About this plugin
RSS Control is a powerful WordPress plugin that allows you to control and customize your RSS feeds through URL query parameters. These work on all feed types including the main feed, category feeds, tag feeds, and more.
Free features include filtering by category, tag, post type, date range, post IDs, and offset. You can also control excerpts, display featured images with custom styling, and include post titles in descriptions.
Premium features add support for custom taxonomy filtering, specialized feed formats (Google Publisher Center, Google News Showcase, NextDoor, Meta Commerce), call-to-action buttons, primary category output control, custom sort ordering, and a visual Feed URL Generator in the admin.
Example
>
cat=89&days_past=7&show_images=true&image_styles=border:4px; border-color:#000; float:left;
The example above will show posts from category 89 from the past 7 days. It will show featured images with a 4px black border floated to the left.
Free Options
cat
Filter by category ID. Can be a single ID or comma-separated list. Prefix with - to exclude.
org/reference/classes/wp_query/#category-parameters
Example:
>
cat=-3,10,22
The use of the NEGATIVE in front of the category ID says DO NOT INCLUDE posts from category 3.
category_name
Filter by category slug. Can be a single slug or comma-separated list. org/reference/classes/wp_query/#category-parameters
Example:
>
category_name=apples,bananas
category_not_in
Exclude posts from specified category IDs. org/reference/classes/wp_query/#category-parameters
Example:
>
category_not_in=3,10
Display posts that are not in category ids 3 and 10.
tag
Filter by tag ID. Can be a single ID or comma-separated list. Prefix with - to exclude.
org/reference/classes/wp_query/#tag-parameters
Example:
>
tag=-3,10,22
The use of the NEGATIVE in front of the tag ID says DO NOT INCLUDE posts from tag 3.
tag_not_in
Exclude posts with specified tag IDs. org/reference/classes/wp_query/#tag-parameters
Example:
>
tag_not_in=3,10
Display posts that do not have any of the two tag ids 3 and 10.
post_in
Display specific posts by ID in the order specified. org/reference/classes/wp_query/#post-page-parameters
Example:
>
post_in=3,10,22
The order in which you add posts is the order in which they will appear in the feed.
post_type
Filter by post type. Can be a single post type or comma-separated list. Common types include post, page, attachment, or any custom post type slug.
org/reference/classes/wp_query/#post-type-parameters
Example:
>
post_type=page
post_type=post,page
Default is “post”.
offset
Skip a number of posts from the beginning of the feed. org/reference/classes/wp_query/#pagination-parameters
Example:
>
offset=3
This will skip the 3 latest posts and start the feed with post 4.
days_past
Show posts from the past X number of days only.
Example:
>
days_past=7
This will display the posts from the last 7 days in a feed.
show_images
Display the featured image in the content of the RSS feed.
Example:
>
show_images=true
This will display featured image in the content of the RSS feed. The default image size is 696×385.
image_width
Set the width for the featured image. Requires show_images=true.
Example:
>
show_images=true&image_width=300
This will set the inline style of the image to have width: 300px.
image_height
Set the height for the featured image. Requires show_images=true.
Example:
>
show_images=true&image_height=300
This will set the inline style of the image to have height: 300px.
image_size_unit
Set the image size unit for the featured image (px, em, %, fr, etc). Requires show_images=true.
Example:
>
show_images=true&image_width=100&image_size_unit=%
This will set the inline style of the image to have a width of 100%.
image_styles
Set additional inline CSS styles on the featured image. These come before the width & height. Requires show_images=true.
Example:
>
show_images=true&image_styles=border:4px; border-color:#000; float:left;
This will set the inline style of the image to have a black border of 4px and float the image to the left.
excerpt_length
Control the length of the excerpt in number of WORDS.
Example:
>
excerpt_length=20
This will return all feed items with the content of only 20 words.
excerpt_more_text
Set the text that appears when content is truncated. Normally it is either […] or …
Example:
>
excerpt_length=20&excerpt_more_text=%5B…Read%20More%5D
This will return all feed items with the content of only 20 words ending with […Read More].
include_title_in_description
Include the post title in the feed description/content, wrapped in an HTML tag.
Example:
>
include_title_in_description=true
This will return all feed items with the title present in the description.
title_tag
Change the HTML tag that wraps the title. Requires include_title_in_description=true. DO NOT include the < or >, just the tag name.
Example:
>
include_title_in_description=true&title_tag=div
This will wrap the title in a div tag instead of the default h1.
title_styles
Apply inline CSS styles to the title tag. Requires include_title_in_description=true.
Example:
>
include_title_in_description=true&title_tag=div&title_styles=float:left;%20margin-right:30px;%20border:1px%20solid%20red;
This will apply the styles inline to the title tag.
Premium Options
orderby
INCLUDED IN PREMIUM VERSION
Sort feed posts by a specified field. Common values: title, date, menu_order, ID, author. org/reference/classes/wp_query/#order-orderby-parameters
Example:
>
orderby=title
Default is “date” (by publish date).
order
INCLUDED IN PREMIUM VERSION
Set the sort order to ascending or descending. org/reference/classes/wp_query/#order-orderby-parameters
Example:
>
order=ASC
Default is “DESC”.
current_month
INCLUDED IN PREMIUM VERSION
Show only posts from the current month.
Example:
>
current_month=true
This will display only posts from the current month in the feed.
disable_excerpt
INCLUDED IN PREMIUM VERSION
Remove all content/excerpt from feed items entirely.
Example:
>
disable_excerpt=true
This will remove the excerpt/content from all feed items.
td_primary_cat
INCLUDED IN PREMIUM VERSION
Filter posts by TagDiv Primary Category. This queries posts where the primary category (set by TagDiv themes/plugins) matches the specified category ID.
Example:
>
td_primary_cat=53
Only works with posts that have the TagDiv primary category meta data set. Accepts a single category ID.
only_primary_category
INCLUDED IN PREMIUM VERSION
Show only the primary category in the feed’s category nodes instead of all categories. Supports TagDiv, Yoast SEO, and RankMath primary category plugins. If no primary category is set, falls back to the first category.
Example:
>
only_primary_category=tagdiv
only_primary_category=yoast
only_primary_category=rankmath
This modifies the category output in the feed, not the post query.
taxonomy
INCLUDED IN PREMIUM VERSION
Filter by custom taxonomy slug. Must be used with taxonomy_term or taxonomy_term_not_in. You can NOT use negative IDs in taxonomy filtering.
Example:
>
taxonomy=genres&taxonomy_term=2
For filtering by multiple taxonomies simultaneously, use indexed parameters (1 through 10):
>
taxonomy_1=position&taxonomy_term_1=3350&taxonomy_2=region&taxonomy_term_2=2702
taxonomy_term
INCLUDED IN PREMIUM VERSION
Specify term IDs to include. Can be a single ID or comma-separated list. Must be used with the taxonomy parameter.
).
Example:
>
taxonomy=genres&taxonomy_term=2
taxonomy_term_not_in
INCLUDED IN PREMIUM VERSION
Exclude posts with specified taxonomy terms. Can be a single ID or comma-separated list. Must be used with the taxonomy parameter.
).
Example:
>
taxonomy=genres&taxonomy_term=2&taxonomy_term_not_in=1
taxonomy_1=position&taxonomy_term_not_in_1=3350,3347&taxonomy_2=region&taxonomy_term_not_in_2=2702
image_thumbnail_size
INCLUDED IN PREMIUM VERSION
Use a specific WordPress image size instead of manually setting width and height. Adds the image as a media:content element in the feed.
Example:
>
show_images=true&image_thumbnail_size=medium
This will use the medium size image for all featured images. Only valid WordPress thumbnail sizes are supported (thumbnail, medium, large, or custom registered sizes). If the size is not found, the full size image will be used.
include_button
INCLUDED IN PREMIUM VERSION
Add a call-to-action button below the excerpt that links to the post.
Example:
>
include_button=true
This will output a button that says “Read More”.
button_text
INCLUDED IN PREMIUM VERSION
Change the button text from “Read More” to whatever you would like. Requires include_button=true.
Example:
>
include_button=true&button_text=Click%20Me
button_styles
INCLUDED IN PREMIUM VERSION
Apply inline CSS styles to the button container. Requires include_button=true.
Example:
>
include_button=true&button_styles=border-radius:200px;%20background-color:%23e1005f;%20margin-top:20px;
Please note that if you are using colors like #000 then you will need to encode the # symbol as %23.
button_text_styles
INCLUDED IN PREMIUM VERSION
Apply inline CSS styles to the button text. Requires include_button=true.
Example:
>
include_button=true&button_text_styles=font-size:%2018px;
Please note that if you are using colors like #000 then you will need to encode the # symbol as %23.
type
INCLUDED IN PREMIUM VERSION
Specify a specialized RSS feed format for different platforms. Supported types: gpc, gns, nextdoor, meta-commerce.
Google Publisher Center (gpc):
>
type=gpc
Adds the Media RSS namespace, creates full content in the content:encoded section, and adds featured image as a media:content element.
Google News Showcase (gns):
>
type=gns
Adds the required Google News Showcase namespace and elements.
NextDoor Newsroom (nextdoor):
>
type=nextdoor
Formats the feed for NextDoor News with media elements and featured image support.
Meta Commerce (meta-commerce):
>
type=meta-commerce
Uses Google Shopping feed format for Meta Shopping campaigns. Articles are formatted as “products” with static values (availability=”in stock”, condition=”new”). 00 USD”).
Works with all other RSS Control parameters.
meta_price
INCLUDED IN PREMIUM VERSION
Set the price value for Meta Commerce feed items. Used in the g:price element. Must be used with type=meta-commerce.
Example:
>
99
00”.
meta_currency
INCLUDED IN PREMIUM VERSION
g. USD, CAD, EUR, GBP). Used in the g:price element.
Must be used with type=meta-commerce.
Example:
>
99&meta_currency=CAD
Default is “USD”.
All feed types can also be accessed via direct URL:
>
com/feed/gpc/
com/feed/gns/
com/feed/nextdoor/
com/feed/meta-commerce/
Premium Admin Features
The premium version includes the following admin tools, found under Tools > RSS Control:
- Feed URL Generator – Visual form to build feed URLs by selecting parameters from dropdowns and inputs. Features AJAX-powered search for posts, categories, tags, and post types. Generates a ready-to-use URL with copy and open buttons.
- Feed Preview – Live preview of any feed URL showing the title, first 5 items, detected namespaces, media elements, and images.
- Parameter Documentation – Filterable reference for all query parameters with examples, grouped by category.