What is the difference between RSS 2.0 and Atom 1.0?

RSS 2.0 uses channel and item tags with RFC 822 publication dates. Atom 1.0 is an IETF standard (RFC 4287) that uses feed and entry tags, ISO 8601 timestamps, explicit XML namespaces, and requires unique global IDs.

Why do date formats cause RSS feed validation errors?

RSS readers expect strict RFC 822 format (e.g. Wed, 11 Nov 2026 14:00:00 GMT). Feeds that output informal dates or omit four-digit years or timezones frequently fail in podcast and feed aggregators.

QuickCoderHub

Online RSS & Atom Feed Validator

Inspect, validate, and preview RSS 2.0 and Atom 1.0 syndication feeds. Catch malformed XML tags, missing channel fields, non-standard date timestamps, and podcast enclosure errors.

Feed Entries

Critical Errors

Warnings

Feed Format

Feed XML Document

Validation Findings

✓ Feed conforms to syndication specifications.

Feed Preview (--)

Web Syndication Feed Standards

RSS and Atom feeds allow blog readers, podcast players, and news aggregators to syndicate content reliably. Validating feed structure ensures subscribers receive updates without silent subscription dropouts.

Common Feed Malformations

Unescaped HTML Entities: Raw ampersands (&) in article links or titles will invalidate the entire XML document unless written as & or wrapped in <![CDATA[ ... ]]> blocks.
Missing Channel Metadata: RSS 2.0 requires <title>, <link>, and <description> inside the parent <channel>.
Missing GUID / Unique ID: Items without unique IDs force RSS readers to duplicate articles on every refresh.