# What Is RSS?
This page seeks to explain what RSS is, and why and how to use it on your website.

RSS AKA Really Smart Syndication or RDF Site Summary is a kind of standardised format for publishing site updates using only a single XML-formatted text file! An RSS Feed can be published anywhere on the web that allows you to upload text files and view them on the public web! From Neocities, to self-hosted solutions, to Github, to Google Drive! (but also, don't use google.)
RSS relies on two things to work:

- A specially formatted plain text file that's uploaded somewhere on the web. When the publisher of the feed wants to add something new, they simply change this file. Each time the publisher updates this file, it is then checked by...
- A "News Aggregator" or RSS Reader application, which is installed by the person following the feed. This checks for updates to the text file above every so often. When it discovers a difference, it adds the new entry to the feed!