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Live lists with the RSS feed block

Show your small groups, blog posts or sermons straight from your website, with filters, photos and a details sheet.

The RSS feed block shows a list that comes from another page on your website, like your small groups, blog or sermon series. When you add or change an item on your website, the DoorStep page shows it too. Nobody has to update two places.

Add a live list #

  1. Add the blockClick + Add block → 📰 RSS feed.
  2. Paste your page’s addressIn Page or feed address, paste the link to the page people visit, like yourchurch.org/small-groups. DoorStep finds that page’s feed for you. Squarespace collection pages (blogs, events, portfolios) work as they are, and so does a feed address if you already have one.
  3. Pick a layoutSee below. The preview fills with your real items straight away.
  4. PublishFrom then on, the list updates by itself.
How fresh is it?

DoorStep checks your website for changes every few minutes. A new small group shows up on the tap page within about five minutes of you publishing it on your website.

Layout and what each item shows #

  • Layout: List (compact rows), Big cards (one large photo per item) or Side-scrolling cards (a row people swipe through).
  • How many items show at first, from 1 to 30. With Show more button on, the rest are one tap away.
  • Show photos, Show a short description and Show the date posted.
  • Photo shape for cards. Original size shows each photo uncropped, which suits flyers.
  • Show titles: turn it off when each item’s photo already says what it is, like a designed flyer. Items without a photo still show their title.

Where the list shows #

A long list can push the rest of your page down. Show it lets you choose:

Show itWhat people see
On the pageThe list right there in the page.
Behind a buttonA single button, like “See all groups”. Tapping it opens the list in a sheet.
Behind a banner cardA wide card with an icon or picture, a small label, title and subtitle, like “Find a small group”. Tapping it opens the list.
Only in a pop-upNothing on the page. Open the list from any other button, banner, card or hero: set its When tapped to Open one of my pop-up menus or lists and pick the list.

For the last three, set an Icon and a Pop-up title for the top of the sheet.

Filter buttons #

Tick Filter buttons from the feed’s categories to show a row of buttons above the list, like Women, Tuesday or In-Home. Tapping one shows only the items with that tag. They come from the categories and tags on your website’s items.

Tags on a Squarespace portfolio page

Squarespace portfolio pages can’t have categories. DoorStep has a workaround: in each item’s SEO description, write a line starting with Tags:, like Tags: Men, Weekday, In-Home. DoorStep turns those into filter buttons. Visitors never see that line.

What happens on tap #

Tapping an item can:

  • Show the details (the default): a sheet with the item’s photo, full description and links, plus a button to its page. Rename that button with Details button, like “Join this group”, and tick Details button opens the page in a pop-up to keep people on your tap page.
  • Open its page in a pop-up. Squarespace pages usually need a pop-up worker for this; without one they open in a new tab.
  • Open its page in a new tab, or do nothing.

If the list doesn’t load #

  • Check the address opens a page with your items in an ordinary browser, and that the page isn’t password-protected.
  • Try the feed address itself. On Squarespace that’s the page address with ?format=rss on the end.
  • Under More options, you can change the loading, error and empty messages, and try Retry through public proxies if blocked.

Still stuck? Ask whoever set up DoorStep for your church, and mention this article: Live lists with the RSS feed block.