How to Create an XML Sitemap for WordPress and Submit It to Google in 2026

If you want your WordPress website to appear in Google Search, search engines need to discover and crawl your important pages.

One useful way to help search engines discover website URLs is an XML sitemap.

An XML sitemap is a file that lists important URLs on your website in a format that search engines can understand. It can help Google discover blog posts, pages, categories, and other eligible content.

Whether you run a personal blog, business website, digital products marketplace, or online publication, creating and submitting a sitemap is an important part of technical SEO.

In this guide, you will learn how to create an XML sitemap in WordPress, find its URL, submit it through Google Search Console, and troubleshoot common sitemap problems.

1. What Is an XML Sitemap?

An XML sitemap is a structured file that contains URLs you want search engines to discover.

For example, a blog may have hundreds of articles, category pages, and important website pages. A sitemap provides search engines with a list of those URLs.

A simple XML sitemap entry looks like this:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">

    <url>
        <loc>https://example.com/</loc>
    </url>

    <url>
        <loc>https://example.com/about/</loc>
    </url>

    <url>
        <loc>https://example.com/blog/</loc>
    </url>

</urlset>

The loc element contains the complete URL of a webpage.

A sitemap can also include additional information, such as the last significant modification date of a page.

It is important to understand that a sitemap helps search engines discover URLs. It does not guarantee that every URL will be crawled, indexed, or ranked.

2. Why Does Your WordPress Website Need an XML Sitemap?

A sitemap can be particularly useful when your website contains many pages or publishes new articles regularly.

Some benefits include:

Better URL discovery

A sitemap gives search engines a structured list of important website URLs.

Helpful for large websites

Websites with many articles, product pages, and categories can use sitemaps to organize their URLs.

Supports new content discovery

When you publish new articles, your sitemap can update automatically if your WordPress setup is configured correctly.

Helps monitor sitemap processing

Google Search Console provides information about submitted sitemaps and reports processing issues.

Useful for technical SEO

Sitemaps help website owners communicate which canonical URLs they prefer search engines to discover.

However, internal links and normal crawling remain important. A sitemap should not replace proper website navigation and internal linking.

3. How to Find the Default WordPress XML Sitemap

You may not need to install any plugin to create a sitemap.

WordPress includes a built-in XML sitemap feature in WordPress 5.5 and later.

By default, the sitemap index is available at:

https://yourdomain.com/wp-sitemap.xml

Replace yourdomain.com with your actual domain.

For example:

https://example.com/wp-sitemap.xml

Follow these steps:

1. Open your WordPress website.
2. Enter /wp-sitemap.xml after your domain.
3. Press Enter.
4. Check whether the XML sitemap index loads.
5. Open the individual sitemap links to inspect their URLs.

The default WordPress sitemap can include different content types, such as posts, pages, and taxonomies, depending on your website configuration.

If the URL does not open, check your permalink settings, caching, plugin configuration, and server response.

4. Create an XML Sitemap Using Rank Math SEO

Rank Math SEO is a popular WordPress SEO plugin that provides sitemap management features.

If you already use Rank Math, you can use its sitemap functionality instead of creating a separate sitemap manually.

Step 1: Install Rank Math

Open your WordPress dashboard.

Navigate to:

Plugins → Add New Plugin

Search for Rank Math SEO and install the plugin from the official WordPress Plugin Directory.

Step 2: Activate the Plugin

After installation, activate Rank Math and complete its initial configuration.

Step 3: Open Sitemap Settings

Navigate to:

Rank Math SEO → Sitemap Settings

Step 4: Configure Sitemap Options

Review the available options for:

• Posts.
• Pages.
• Categories.
• Tags.
• Other supported content types.

Enable the content types you actually want search engines to discover.

Step 5: View Your Sitemap

Rank Math commonly provides a sitemap index at:

https://yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml

Open the URL and check that the sitemap index displays correctly.

The exact sitemap structure may depend on your plugin configuration and website setup.

5. Create an XML Sitemap Using Yoast SEO

Yoast SEO is another popular option for WordPress websites.

It includes XML sitemap functionality.

Follow these steps:

1. Install Yoast SEO from the WordPress Plugin Directory.
2. Activate the plugin.
3. Open Yoast SEO settings.
4. Locate the XML sitemap settings.
5. Make sure the sitemap feature is enabled.
6. Open the XML sitemap link provided by the plugin.

A typical Yoast sitemap index URL is:

https://yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml

You can also access the sitemap through the plugin’s settings interface.

Important: Use one primary sitemap solution. If WordPress core, Rank Math, and Yoast are all involved, verify which sitemap you intend to maintain and avoid submitting confusing or duplicate sitemap indexes unnecessarily.

6. What Is the Difference Between wp-sitemap.xml and sitemap_index.xml?

WordPress core and SEO plugins may use different sitemap URLs.

Sitemap URL	Common Source
/wp-sitemap.xml	WordPress core
/sitemap_index.xml	Rank Math or Yoast SEO
/sitemap.xml	Some other plugins and platforms

The actual URL depends on your installed software and configuration.

Do not assume that every WordPress website uses the same sitemap URL.

Open the sitemap in your browser and check which one is active on your website. You can also inspect your robots.txt file for a Sitemap directive.

7. How to Submit Your XML Sitemap to Google Search Console

After creating your sitemap, the next step is submitting it through Google Search Console.

Search Console helps you monitor whether Google can access and process your submitted sitemap.

Step 1: Open Google Search Console

Visit:

https://search.google.com/search-console

Sign in using your Google account.

Step 2: Select Your Website Property

Choose the website property you want to manage.

If your website is not added yet, first add it and complete ownership verification.

Step 3: Open the Sitemaps Report

From the left navigation menu, select:

Indexing → Sitemaps

Step 4: Enter Your Sitemap URL

Under the Add a new sitemap section, enter your sitemap path.

For example:

sitemap_index.xml

Or, if you use the default WordPress sitemap:

wp-sitemap.xml

Step 5: Submit the Sitemap

Click the Submit button.

Google will attempt to access and process your sitemap.

Step 6: Check the Submission Status

After submission, review the Sitemaps report.

Look for information such as:

• Submission status.
• Last read date.
• Discovered URLs.
• Processing errors.

A successful sitemap submission means Google could process the sitemap. It does not mean every listed URL has been indexed.

8. Add Your Sitemap to the Robots.txt File

You can also make your sitemap easier for search engines to discover by adding its location to your robots.txt file.

For example:

User-agent: *
Disallow:

Sitemap: https://example.com/sitemap_index.xml

If your website uses the default WordPress sitemap, you can reference:

Sitemap: https://example.com/wp-sitemap.xml

Replace the example domain and sitemap path with your actual details.

The Sitemap directive tells compatible crawlers where the sitemap is located.

You can usually check your robots.txt file by opening:

https://yourdomain.com/robots.txt

Remember that robots.txt controls crawler access instructions. It is not a security feature and should not be used to protect private website content.

9. Which Pages Should Be Included in an XML Sitemap?

Your sitemap should focus on important, indexable, canonical URLs.

For a typical WordPress blog, useful sitemap content may include:

• Homepage.
• Important pages.
• Published blog articles.
• Public product pages.
• Relevant category pages.

However, not every URL needs to be included.

Avoid adding unnecessary URLs such as:

• Duplicate pages.
• Internal search result pages.
• Private content.
• URLs with unintended parameters.
• Redirecting URLs.
• Pages that are intentionally marked noindex.

For example, if your article is available through multiple URL variations, choose the preferred canonical URL rather than listing every duplicate version.

10. Common XML Sitemap Errors and How to Fix Them

Sometimes Google Search Console may report sitemap errors.

Here are common issues and possible solutions.

Error 1: Could Not Fetch

This usually means Google could not retrieve the sitemap.

Possible reasons include:

• Server connectivity problems.
• Incorrect sitemap URL.
• Firewall restrictions.
• Access restrictions.
• Server errors.

Check the sitemap URL in your browser and review your server logs if necessary.

Error 2: Sitemap Is HTML

A sitemap should return valid XML rather than an HTML webpage.

Check whether your sitemap URL redirects to a normal website page or displays an error page.

Review plugin conflicts and server rewrite rules if the problem continues.

Error 3: Sitemap Contains 404 URLs

A sitemap should not list pages that no longer exist.

Check the affected URLs and remove outdated entries from the sitemap through your WordPress or SEO plugin settings.

Error 4: Submitted URL Is Marked Noindex

If a page is intentionally marked noindex, it generally should not be included in your sitemap.

Review the page’s SEO settings and decide whether it should be indexed.

Error 5: Redirected URLs

If a sitemap lists URLs that redirect elsewhere, update it to include the final canonical destination instead.

Error 6: Duplicate Sitemap Entries

Multiple sitemap systems may create overlapping or confusing URL lists.

Choose one primary sitemap configuration and review the output.

11. XML Sitemap Best Practices for WordPress Websites

Follow these practices to maintain a clean sitemap.

1. Include canonical URLs.
2. Use complete HTTPS URLs when your website uses HTTPS.
3. Keep your sitemap updated automatically.
4. Avoid including noindex pages.
5. Exclude unnecessary duplicate URLs.
6. Check sitemap availability after major website changes.
7. Submit the correct sitemap index to Search Console.
8. Monitor processing errors.
9. Maintain proper internal links.
10. Use accurate last modification dates.

Google supports up to 50,000 URLs or 50 MB uncompressed per sitemap file. Larger websites should split their URLs across multiple sitemap files and use a sitemap index.

Google can use accurate lastmod information, but inaccurate modification dates should not be added just to make pages appear recently updated.

12. How to Check Whether Your Pages Are Indexed by Google

Submitting a sitemap is only one step.

You should also monitor important pages using Google Search Console.

Method 1: URL Inspection

1. Open Google Search Console.
2. Enter the full URL in the inspection field.
3. Review the indexing information.
4. Check whether the URL is indexed.
5. If appropriate, use Request Indexing.

Method 2: Page Indexing Report

Open:

Indexing → Pages

This report provides information about indexed and non-indexed pages and may identify reasons why certain URLs are not indexed.

Method 3: Check Search Visibility

You can search for your website’s pages using Google, but search operators are not a complete or definitive indexing report.

Use Search Console for more reliable URL-level information.

13. XML Sitemap Checklist for WordPress

Before publishing your website or completing technical SEO setup, use this checklist:

• Confirm that a sitemap exists.
• Open the sitemap URL in your browser.
• Check that the XML structure loads correctly.
• Include important canonical URLs.
• Exclude unnecessary duplicate and noindex pages.
• Check that HTTPS URLs are used correctly.
• Add the sitemap location to robots.txt where appropriate.
• Verify your website in Google Search Console.
• Submit the sitemap index.
• Review sitemap processing status.
• Monitor important URLs through URL Inspection.
• Check for sitemap errors regularly.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Does WordPress automatically create an XML sitemap?

Yes. WordPress 5.5 and later include a built-in XML sitemap feature. Its default sitemap index is generally available at /wp-sitemap.xml, unless the configuration changes its availability.

2. Which sitemap plugin is best for WordPress?

Rank Math SEO and Yoast SEO are popular choices. Both provide sitemap functionality. You can also use the built-in WordPress sitemap if it meets your requirements.

3. Where should I submit my XML sitemap?

You can submit it through the Sitemaps report in Google Search Console. You can also reference its location in your robots.txt file.

4. Does submitting a sitemap guarantee Google indexing?

No. Sitemap submission is a discovery hint. Google decides which URLs to crawl and index based on its systems and applicable quality and technical signals.

5. How often should I update my XML sitemap?

If your WordPress setup generates sitemaps automatically, they should update as relevant content changes. You generally do not need to manually recreate the sitemap after every new article.

6. Can I submit multiple sitemaps to Google?

Yes. You can submit multiple individual sitemaps or sitemap index files through Search Console.

7. What is the difference between an XML sitemap and robots.txt?

An XML sitemap lists important URLs that you want search engines to discover. A robots.txt file provides crawling instructions for compatible crawlers. They serve different purposes.

Conclusion

An XML sitemap is a useful part of technical SEO for WordPress websites. It helps search engines discover important pages and gives website owners a way to monitor sitemap processing through Google Search Console.

WordPress already provides a built-in sitemap, while SEO plugins such as Rank Math and Yoast offer additional sitemap management options.

Choose the solution that fits your website, include the correct canonical URLs, submit the sitemap to Google Search Console, and monitor any reported errors.

A properly maintained sitemap, combined with useful content, clear internal linking, and a technically accessible website, provides a strong foundation for search engine discovery.