A WordPress sitemap is a file that lists all of the posts, pages, and other content that make up a site.
Although sitemaps are usually created by WordPress by default, this isn't always true. In this guide, we cover how to check if your site has one and what to do if it doesn't. We'll also explore the differences between XML and HTML sitemaps.
What exactly is a sitemap?
When people talk about sitemaps, they're usually referring to an XML sitemap. While there are other types, let's start with XML.
An XML sitemap gives search engines a comprehensive overview of your site's structure. It typically includes the full URL of each page and notes the last time each one was updated.
XML sitemaps exist primarily to help search engines find all the pages and other content on your site. This allows the search engine to add your content to its index and, when relevant, show it to users in search results.
Although search engines can index your pages without a sitemap, having one helps them do so more efficiently.
Due to this, having a WordPress XML sitemap is highly recommended.
Other types of sitemaps
While XML sitemaps are the most common types of sitemaps, they aren't the only kind of sitemap you might want to use on your site. Depending on your audience and the content, adding other types of sitemaps can improve navigation and visibility.
HTML sitemaps
You now know that search engines use XML sitemaps, but human visitors can also use sitemaps called "HTML sitemaps."
HTML sitemaps are often used when a site has many pages and adding links to all of those pages in the site's navigation menu would be overwhelming.
Unlike XML sitemaps, HTML sitemaps have no strict format; you can design them as freely as regular pages.
If you're hosting your site with WordPress.com, you can use the sitemap shortcode to quickly create an HTML sitemap. The shortcode generates an ordered list of all the pages on your site, highlighting parent/child relationships based on your page settings.
To create an HTML sitemap on your WordPress.com-hosted site:
- Visit your site dashboard and create a new page (Pages → Add Page) or edit an existing one (Pages → All Pages → Edit).
- Add a Shortcode block to the page by clicking the + symbol and typing
shortcode.
- Type
sitemap in the Shortcode block field surrounded by brackets.
- Preview or publish the page to view the shortcode output.
If your site isn't hosted by WordPress.com, you can add a similar HTML sitemap by using a plugin like Simple Sitemap.
Other types of XML sitemaps
There are also different types of XML sitemaps.
While the standard WordPress XML sitemap lists a site's posts and pages, there are also XML sitemaps for listing a site's images and videos. These sitemaps can help search engines add your images to places like Google Images.
There's also the news sitemap, which is required for websites listed in Google News. This type of sitemap helps Google News quickly add fresh news content to its index.
WordPress.com-hosted sites automatically generate a news sitemap; however, inclusion in Google News requires approval.
Understanding your WordPress sitemap
Since version 5.5 (released in 2020), WordPress core has the functionality to automatically generate XML sitemaps. The WordPress sitemap is updated each time you publish or edit content.
Viewing your WordPress XML sitemap
To view your WordPress XML sitemap, add sitemap.xml to the end of your site's domain name in the URL field of a browser window.
If you see an error message stating that the page cannot be found, your site probably doesn't have a sitemap.
If your site does have a sitemap, you'll see something similar to the one below. The exact format will depend on how the sitemap was generated.
You can view the sitemap's contents by clicking on any URL.
If you can't see a sitemap for your WordPress.com site, then you can follow these steps to check the settings that could be causing the issue:
- Visit your site's dashboard.
- Navigate to Tools → Marketing.
- Click the Traffic tab.
- Scroll down to the Sitemaps section.
If sitemaps are enabled, you should see them listed.
If you see "Your site is not currently accessible to search engines," click the "privacy settings" link to fix it.
From the Privacy Settings page, uncheck the "Discourage search engines from indexing this site" box, then click the Save button.
If you return to the Traffic tab (Your site dashboard → Tools → Marketing), you should now see your sitemap URL(s).
If WordPress.com isn't your web host, then the process for enabling a WordPress sitemap is very similar:
- Visit your site's dashboard.
- Navigate to Settings → Reading.
- Uncheck the "Search engine visibility Discourage search engines from indexing this site" box.
- Click the Save Changes button.
- Enter
[your site URL]/sitemap.xml in your browser address field to check the sitemap status.
If you still can't see a sitemap, a third-party plugin might be managing your sitemap instead. You can access your site dashboard and click Plugins from the sidebar menu to check this.
The plugins page shows any installed (activated or deactivated) plugins on your site. Many plugins have added sitemap functionality, but some popular ones are Jetpack, Yoast SEO, Rank Math SEO, and XML Sitemap Generator for Google.
If a plugin with sitemap functionality is active on your site, check its settings to see if it has disabled the sitemap.
For example, you can access the Jetpack plugin's sitemap settings by navigating to Jetpack → Settings and clicking the Traffic tab.
You can then toggle the Generate XML sitemaps setting.
Submitting your XML sitemap to search engines
As the purpose of a WordPress XML sitemap is to help search engines find your pages, you might wonder if you need to do anything to let the search engines know about your sitemap.
Thankfully, you typically don't have to worry about this. Search engines like Google and Bing regularly crawl the web, following links from one site to another. If your site is publicly accessible and linked to from other places, search engines will likely discover your sitemap automatically. Most websites include a link to their sitemap in the site's robots.txt file, which search engines check by default. This usually helps them to find and use your sitemap without any manual submission.
However, if you'd like to speed up the process, you can manually submit your sitemap to Google and Bing to ensure they can crawl your site.
Submit your XML sitemap to Google
You can submit your WordPress XML sitemap to Google through Google Search Console.
Google Search Console is free to use, but you'll need a Google account to use it. You'll have to connect your site to Google Search Console—once you have, you can add your WordPress sitemap.
To do so, click Sitemaps from the Google Search Console's sidebar menu.
You can then enter the sitemap name, which should be sitemap.xml (note that if a third-party plugin generated your sitemap, then it might be named differently), and click the Submit button.
The sitemap will then appear in the "Submitted sitemaps" panel.
Submit your XML sitemap to Bing
You can also submit your XML sitemap to Bing through Bing Webmaster Tools.
You should be able to log into Bing Webmaster Tools using your Google account and verify your site using the data from Google Search Console. Once done, you can add your sitemap by clicking on Sitemaps on the sidebar menu.
The data import from Google Search Console should have added your sitemap, but if not, click Submit sitemap in the top right corner.
Then, enter your sitemap URL, like [your site URL]/sitemap.xml, and click Submit to add your sitemap to the list.
How to check if your sitemap is working properly
Once you've submitted your sitemap, you can verify that it's working as expected. A broken or incomplete sitemap can prevent search engines from indexing your content correctly.
- Use Google Search Console: Once you've submitted your sitemap through Google Search Console, you can view its status in the "Sitemaps" section. It will show when the sitemap was last read, how many URLs were indexed, and if there are any crawl or parsing errors.
- Check Bing Webmaster Tools: Bing provides similar feedback in its "Sitemaps" report—you can see any errors or warnings here.
- Use other third-party validators: If you want to double-check the technical structure of your sitemap, you can use free online tools like the Sitemap Test from SEO Site Checkup.
Help search engines—and your visitors—find your WordPress site
A WordPress XML sitemap isn't mandatory, but it gives your site important benefits that ensure your content gets in front of the right people.
Once your WordPress site has a sitemap, search engines like Google and Bing will find it easier to crawl your site and add its content to their indexes. And with more of your content available in the search engine indexes, more search engine users will be able to find your site.
While WordPress creates XML sitemaps by default, it is highly recommended that you follow the steps in this guide to see if your site has one. If it doesn't, you can check the relevant settings outlined above to fix any issues.
WordPress.com makes ensuring that your site content is indexable by search engines easy because we automatically generate an XML sitemap for you. Host your site with WordPress.com and get hosting, performance, and security managed for you all in one place.
