Why RSS Still Beats APIs for Content Distribution
Every time I build a content site, someone on the team asks the same question. Should we build a custom API for syndicating our content, or just use RSS?
The answer used to feel obvious. APIs are modern, flexible and give you complete control over the data format. RSS is a specification from 2002 that nobody talks about anymore. Clearly the API is the right choice.
Except it is not. I have built both, shipped both, and maintained both. And for content distribution specifically, RSS wins on almost every dimension that actually matters in production.
The project
I built how-to-do.net, a site that publishes practical step-by-step guides covering everything from cooking and personal finance to technology. Each guide has structured data (HowTo schema, FAQ schema, breadcrumbs), an RSS feed, and needs to be consumable by third-party platforms, aggregators, and anyone who wants to embed the content elsewhere.
The question came...
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