# WordPress sitemap: core, Yoast SEO or Rank Math, and which to keep

> Where your WordPress sitemap lives, how the core wp-sitemap.xml differs from the Yoast SEO and Rank Math sitemaps, which one to keep, what to leave out of it and how to fix a sitemap that answers 404.

Updated 2026-09-26 · WordPress & WooCommerce · HTML version: https://getreport.app/guides/wordpress-sitemap

Every WordPress site has a sitemap: WordPress core publishes one at `/wp-sitemap.xml`, and when Yoast SEO or Rank Math is active, the plugin switches core's off and publishes its own at `/sitemap_index.xml`. You need exactly one of them. This guide shows how to find yours, how the core and plugin sitemaps differ, which to keep, what to leave out and how to fix the usual errors. For how sitemaps work in general, see the [XML sitemap guide](https://getreport.app/guides/xml-sitemap).

## Quick answer

- **No SEO plugin:** your sitemap is `https://yourdomain/wp-sitemap.xml`, built by core since WordPress 5.5.
- **Yoast SEO or Rank Math:** it is `https://yourdomain/sitemap_index.xml`, and the core sitemap is switched off.
- **Keep one sitemap from one source.** Two SEO plugins, or a plugin plus an old uploaded `sitemap.xml`, means two lists that disagree.
- **Leave out** tag archives you do not want indexed, author archives on single-author sites and attachment pages.
- **Sitemap answers 404?** Save Settings → Permalinks once, and check that "Discourage search engines" is not ticked.
- **Submit** the one address in Google Search Console, and check it with the [sitemap checker](https://getreport.app/tools/sitemap-validator).

## Where is my WordPress sitemap?

Open these addresses on your site in order; the first that shows a list is your sitemap:

| Setup | Sitemap address | Child sitemaps look like |
| --- | --- | --- |
| WordPress core, no SEO plugin | `/wp-sitemap.xml` | `/wp-sitemap-posts-post-1.xml`, `/wp-sitemap-taxonomies-category-1.xml`, `/wp-sitemap-users-1.xml` |
| Yoast SEO | `/sitemap_index.xml` | `/post-sitemap.xml`, `/page-sitemap.xml`, `/category-sitemap.xml` |
| Rank Math | `/sitemap_index.xml` | `/post-sitemap.xml`, `/page-sitemap.xml`, `/category-sitemap.xml` |
| All in One SEO | `/sitemap.xml` | `/post-sitemap.xml`, `/page-sitemap.xml` |

Your robots.txt at `/robots.txt` should also name it on a `Sitemap:` line. WordPress core adds that line to its virtual robots.txt when its own sitemap is on, and Yoast and Rank Math add theirs. If you have a physical `robots.txt` file, you add the line yourself.

The [guide to finding any site's sitemap](https://getreport.app/guides/how-to-find-sitemap-of-a-website) covers other platforms and what to do when none of the usual paths answer.

## The core WordPress sitemap

Since WordPress 5.5, core publishes a sitemap index at `/wp-sitemap.xml` with no plugin. It lists child sitemaps for each public post type (posts, pages and any custom post types), each public taxonomy (categories and tags) and users with published posts, which become author archive URLs. Each child file holds up to 2,000 URLs by default, according to the WordPress core developer notes, and a new file starts after that.

Since WordPress 6.5, core also writes a `<lastmod>` date for posts, taken from the post's last modified time. It does not write priority or changefreq, which Google ignores anyway.

What core does not give you is control from the admin. There is no screen to leave out tags, authors or a single page; that takes code, for example in a small plugin or your theme's `functions.php`:

```php
// Leave author archives out of the core sitemap
add_filter( 'wp_sitemaps_add_provider', function ( $provider, $name ) {
    return 'users' === $name ? false : $provider;
}, 10, 2 );

// Leave tag archives out
add_filter( 'wp_sitemaps_taxonomies', function ( $taxonomies ) {
    unset( $taxonomies['post_tag'] );
    return $taxonomies;
} );
```

Core also switches its sitemap off completely when Settings → Reading → "Discourage search engines from indexing this site" is ticked. That is the most common reason a WordPress site has no sitemap after launch, and it means the whole site is asking not to be indexed. [WordPress "Discourage search engines"](https://getreport.app/guides/wordpress-discourage-search-engines) explains the setting.

> **Check: Search engines are not discouraged in Settings → Reading.** The WordPress setting adds a site-wide noindex, nofollow tag. It is meant for sites under construction and is often left on after launch, which removes the whole site from Google.
>
> 1. In wp-admin go to Settings → Reading and untick "Discourage search engines from indexing this site".
> 2. Then request indexing in Google Search Console; pages usually return within days to weeks.

## The Yoast SEO sitemap

Yoast SEO publishes its sitemap index at `/sitemap_index.xml` and turns the core sitemap off when its own is on, so the two never run side by side. The switch is under **Yoast SEO → Settings → Site features → XML sitemaps**.

What Yoast lists follows its search appearance settings rather than a separate sitemap list:

- **Content types and taxonomies.** Under Yoast SEO → Settings, each content type and taxonomy has a "Show … in search results" toggle. Switching it off adds `noindex` to those pages and removes them from the sitemap in one step.
- **Single posts and pages.** In the Yoast panel of the editor, under Advanced, setting "Allow search engines to show this content in search results?" to No does the same for one item.
- **Author archives.** Switching author archives off under Settings → Advanced removes `author-sitemap.xml`.

Each child sitemap holds up to 1,000 entries by default, includes `<lastmod>` and lists the images in each post with `<image:loc>`. Developers can change the limit and exclude items by ID with Yoast's filters, such as `wpseo_sitemap_entries_per_page` and `wpseo_exclude_from_sitemap_by_post_ids`. Our [recommended Yoast SEO settings](https://getreport.app/guides/yoast-seo-settings-we-recommend) include the sitemap choices.

## The Rank Math sitemap

Rank Math also uses `/sitemap_index.xml` and switches the core sitemap off. Its settings are under **Rank Math SEO → Sitemap Settings**, split into tabs:

- **General:** links per sitemap (200 by default), whether to include images, and fields to exclude posts or terms by ID.
- **Post types** and **Taxonomies:** an "Include in sitemap" switch for each.
- **Authors:** include or exclude the author sitemap.

Like Yoast, Rank Math leaves out items you set to `noindex`. Our [recommended Rank Math settings](https://getreport.app/guides/rank-math-settings-we-recommend) cover the rest of the plugin.

## Core, Yoast or Rank Math: which sitemap to keep?

| | WordPress core | Yoast SEO | Rank Math |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Address | `/wp-sitemap.xml` | `/sitemap_index.xml` | `/sitemap_index.xml` |
| URLs per child file | 2,000 | 1,000 | 200 (setting) |
| `<lastmod>` | Posts, since 6.5 | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | Yes | Optional |
| Exclude types or items | Code only | Settings and filters | Settings |
| Drops `noindex` items | No, unless code filters them | Yes | Yes |

The rule is simple: **if an SEO plugin is active, use its sitemap; if not, use core's.** Do not install a plugin only for the sitemap if core's lists the right pages. Do not run two SEO plugins, or an SEO plugin plus a separate sitemap plugin, either: each publishes its own sitemap, and the two list different URLs, archives and dates. [Yoast and Rank Math together](https://getreport.app/guides/duplicate-seo-plugins-yoast-and-rank-math-together) explains how to switch cleanly from one to the other.

> **Check: One SEO plugin is active.** Two or more SEO plugins all write titles, descriptions, canonicals and schema. Google gets duplicate or conflicting tags and one of them wins at random.
>
> 1. Keep one SEO plugin and deactivate the other; import its settings first (both Yoast and Rank Math have an import tool).
> 2. Check the page source afterwards for a single title, description and canonical.

When you switch, resubmit the new address in Search Console and remove the old one from the Sitemaps report, so Google stops reading a file that no longer exists.

## What to leave out of a WordPress sitemap

A WordPress sitemap should list the pages you want in search results, and nothing else. The usual things to switch off:

- **Tag archives**, unless each tag page is curated and useful. Most sites have hundreds of thin tag pages.
- **Author archives** on single-author sites, where they duplicate the blog. See [admin user and author archives](https://getreport.app/guides/wordpress-admin-user-and-author-archives).
- **Attachment pages**: the thin page WordPress can create for every uploaded image. Since WordPress 6.4 they are off on new installs, and Yoast redirects them to the file by default. [WordPress attachment pages](https://getreport.app/guides/wordpress-attachment-pages) shows how to check.
- **Post types a plugin created** for its own use, such as form entries, portfolio items you never show, or landing-page builder templates.
- **Thank-you, cart, checkout and account pages.** WooCommerce's cart, checkout and account pages should carry `noindex` and stay out.

> **Check: Attachment pages are not exposed to search engines.** WordPress creates a bare page for every uploaded image. Hundreds of them in the index dilute the site with pages that hold nothing but a picture.
>
> 1. In Yoast SEO, under Settings, Advanced, Media pages, enable the redirect of attachment URLs to the file itself; in Rank Math set Media to noindex or redirect.
> 2. Without an SEO plugin, add a redirect from attachment pages to the parent post in your theme or a redirect plugin.

Fix the setting, not the file: sitemaps in WordPress are generated on request, so manual edits would not survive anyway.

## Fixing common WordPress sitemap errors

### The sitemap answers 404

1. **Save the permalinks.** Go to Settings → Permalinks and click Save Changes without changing anything. This rebuilds the rewrite rules that the sitemap URLs depend on, and fixes most 404s after activating an SEO plugin. The [permalinks guide](https://getreport.app/guides/wordpress-permalinks) covers the settings.
2. **Check "Discourage search engines".** It switches the core sitemap off.
3. **Check the server.** On nginx, requests for `.xml` files can be served as static files and never reach WordPress; the location block needs `try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$args;`.

### An old sitemap.xml file shadows the plugin

A physical `sitemap.xml` left in the web root by an old plugin or an upload is served before WordPress runs, so the stale file wins. Delete it by FTP or in the host's file manager, then load the sitemap address again.

### The sitemap shows HTML, a blank page or an old version

Caching and security plugins sometimes cache the sitemap as HTML or block it for bots. Exclude `sitemap` URLs from page caching and from any firewall rule that challenges crawlers. If a CDN caches the file, purge it after changing sitemap settings.

### "Couldn't fetch" or "has errors" in Search Console

The file must answer 200 with XML to Googlebot, not a login page or a firewall challenge. Every Search Console sitemap error and its fix is in [XML sitemap validation](https://getreport.app/guides/xml-sitemap-validation).

## How to check your WordPress sitemap

> **Free tool:** [Sitemap checker: validate your XML sitemap](https://getreport.app/tools/sitemap-validator): Free sitemap checker: find your XML sitemap, validate it against the sitemaps.org protocol, count its URLs and test a sample of the listed pages. No sign-up.

The sitemap checker finds your sitemap through robots.txt and `/sitemap.xml`, validates the XML, and requests up to 25 listed URLs to confirm they answer 200 without redirecting. On WordPress, a redirect in the sample usually means an attachment URL, a changed permalink or a `http` address after a move to HTTPS.

> **Check: Sitemap URL status.** A sitemap should list only pages that answer 200. Redirects, 404s and noindex pages in it waste crawl budget and make Google trust the file less.
>
> 1. Remove deleted pages from the sitemap and list the final URL of redirected pages.
> 2. Most CMS plugins do this automatically; if you generate the file yourself, rebuild it from the live URL list before publishing.

The [WordPress checker](https://getreport.app/tools/wordpress-checker) looks for the classic launch mistakes from the outside, including a site still set to "Discourage search engines" and the attachment sitemap. When the sitemap looks right, [submit it to Google](https://getreport.app/guides/submit-sitemap-to-google).

## Common mistakes

- **Submitting both `/wp-sitemap.xml` and `/sitemap_index.xml`.** Only one exists when a plugin is active; remove the other from Search Console.
- **Installing a separate sitemap plugin next to Yoast or Rank Math.**
- **Leaving tag and author archives in** with hundreds of thin pages.
- **Launching with "Discourage search engines" still ticked** from the staging site.
- **Editing a downloaded copy of the sitemap and uploading it.** WordPress keeps serving its generated one, or yours goes stale.

## Questions people ask

### How do I find my sitemap in WordPress?

Add `/wp-sitemap.xml` to your domain if you have no SEO plugin, or `/sitemap_index.xml` if you use Yoast SEO or Rank Math; All in One SEO uses `/sitemap.xml`. Your robots.txt should also name it on a `Sitemap:` line. If none of these answer, check Settings → Reading for "Discourage search engines", then save your permalinks.

### Does Yoast SEO create a sitemap automatically?

Yes. Yoast SEO publishes a sitemap index at `/sitemap_index.xml` as soon as it is active, with child sitemaps for posts, pages, categories and other public content, and it switches the core WordPress sitemap off. The toggle is under Yoast SEO → Settings → Site features → XML sitemaps. Pages you hide from search results in Yoast are left out automatically.

### Should I disable the WordPress core sitemap?

Only if an SEO plugin provides one, and Yoast SEO and Rank Math already disable it for you. Without a plugin, keep the core sitemap: it is free, updates itself and lists every public post, page and archive. Use a few lines of code to leave out author or tag archives if you do not want them indexed.

### Why is my Yoast sitemap showing a 404 error?

Usually because the rewrite rules need rebuilding: go to Settings → Permalinks and click Save Changes. Other causes are the XML sitemaps toggle being off in Yoast's site features, an old `sitemap.xml` file in the web root, a caching or security plugin intercepting the URL, or an nginx configuration that does not pass `.xml` requests to WordPress.