An XML sitemap is a list of your site's URLs that helps search engines discover pages, especially on a large or poorly-linked site. It should exist at a predictable URL, return a 200 response, and be referenced from robots.txt.
Why it matters
Google can discover pages by following links without a sitemap, but a sitemap makes discovery faster and more reliable, particularly for pages with few internal links pointing at them, or a site that changes often.
A sitemap also gives you a single place to check, in Google Search Console, whether Google has actually indexed the pages you expect it to.
How AuditCrow checks this
AuditCrow looks for `/sitemap.xml` (and checks whether robots.txt references a sitemap at a different path), confirms it returns a successful response, and checks it parses as valid XML with a sensible set of URLs.
How to fix it
- 1Confirm `yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml` loads and lists real page URLs, not template placeholders or a login page.
- 2Reference the sitemap from robots.txt with a `Sitemap:` line, so crawlers that check robots.txt first can find it automatically.
- 3Submit the sitemap URL in Google Search Console (Sitemaps, in the left-hand menu) so you can see how many submitted URLs are actually indexed.
- 4In WordPress, most SEO plugins generate a sitemap automatically at `/sitemap.xml` or `/sitemap_index.xml`. If neither loads, the plugin's sitemap feature is likely disabled in its settings.
- 5Keep the sitemap current. A sitemap listing pages that no longer exist, or missing pages added since it was generated, is a lower-priority version of this same problem (a separate check, C4, looks at sitemap cleanliness).
Fix it on your platform
How to fix it on WordPress
WordPress core sitemap
- Open yourdomain.com/wp-sitemap.xml. WordPress 5.5 and later builds it for you and lists it in robots.txt.
- If it shows a 404, check whether an SEO plugin or custom code has switched the core sitemap off.
- In Google Search Console open Sitemaps, enter wp-sitemap.xml under Add a new sitemap and click Submit.
Note: Yoast SEO and Rank Math replace this with sitemap_index.xml, so submit whichever one your site actually serves.
Source: New XML Sitemaps Functionality in WordPress 5.5 · Last checked
Yoast SEO
Where: Yoast SEO > Settings > Site features > Technical SEO
- Go to Yoast SEO > Settings > Site features and find XML sitemaps under Technical SEO.
- Make sure XML sitemaps is On, then click View the XML sitemap (yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml).
- In Google Search Console open Sitemaps, enter sitemap_index.xml under Add a new sitemap and click Submit.
Note: If yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml shows a sitemap Yoast didn't create, another plugin or a physical file is in the way.
Source: XML sitemaps in the Yoast SEO plugin · Last checked
Rank Math
Where: Rank Math > Sitemap Settings
- Open Rank Math > Sitemap Settings. If it's missing, switch on the Sitemap module in the Rank Math dashboard.
- Choose the content types to include, then check yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml loads.
- In Google Search Console open Sitemaps, enter sitemap_index.xml under Add a new sitemap and click Submit.
Source: How to Submit a Sitemap to Google · Last checked
How to fix it on Shopify
- Open yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml. Shopify creates and updates it for you.
- Make sure the store isn't password-protected, or Google can't fetch it.
- In Google Search Console go to Indexing > Sitemaps, enter sitemap.xml under Add a new sitemap and click Submit.
Source: Finding and submitting your sitemap · Last checked
How to fix it on Wix
- Open yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml. Wix updates it for you whenever the site changes.
- On a Premium plan with a connected domain, use the SEO Setup Checklist and Connect to Google so Wix submits it for you.
- Or submit it yourself: in Google Search Console open Sitemaps, enter the sitemap address under Add a new sitemap and click Submit.
Source: Submitting Your Sitemap Directly to Google · Last checked
How to fix it on Squarespace
- Open yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml. Squarespace builds and updates it for you; changes can take up to a day to show.
- To keep a page out, hide it from search in that page's own settings. The sitemap itself can't be edited.
- In Google Search Console open Sitemaps, enter the sitemap address under Add a new sitemap and click Submit.
Note: Disabled, password-protected and hidden pages are left out of the sitemap.
Source: View your site map · Last checked
How to fix it on Webflow
Where: Site settings > SEO > Sitemap
- Open Site settings, go to the SEO tab and set Auto-generate sitemap to Yes.
- Click Save changes, then publish. The sitemap is at yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml and Webflow adds it to robots.txt.
- In Google Search Console open Sitemaps, enter sitemap.xml and click Submit.
Note: Don't add your own Sitemap line to robots.txt as well, or it will be listed twice.
Source: Create a sitemap in Webflow · Last checked
How to fix it on any other website
- Create a sitemap.xml listing your key pages at your site root, e.g. https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml. Use a generator if you have more than a few dozen pages.
- Add the line Sitemap: https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml to your robots.txt.
- In Google Search Console open Sitemaps, paste the address under Add a new sitemap and click Submit.
Note: Split the file if it passes 50,000 URLs or 50MB.
Source: Build and submit a sitemap · Last checked
Related terms
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