WP to XML

Tag: XML Integration

  • Case Study 15: Google Product Review Feed for Kiierr: Building a Google-Ready XML Feed

    Overview

    In July 2024, we worked with Kiierr to develop a custom Google Product Review Feed for its e-commerce product and review data.

    The project involved transforming product review information into a structured XML feed based on Google’s Product Review Feed requirements, making the data easier to consume through Google’s product-review ecosystem.

    This project is a good example of how a standard website’s product and review information can be converted into a specialized XML format for an external platform.

    The Challenge

    Product review data is often stored inside an e-commerce website in a format designed primarily for website visitors.

    External platforms such as Google require that information to follow a specific XML structure, with appropriate elements and relationships between products, reviews, ratings, and other relevant information.

    For Kiierr, the requirement was to create a dedicated feed that could present its product review information in a format aligned with Google’s Product Review Feed specification.

    The key challenge was not simply generating XML. The feed needed to:

    • Follow the required XML structure.
    • Represent product and review information correctly.
    • Map the website’s available data to the appropriate feed fields.
    • Handle product identifiers and review-related information.
    • Produce a consistent, machine-readable feed.
    • Provide a dedicated feed URL that could be accessed by the external platform.

    Our Solution

    We developed a custom Google Product Review Feed specifically for Kiierr.

    Rather than relying on a generic XML export, the feed was structured around Google’s product-review feed requirements.

    The development process included:

    1. Data Mapping

    The available product and review information was mapped to the corresponding fields required by the Google Product Review Feed format.

    This included determining which information should be used for products, reviews, ratings, and other associated data.

    2. Custom XML Generation

    A dedicated XML feed was created to generate the required product-review structure dynamically.

    This allowed the feed to represent the website’s review data in a structured format rather than requiring manual XML updates.

    3. Product and Review Relationships

    Product information and associated reviews need to be represented consistently so that an external system can understand which review belongs to which product.

    The feed therefore handled the relationship between product information and its corresponding review data.

    4. Structured Feed Output

    The final implementation provided a dedicated XML feed endpoint that could be accessed independently from the main website.

    This makes it possible for an external service to retrieve the structured data without depending on the presentation layer of the website.

    Why Custom Feed Development Matters

    A product-review feed is different from a conventional RSS feed.

    An RSS feed primarily communicates content updates such as articles, posts, or other published items. A product-review feed has a much more specific data model and must represent information such as:

    • Products
    • Product identifiers
    • Reviews
    • Review authors
    • Ratings
    • Review content
    • Review dates
    • Product/review relationships

    For this reason, simply exporting website content as XML is not enough.

    The important part of this type of project is understanding the target platform’s specification and building the feed around that specification.

    Project Outcome

    The Kiierr project resulted in a dedicated Google Product Review Feed developed in July 2024.

    The project demonstrated our ability to work with specialized XML specifications, map e-commerce data into structured formats, and develop custom feeds for third-party platforms.

    It also forms part of our broader experience developing XML, RSS, product, real-estate, job, API, and other custom data feeds.

    Our Experience With Custom XML Feeds

    Over the years, we have worked on a wide range of feed-related projects, including:

    • Google product and review feeds
    • RSS feeds
    • Real-estate XML feeds
    • Job-board XML feeds
    • API-to-XML integrations
    • XML-to-CSV conversions
    • XML-to-XML transformations
    • Custom PHP feed generators
    • Product data feeds
    • Marketplace and portal feeds

    Each project requires a slightly different approach because the destination platform often has its own XML structure, required fields, validation rules, and data-mapping requirements.

    Need a Custom Product or XML Feed?

    If your website already contains product, review, property, job, or other structured data but you need it exported into a specific XML format, we can develop a custom feed around your requirements.

    We can help with:

    Custom XML Feeds • Google Feeds • RSS Feeds • Product Feeds • API-to-XML • XML-to-XML • XML Troubleshooting

    Have an existing feed that is no longer working correctly? We can also investigate and fix XML structure, data mapping, validation, and feed-generation issues.

    Contact us to discuss your feed requirements.

  • Case Study 6: Fixing a Kiyoh XML Review Feed After a PHP 8.3 Upgrade

    From Custom XML Feed to Production Review Integration

    A WordPress XML/RSS project can sometimes evolve far beyond the original requirement. This case started with a relatively simple RSS feed problem and eventually became a custom XML integration for displaying Kiyoh customer reviews on a WordPress website.

    The project involved multiple websites, custom XML processing, a WordPress plugin, external review data, and eventually a compatibility issue following a PHP 8.3 upgrade.

    The Initial RSS Feed Problem

    The project originally started in May 2024 when the client needed help creating an RSS feed for jonglogistiek.nl.

    The client had already created an RSS feed using RSS.app, but several important fields were not being generated correctly:

    • Some posts were missing their publishing date.
    • Some posts had no image.
    • The description was incorrect.
    • The client wanted the first paragraph of each post to appear in the feed.
    • A “Lees meer” (Read more) link was required after the introductory text.

    The existing RSS.app feed was provided for reference, and a custom WordPress plugin was developed to generate the required RSS feed.

    Expanding the Requirement: Custom XML

    Shortly afterward, the client asked whether the service was limited to RSS feeds or whether other XML formats could also be created.

    The requirement turned out to be completely different from the original RSS project.

    The client was building a website for Boender Outdoor and wanted to display Kiyoh customer reviews on the website. Kiyoh provided review information through an XML feed, and the client wanted functionality similar to another website that was already displaying reviews using XML data.

    The goal was to make the review information available on:

    boenderoutdoor.nl/reviews

    The client subsequently provided the Kiyoh XML feed URL and confirmed that the requirement was to import the review feed and display it on the website.

    Reading the External XML Feed

    After analyzing the requirement, the technical approach was straightforward:

    1. Retrieve the XML feed from Kiyoh.
    2. Read and process the review data.
    3. Make the review information available inside WordPress.
    4. Display the reviews on the client’s website.
    5. Allow the website’s existing design to control the presentation.

    The client already had a design in mind, so the implementation focused primarily on processing the XML data rather than creating a new review interface from scratch.

    This distinction is important in XML integrations: data processing and front-end presentation are often separate layers. A reliable feed integration should first make sure that the external data can be retrieved and interpreted correctly before worrying about styling.

    A Production Issue Six Months Later

    The project returned in December 2024 when the client reported that the original XML feed on Jonglogistiek.nl had stopped working.

    The timing was critical because the client was preparing to launch an app that depended on the XML feed that same day.

    The client provided access, and the issue was fixed quickly.

    The feed URL remained:

    jonglogistiek.nl/rssfeed.xml

    After confirming that the feed was working again, the client placed an order for the fix.

    This was an example of an important characteristic of XML integrations: the feed URL itself can become part of another application’s infrastructure. Once an app, portal, or external service depends on a feed, keeping that endpoint operational becomes important.

    The PHP 8.3 Compatibility Problem

    The next major issue appeared in August 2025.

    The client upgraded the Boender Outdoor website to PHP 8.3, after which the Kiyoh review integration stopped displaying reviews correctly.

    The client explained that a custom plugin was responsible for retrieving and processing Kiyoh’s XML feed hourly. The plugin provided shortcodes for displaying review statistics and reviews throughout the website.

    Interestingly, some parts of the integration were still working.

    The client reported that the review information at the top of the page was working, while another section displayed:

    “Geen reviews gevonden”

    meaning “No reviews found.”

    The client wanted the review widget on the reviews page restored to its previous working state.

    Diagnosing a Live WordPress Website

    Because the website was live, the repair needed to be handled carefully.

    Access initially became a challenge. The supplied WordPress credentials did not work, and the client encountered login problems as well. The client eventually disabled the firewall and provided working access, allowing the troubleshooting process to continue.

    Once access was available, the focus was narrowed to the existing Kiyoh Review Verwerker plugin.

    The client specifically clarified that:

    • The existing styling was already correct.
    • The plugin was already responsible for the XML functionality.
    • The problem was that reviews were no longer being loaded on the reviews page.
    • The desired presentation should remain unchanged.

    This made the task a targeted compatibility/debugging job rather than a complete rebuild.

    Restoring the Review Display

    The existing review system was investigated and the review display issue was fixed.

    The client had also requested that the reviews remain limited to 25 reviews per page. During the fix, it was confirmed that this limit was already configured, so no additional change was necessary for that requirement.

    The client was informed that the issue had been fixed and was directed to the reviews page for verification.

    The Technical Lesson

    This project demonstrates why upgrading PHP versions on WordPress websites can expose problems in older custom integrations.

    A site can appear to be functioning normally while a particular data-processing component silently stops working. In this case, the website’s styling and surrounding review interface were still present, but the external XML review data was no longer being displayed correctly.

    Rather than rebuilding the entire system, the better approach was to:

    • Identify the failing component.
    • Preserve the existing design.
    • Preserve the existing plugin architecture where possible.
    • Check the external XML source.
    • Investigate the data-processing path.
    • Restore the review output.
    • Verify the existing pagination requirement.

    What This Project Shows

    This project involved several different types of WordPress XML work over time:

    1. Custom RSS feed development

    A standard RSS service was not producing the required post data, so a custom WordPress feed was created.

    2. Custom XML integration

    The requirement expanded into processing an external Kiyoh XML review feed.

    3. WordPress plugin development

    The XML processing was integrated into a custom WordPress plugin with shortcodes for displaying review information.

    4. External data retrieval

    The website depended on XML data supplied by an external review platform.

    5. PHP compatibility troubleshooting

    After a PHP 8.3 upgrade, the review display stopped functioning correctly and required debugging.

    6. Production maintenance

    The issue was resolved on a live website while keeping the existing styling and functionality intact.

    Conclusion

    What began as a simple RSS feed requirement eventually became a longer-term XML integration and maintenance relationship.

    The project illustrates an important principle in WordPress XML development:

    A feed is not just an XML document—it can become a critical data bridge between WordPress, external platforms, widgets, and applications.

    When that bridge stops working because of a PHP upgrade, changes in external XML data, or plugin compatibility issues, the solution requires more than simply checking whether the XML file exists. The complete flow—from external data retrieval to WordPress processing and final display—needs to be examined.

    This case is a good example of how custom XML development can evolve into ongoing integration, troubleshooting, and maintenance work.

  • From WordPress Content to a Portal-Ready XML Feed

    Case Study: WordPress to Custom XML Feed

    The Problem

    The client had a WordPress website containing structured content that needed to be distributed to a third-party platform.

    The standard WordPress RSS feed did not contain all of the information required by the receiving platform. Important custom fields, images, URLs, categories, and other structured data needed to be mapped into a specific XML format.

    The client needed a feed that was:

    • Generated automatically from WordPress
    • Compatible with the receiving platform’s XML specification
    • Able to include custom WordPress fields
    • Properly formatted and encoded
    • Accessible through a dedicated XML URL
    • Reliable enough for regular automated consumption

    The Solution

    We developed a custom WordPress XML feed specifically around the client’s data structure and the requirements of the receiving platform.

    The implementation included:

    1. WordPress Data Mapping

    Relevant WordPress fields were mapped to the required XML elements, including standard post data and custom fields.

    2. Custom XML Structure

    Instead of relying on the default WordPress RSS format, a dedicated XML structure was generated according to the target platform’s requirements.

    3. Image Handling

    Featured images and other required image information were resolved and included in the appropriate XML elements.

    4. Data Formatting

    Dates, URLs, text fields, categories, and other values were formatted correctly for XML output.

    5. XML Validation

    The generated feed was checked for structural and formatting problems to ensure that it could be successfully parsed by the receiving system.

    6. Automatic Generation

    The feed remained connected to the WordPress database, so updates to the website could be reflected in the XML feed without manually creating or editing XML files.

    The Result

    The client received a dedicated, automatically generated XML feed that transformed their existing WordPress content into the format required by the external platform.

    The final solution provided:

    • ✅ Custom WordPress-to-XML data mapping
    • ✅ Support for custom fields
    • ✅ Image support
    • ✅ Structured XML output
    • ✅ Automated feed generation
    • ✅ XML validation
    • ✅ A dedicated feed endpoint

    Key Takeaway

    A standard WordPress RSS feed is not always enough when another platform requires a specific XML structure.

    A custom feed allows the existing WordPress website to become a reliable data source without requiring the client to manually maintain a separate XML file.

    Need a custom XML feed from WordPress?

    Send us your WordPress website, existing feed, or target XML specification and we’ll help determine the right feed structure.

    Before: WordPress posts + ACF/custom fields
    ↓
    Feed Generator: Custom mapping + image resolver + XML builder
    ↓
    After: Validated portal-ready XML feed

Powered by
►
Necessary cookies enable essential site features like secure log-ins and consent preference adjustments. They do not store personal data.
None
►
Functional cookies support features like content sharing on social media, collecting feedback, and enabling third-party tools.
None
►
Analytical cookies track visitor interactions, providing insights on metrics like visitor count, bounce rate, and traffic sources.
None
►
Advertisement cookies deliver personalized ads based on your previous visits and analyze the effectiveness of ad campaigns.
None
Powered by