Content aggregator websites are certainly something that you’ve run into at least a few times in your life on the web. But when it comes time to think about examples of content aggregator websites, your mind might be going blank.
Don’t worry! I’m here to help.
In this post, I’m going to showcase 6 different examples of successful content aggregator websites. Then, at the end of the post, I’ll tell you how you can use WP RSS Aggregator to create your very own content aggregator site using WordPress.
What is Content Aggregation, Anyway?
Content aggregator websites don’t produce their own content. Instead, they collect content from other websites around the Internet and “aggregate” it into one easy-to-find location.
While your first thought might go to copyright theft, it’s truly not a bad thing. Content aggregator websites benefit both visitors and content creators.
Visitors are happy because they get to view a huge variety of content in one spot. And content creators are happy because, as long as the aggregator website is being respectful and linking to the original source, content creators get to expose their content to a whole new audience.
6 Awesome Examples of Content Aggregator Websites
The following sites are some of the best and most popular examples of successful content aggregator websites. Some span huge categories of topics, others are neat one-page designs, and still more are niche-specific content aggregators that only focus on one specific topic.
1. Alltop
Founded by startup legend Guy Kawasaki, Alltop is one of the biggest names in content aggregation and deservedly sits in first place on this list.
Alltop pulls in the latest posts from websites on a variety of topics. What’s neat about Alltop is that you can search for specific topics and then view aggregated content from some of the top blogs for that specific topic.
You can also submit your own site to be listed on Alltop, though Alltop is known for being fairly picky about the sites that it accepts.
2. Popurls
Popurls is the site from which Alltop drew its inspiration. Alltop even credits Popurls in the Alltop footer!
With that endorsement, it’s no surprise that Popurls, branded as the “mother of all news aggregators,” sits at #2 on our list.
Popurls pulls in content from a variety of social networks, blogs, and news organizations. It’s quite eclectic in its content – with my favorite example being BuzzFeed and The New York Times sitting side-by-side. How’s that for contrast?
Unlike Alltop, you can’t submit your own website to Popurls. But it’s still a neat example of the power of content aggregation.
3. The Web List
The Web List functions similarly to Popurls in that it’s a one-page content aggregator website that collects content from a huge variety of sources.
It’s not nearly as popular as Popurls or Alltop. But it’s highly customizable and uses some cool technology. And for that reason, I thought it was a great example of how far you can take content aggregation.
Like Popurls, though, you can’t submit your own site. It only aggregates content from a pre-made set of sources.
4. WP News Desk
WP News Desk is a content aggregator website that focuses specifically on WordPress. It automatically pulls in content from a variety of WordPress blogs and companies and displays posts on the front page.
Rather than needing to visit each blog individually, visitors can just click on individual articles to read the full article at the original source.
Like Alltop, bloggers can submit their own WordPress blog to be considered for inclusion in the news desk.
5. Blog Engage
Though Blog Engage is starting to fall victim to spammy content, it’s still one of the most popular blog content aggregators out there.
As the spam indicator suggests, Blog Engage’s standards are nowhere near as strict as Alltop, though.
But with that being said, it’s still a good example of how you can create a generalized aggregator website and make it successful.
6. Travel Blogger Community
Travel Blogger Community is for travel bloggers what WP News Desk is for WordPress. That is, Travel Blogger Community aggregates content from travel bloggers all around the world in one accessible place.
Just like Alltop and WP News Desk, Bloggers can submit their own site to the community to get their content featured on the aggregator.
How to Create Your Own Content Aggregator Website With WordPress
Most content aggregators are powered by the magic of RSS. So to create your own content aggregator website, you basically need a tool that can complete at least one of the following actions:
- Import RSS feeds as headline links (for something like Popurls or The Web List)
- Import RSS feeds as actual WordPress posts (for something like WP News Desk or Travel Blogger Community)
To accomplish both methods, you can use the free WP RSS Aggregator plugin as well as some of its premium add-ons (depending on the specific type of content aggregator that you want to create).
To create a basic content aggregator that simply imports headlines in a one-page design, you can use the free version of WP RSS Aggregator to create basic feeds for the sites that you want to aggregate content from.
Then, you can bring in those feeds anywhere in your content using a simple shortcode.
Creating a More Advanced Content Aggregator Website With Feed to Post
If you want to create a more full-featured content aggregator website, you’re going to want the ability to actually important RSS feed items as real WordPress posts in your site.
This gives you the flexibility of pulling in excerpts and featured images, assigning categories, and more.
For this use, you’ll need at least the premium Feed to Post add-on for WP RSS Aggregator. Depending on the level of curation that you want to apply to your content aggregator, you might also want to pick up the Keyword Filtering add-on as well.
If you’re a bit confused how you can actually use WP RSS Aggregator to create your aggregator website, Mark wrote a full tutorial on exactly how to get up and running with the plugin.
Wrapping Things Up
For webmasters, content aggregator websites offer a chance to get more readers and exposure. And for users, content aggregators help readers find new and interesting content.
But you don’t need to be a reader or a third-party webmaster to work with content aggregator websites – you can also jump into the fray yourself and quickly create your own content aggregator website using WP RSS Aggregator.
Now over to you – did I miss an awesome aggregator that you think is worthy of some love? Let us know in the comments so everyone can benefit.
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