Donaldson R F
WordPress
Check and Fix WordPress XML Sitemap
Make sure your WordPress XML sitemap exists, is accurate, and is actually being picked up by search engines.
The Problem
A broken, missing, or outdated sitemap means search engines may be missing whole sections of your site, or wasting crawl budget on pages that no longer exist.
About this problem
WordPress sitemaps are generated either by core, which provides a basic one, or by an SEO plugin. Problems arise when two generators run at once, when a static sitemap.xml file overrides the dynamic one, when noindexed or deleted pages remain listed, or when caching serves an outdated copy. Search engines then waste crawl effort or miss new pages.
People usually look for this when Search Console reports a sitemap that cannot be read or has errors, when new content is slow to appear in search, or after changing SEO plugins or domain. Many have never checked what their sitemap actually contains.
What's Included
- Checking whether a sitemap exists and validates correctly
- Fixing missing, duplicate or orphaned URLs in the sitemap
- Making sure the sitemap updates automatically as content changes
- Confirming it's properly referenced in robots.txt
What's NOT Included
- Google Search Console submission (see the dedicated service if also needed)
- Technical SEO beyond the sitemap itself
- Content strategy or what pages should exist
How It Works
- I locate the sitemap URL or URLs and validate the XML structure and HTTP response.
- I identify which component generates it, and check for duplicate generators or a stale static file.
- I review the listed URLs for errors, redirects, noindexed pages, drafts and removed content, and correct the settings producing them.
- I check that new and updated content appears automatically, and that caching does not freeze the sitemap.
- I confirm the sitemap is referenced in robots.txt with the correct absolute URL.
- I fetch the final sitemap again and spot-check a sample of listed URLs for a 200 response.
In practice: you buy the service, send over whatever access or details the job needs, I investigate and do the work, and you confirm it's resolved before we call it done.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I check my WordPress sitemap?
- Open the sitemap URL in a browser and validate it, then check that its listed pages are live and indexable. This service does that and corrects the problems it finds.
- Why does Google say it cannot read my sitemap?
- Common causes are invalid XML, a redirect, a blocked URL or a conflicting plugin. I test for each.
- Do you submit the sitemap to Google?
- No, submission to Search Console is a separate service.
- Do you do full SEO work?
- No, technical SEO beyond the sitemap is excluded, and so is content strategy.
- Will the sitemap update by itself?
- Yes, I make sure it updates automatically when content changes.
- Can you decide which pages should be in the sitemap?
- I apply technical rules, such as excluding noindexed pages, but what pages should exist is your decision.