6 Reasons)

    Revealed: Why Building an Email List is so Important Today (6 Reasons)

About the Editorial Staff

Editorial Staff at WPBeginner is a team of WordPress experts led by Syed Balkhi. Trusted by over 1.3 million readers worldwide.

The Ultimate WordPress Toolkit

23 Comments

Leave a Reply
  1. Babatunde says:
    Aug 27, 2020 at 2:33 pm

    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?

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Aug 28, 2020 at 11:22 am

      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

      Reply
  2. Aylin says:
    May 15, 2020 at 11:56 am

    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.

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      May 18, 2020 at 3:35 pm

      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/

      Reply
  3. Caroline says:
    Aug 26, 2019 at 8:02 am

    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!

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Aug 26, 2019 at 11:06 am

      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

      Reply
  4. Wendela Kilmer says:
    Mar 25, 2019 at 2:12 am

    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.

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Mar 25, 2019 at 3:23 pm

      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.

      Reply
      • Wendela Kilmer says:
        Mar 26, 2019 at 4:29 am

        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.

        Reply
        • WPBeginner Support says:
          Mar 26, 2019 at 12:52 pm

          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/

  5. E C Nielsen says:
    Aug 22, 2018 at 12:01 pm

    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??

    Reply
  6. Sylver says:
    Jun 26, 2018 at 10:25 am

    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()

    Reply
  7. Anthony T. says:
    Mar 21, 2018 at 7:43 am

    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.

    Reply
  8. Donato says:
    Feb 6, 2018 at 9:36 pm

    This worked for me!!

    Reply
  9. imrane says:
    Feb 15, 2017 at 9:56 am

    Hi,
    I tried thoses solutions but not worked with me.
    RSS page shows all the text and images of all the posts withous css.

    Reply
  10. László Várkondi says:
    Jan 1, 2017 at 2:17 pm

    Hi,

    If curl_init or other curl functions disabled on server, it can be also a reason of RSS error in WordPress.

    Reply
  11. Munna Hossain says:
    Oct 30, 2016 at 1:18 am

    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.

    Reply
  12. asad says:
    Feb 16, 2016 at 6:00 am

    How to fix this broken link ????

    Reply
  13. Michael Manago says:
    Jan 30, 2016 at 9:39 pm

    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?

    Reply
  14. Wally says:
    Jan 24, 2016 at 10:04 am

    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

    Reply
    • Marie says:
      Aug 29, 2017 at 2:10 pm

      Hi Wally,

      Have you found a solution to your problem? because I seem to have something similar.

      Reply
  15. Joseph says:
    Jan 24, 2016 at 6:59 am

    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.

    Reply
  16. John says:
    Jan 22, 2016 at 1:48 pm

    Thanks for the help..
    Still I see 404 not found on links like :”/feeds​/1175639818555185176​/comments​/default”

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Thanks for choosing to leave a comment. Please keep in mind that all comments are moderated according to our comment policy, and your email address will NOT be published. Please Do NOT use keywords in the name field. Let's have a personal and meaningful conversation.

Over 1,320,000+ Readers

Get fresh content from WPBeginner

Featured WordPress Plugin
OptinMonster
OptinMonster
Convert website visitors into email subscribers. Learn More »
How to Start a Blog How to Start a Blog
I need help with ...
Starting a
Blog
WordPress
Performance
WordPress
Security
WordPress
SEO
WordPress
Errors
Building an
Online Store
Useful WordPress Guides
    • 7 Best WordPress Backup Plugins Compared (Pros and Cons)
    • How to Fix the Error Establishing a Database Connection in WordPress
    • Why You Need a CDN for your WordPress Blog? [Infographic]
    • 30 Legit Ways to Make Money Online Blogging with WordPress
    • Self Hosted WordPress.org vs. Free WordPress.com [Infograph]
    • Free Recording: WordPress Workshop for Beginners
    • 24 Must Have WordPress Plugins for Business Websites
    • How to Properly Move Your Blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org
    • 5 Best Contact Form Plugins for WordPress Compared
    • Which is the Best WordPress Popup Plugin? (Comparison)
    • Best WooCommerce Hosting in 2020 (Comparison)
    • How to Fix the Internal Server Error in WordPress
    • How to Install WordPress - Complete WordPress Installation Tutorial
    • Why You Should Start Building an Email List Right Away
    • How to Properly Move WordPress to a New Domain Without Losing SEO
    • How to Choose the Best WordPress Hosting for Your Website
    • How to Choose the Best Blogging Platform (Comparison)
    • WordPress Tutorials - 200+ Step by Step WordPress Tutorials
    • 5 Best WordPress Ecommerce Plugins Compared
    • 5 Best WordPress Membership Plugins (Compared)
    • 7 Best Email Marketing Services for Small Business (2020)
    • How to Choose the Best Domain Registrar (Compared)
    • The Truth About Shared WordPress Web Hosting
    • When Do You Really Need Managed WordPress Hosting?
    • 5 Best Drag and Drop WordPress Page Builders Compared
    • How to Switch from Blogger to WordPress without Losing Google Rankings
    • How to Properly Switch From Wix to WordPress (Step by Step)
    • How to Properly Move from Weebly to WordPress (Step by Step)
    • Do You Really Need a VPS? Best WordPress VPS Hosting Compared
    • How to Properly Move from Squarespace to WordPress
    • How to Register a Domain Name (+ tip to get it for FREE)
    • HostGator Review - An Honest Look at Speed & Uptime (2020)
    • SiteGround Reviews from 4196 Users & Our Experts (2020)
    • Bluehost Review from Real Users + Performance Stats (2020)
    • How Much Does It Really Cost to Build a WordPress Website?
    • How to Create an Email Newsletter the RIGHT WAY (Step by Step)
    • Free Business Name Generator (A.I Powered)
    • How to Create a Free Business Email Address in 5 Minutes (Step by Step)
    • How to Install Google Analytics in WordPress for Beginners
    • How to Move WordPress to a New Host or Server With No Downtime
    • Why is WordPress Free? What are the Costs? What is the Catch?
    • How to Make a Website in 2020 – Step by Step Guide
Deals & Coupons (view all)
Churnly Coupon
Get 30% OFF on Churnly WordPress automated churn-busting plugin.
AccessPress Themes
AccessPress Themes Coupon
Get 15% off on AccessPress Themes collection of premium WordPress themes and plugins.
Featured In
About WPBeginner®

WPBeginner is a free WordPress resource site for Beginners. WPBeginner was founded in July 2009 by Syed Balkhi. The main goal of this site is to provide quality tips, tricks, hacks, and other WordPress resources that allows WordPress beginners to improve their site(s).
Join our team: We are Hiring!

Site Links
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • FTC Disclosure
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Free Blog Setup
  • Free Business Tools
Our Sites
  • OptinMonster
  • MonsterInsights
  • WPForms
  • SeedProd
  • Nameboy
  • RafflePress
  • Smash Balloon

Copyright © 2009 - 2021 WPBeginner LLC. All Rights Reserved. WPBeginner® is a registered trademark.

Managed by Awesome Motive | WordPress hosting by SiteGround | WordPress CDN by MaxCDN | WordPress Security by Sucuri.