Trusted WordPress tutorials, when you need them most.
Beginner’s Guide to WordPress
WPB Cup
25 Million+
Websites using our plugins
16+
Years of WordPress experience
3000+
WordPress tutorials
by experts

How to Limit the Number of Posts in WordPress RSS Feed

By default, WordPress displays the ten latest posts in the RSS feed. Adjusting this number can help tailor the feed to your audience’s needs.

You can manage content visibility by controlling the number of posts in the feed. It also ensures readers see the most relevant updates without being overwhelmed.

In this guide, we will show you how to limit the number of posts in your WordPress RSS feed and how to create an RSS sitemap for better search engine indexing.

Limit number of posts in WordPress RSS feed

Video Tutorial

Subscribe to WPBeginner

If you don’t like the video or need more instructions, then continue reading.

Change Posts Limit in WordPress RSS Feed

By default, WordPress shows the ten most recent posts in your main RSS feed. However, you can easily show more or fewer posts by changing WordPress settings.

Go to the Settings » Reading page in your WordPress admin dashboard.

From here, you need to change the value next to the ‘Syndication feeds show the most recent’ option. Simply enter the number of posts you want to be shown in your RSS feed.

Change posts limit in RSS feed

Below this option, you’ll also see the option to show either the full text or excerpt of your posts in RSS feeds.

We recommend using the ‘Excerpt’ option for two reasons.

  • It limits the content shown in the feed. In our opinion, showing the full article in the feed only helps content scrapers steal your content.
  • Excerpts make your feed compact and easy to look at in feed readers. Users click on the article they want to read, which increases page views.

After that, don’t forget to click the ‘Save Changes’ button to store your settings.

That’s all, you have successfully limited the number of posts displayed in RSS feed of your site.

Create RSS Sitemap for Search Engines

If you only want to change the number of posts in your RSS feeds for more search engine visibility, then increasing posts in your main WordPress RSS feeds is not the best way to do this.

Many popular search engines like Google and Bing support RSS sitemaps.

Unlike XML sitemaps, which contain most of your content, RSS sitemaps provide search engines with the latest posts on your site.

This helps search engines quickly find your website’s updated posts. You can set a different limit on the number of posts you want to include without affecting your main WordPress RSS feed.

The easiest way to add an RSS sitemap to WordPress is to use All in One SEO. It is the best WordPress SEO plugin on the market and allows you to optimize your website easily without any SEO skills.

First, you need to install and activate the All in One SEO for WordPress plugin. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

AIOSEO setup wizard

After plugin activation, you’ll see the All in One SEO setup wizard. Follow the on-screen instructions or check out our tutorial on how to set up All in One SEO for WordPress.

Once you are done with the setup, go to the All in One SEO » Sitemaps page and switch to the RSS Sitemap tab.

Enable RSS sitemap

From here, you can enable the RSS Sitemap.

You can also set the number of posts you want to include in the sitemap.

Set post limit for RSS sitemap

This sitemap includes all your post types, including posts, pages, products, and any custom post types you may have.

If you want to include only blog posts, uncheck ‘Include All Post Types’ and select ‘Posts’.

Once you are satisfied, don’t forget to click on the ‘Save Changes’ button to store your settings.

You can now click on the ‘Open RSS Sitemap’ button to copy the URL of your RSS sitemap.

View RSS sitemap

Next, you need to submit your RSS sitemap to Google Search Console. See our step-by-step tutorial on adding your WordPress site to Google Search Console.

We hope this article helped you limit posts in your WordPress RSS feed. You may also want to see these practical tips on optimizing WordPress RSS feeds or see this tutorial on displaying any third-party RSS feed in WordPress.

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.

Disclosure: Our content is reader-supported. This means if you click on some of our links, then we may earn a commission. See how WPBeginner is funded, why it matters, and how you can support us. Here's our editorial process.

Editorial Staff

Editorial Staff at WPBeginner is a team of WordPress experts led by Syed Balkhi with over 16 years of experience in WordPress, Web Hosting, eCommerce, SEO, and Marketing. Started in 2009, WPBeginner is now the largest free WordPress resource site in the industry and is often referred to as the Wikipedia for WordPress.

The Ultimate WordPress Toolkit

Get FREE access to our toolkit - a collection of WordPress related products and resources that every professional should have!

Reader Interactions

6 CommentsLeave a Reply

  1. Syed Balkhi

    Hey WPBeginner readers,
    Did you know you can win exciting prizes by commenting on WPBeginner?
    Every month, our top blog commenters will win HUGE rewards, including premium WordPress plugin licenses and cash prizes.
    You can get more details about the contest from here.
    Start sharing your thoughts below to stand a chance to win!

  2. vicky

    hello bro thnx for your help but it doesn’t work my feeds are not updating since 15 01 2016 please check and suggest some settings? i’m using cloudflare and w3tc my site

      • Vicky

        thnkyuw so much bro… w3tc was issue removed it now can you please suggest some w3tc alternatives to optimize my blog? and speed it up?

  3. WPBeginner Staff

    RSS feeds are available on WordPress.com blogs as well. However you can not manipulate them like you can do on a WordPress.org blog.

  4. Dutch opa

    Are RSS feeds only available on WordPress.org?Another question: Can I use signups (asking for emails) on WordPress.com? On WordPress.org?

Leave A 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.