The Tool Desk
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Find the URL from the WordPress dashboard
- Sign in to WordPress with an account that can access Yoast SEO settings.
- In the left-hand dashboard menu, open Yoast SEO.
- Select Settings, then open Site features.
- Scroll to Technical SEO and locate XML sitemaps.
- Turn the feature on if it is off. Yoast indicates an enabled feature with a purple checkmark.
- Click View the XML sitemap. The sitemap index opens in a new browser view; copy the address from the address bar.
Yoast’s documented instruction is simple: “To view the sitemap, click View the XML sitemap.” If your installed version uses slightly different labels, use the settings navigation or search for XML sitemaps under Site features. Dashboard wording can change between releases, but the control belongs to this Yoast settings area.
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Recognize the normal Yoast sitemap address
For a site at https://example.com, the normal Yoast sitemap index is:
https://example.com/sitemap_index.xml
Replace the example host with your site’s actual domain and preserve the protocol shown in WordPress. If WordPress is installed in a subdirectory, include that path. For example, a site whose WordPress installation lives at https://example.com/blog may use:
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https://example.com/blog/sitemap_index.xml
Yoast also documents a non-pretty form:
https://example.com/?sitemap=1
Use the address opened by View the XML sitemap as the authoritative URL for your configuration rather than guessing from another site. The sitemap index is an XML document containing links to individual sitemap files. Depending on your content and search-visibility settings, those files can cover posts, pages, authors, categories, tags, and other taxonomies.
What the sitemap index contains
An index, not one giant URL list
Opening sitemap_index.xml normally shows a list of sub-sitemaps. Select a child sitemap to inspect the URLs in that content group. A large site may therefore have separate files for posts, pages, or taxonomies instead of listing every URL in the index itself.
Why a page may be missing
Yoast can omit content that has been removed from search results or marked noindex. Missing content is not automatically evidence that sitemap generation failed; first review the content type’s search-visibility setting and the individual page’s indexation setting.
The sitemap does not need to be indexed
Yoast says sitemap responses use an X-Robots-Tag value of noindex, follow. Search engines can fetch and parse the XML even though the sitemap file itself is not intended to appear as a normal indexed search result.
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WordPress core has its own XML sitemap feature, separate from Yoast’s implementation. When Yoast XML sitemaps are enabled, Yoast says it can automatically disable the default WordPress sitemap. Turning off Yoast’s switch does not turn off the core sitemap; WordPress may continue serving its own endpoint.
| Aspect | Yoast sitemap | WordPress core sitemap |
|---|---|---|
| Usual control | Yoast SEO → Settings → Site features → Technical SEO → XML sitemaps | WordPress core feature, controlled separately |
| Usual entry URL | /sitemap_index.xml (or /?sitemap=1) |
Separate core endpoint; the exact structure depends on the WordPress installation |
| Effect of disabling Yoast XML sitemaps | Yoast’s generator is disabled | Core sitemap is not disabled by that action and can remain available |
| Content shown | Shaped by Yoast content and search-visibility settings | Shaped by WordPress core’s own rules |
When submitting a sitemap to a search engine or sharing it with a developer, identify which generator produced the URL. Seeing a WordPress core sitemap does not prove that Yoast’s sitemap feature is active.
Test the URL outside the dashboard
- Copy the address from View the XML sitemap.
- Open a private/incognito browser window and paste it there. This rules out a dashboard-session quirk.
- Confirm that the response is XML and that it contains links to child sitemaps.
- Open one child link and check that it contains URL entries relevant to that content type.
- If you use a search-engine webmaster console, submit the sitemap index URL, not every child file, unless that service specifically asks for individual files.
Do not edit individual sitemap entries to correct a host or protocol problem. Yoast generates URLs from the WordPress Site URL, so correct that setting first.
Troubleshoot a missing or broken sitemap
The XML sitemaps switch or view link is missing
- Confirm Yoast SEO is installed and active.
- Verify that your account can access Yoast settings.
- Open Yoast SEO → Settings → Site features and look under Technical SEO.
- Check whether you are looking at the core WordPress sitemap instead; it can exist even when Yoast’s feature is off.
/sitemap_index.xml returns an error or a normal web page
Try the documented non-pretty form on the same host, /?sitemap=1. If the non-pretty URL works while the pretty URL fails, the server is probably not rewriting the pretty path correctly. Apache and NGINX require different configuration approaches; never paste Apache rules into an NGINX configuration (or the reverse). Yoast’s common XML sitemap errors guidance links to the relevant server-specific diagnostics. If you do not control the server configuration, ask your host or server administrator to check the rewrite setup.
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The sitemap is stale after publishing or deleting content
Yoast says its sitemaps normally update automatically when content changes. A WordPress page-cache plugin, reverse proxy, CDN, or host-level cache can continue serving an older XML response. Exclude sitemap paths from caching according to your cache provider’s instructions, purge existing caches, then reload the index and a child sitemap. Yoast’s troubleshooting guidance also describes disabling and re-enabling the sitemap feature to force an update where applicable; use that as a controlled diagnostic, not as a routine publishing step.
The URL uses the wrong domain or protocol
Yoast says sitemap URLs use the same protocol as the WordPress Site URL. If the sitemap shows http instead of https, or an old host, inspect the WordPress Site URL configuration, your canonical domain and any proxy settings. Fix the site configuration, then clear caches and regenerate the response. Avoid mass-editing generated XML.
A post or page is absent
- Check whether the content type is excluded from search results in Yoast settings.
- Check the page’s individual
noindexsetting. - Check whether the item is a draft, private post, password-protected page, or otherwise unavailable publicly.
- Clear caches if the setting was changed recently.
Yoast intentionally leaves noindex content out of its sitemap, so an omission can be correct behavior.
Operational checks for developers
Use the exact canonical host
Decide whether your public site is served from the www or non-www host and from HTTPS, then ensure WordPress’s Site URL reflects that choice. Redirects may make a guessed URL appear to work while still producing child links on the wrong host.
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Check response headers and status
A successful sitemap request should return an HTTP success response and XML content. Inspect headers when debugging a proxy: confirm that the body is not an HTML login page, maintenance page, bot challenge, or cached old response. The X-Robots-Tag: noindex, follow header is expected for Yoast sitemap XML.
Keep generator ownership clear
Do not run competing sitemap generators without a reason. If both Yoast and WordPress core endpoints are visible, document which one you submit and which plugin or core feature owns it. Different generators can expose different content structures.
Or skip the browser setup
If you need a visual record of the sitemap page or want an automated capture for a build or audit, ScreenshotNeo can return a screenshot from one HTTP request. It accepts the URL, handles the page like a visitor by accepting cookie/consent banners, and removes more than 60 known consent platforms, newsletter popups and chat widgets before capture. Each step can be turned off.
Only clean shots are billed. Bot checks or CAPTCHAs, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads and cache hits cost nothing, and the response identifies the result with X-Page-Verdict and X-Billed headers. Its MCP server lets Claude, Cursor and other MCP clients call take_screenshot, get_page_info and capture_pdf.
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For a sitemap URL, replace the target with your own address:
ScreenshotNeo API documentation
curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://example.com/sitemap_index.xml -o sitemap.webpimport requests
r = requests.get("https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot", params={"access_key": "YOUR_API_KEY", "url": "https://example.com/sitemap_index.xml"}, timeout=90)
open("sitemap.webp", "wb").write(r.content)const q = new URLSearchParams({ access_key: 'YOUR_API_KEY', url: 'https://example.com/sitemap_index.xml' });
const res = await fetch(`https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot?${q}`);The Free plan includes 1,000 shots per month with no card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000 shots. Create a free ScreenshotNeo account.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.FAQ
Can I submit a child sitemap instead of the index?
You can usually submit the index, which points crawlers to its child files. Submit a child file only when your search-engine tool or an operational requirement specifically calls for it.
Will changing a sitemap URL in the XML fix a wrong domain?
No. Yoast generates the links from the WordPress Site URL. Correct that site setting and the hosting or proxy configuration that supplies it, then clear caches.
Why does the sitemap show XML instead of a designed web page?
That is normal. A sitemap is machine-readable XML. Browsers may show a plain tree or raw markup; search engines and other crawlers parse the same response directly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I submit a child sitemap instead of the index?
You can usually submit the index, which points crawlers to its child files. Submit a child file only when your search-engine tool or an operational requirement specifically calls for it.
Will changing a sitemap URL in the XML fix a wrong domain?
No. Yoast generates links from the WordPress Site URL. Correct that setting and the hosting or proxy configuration that supplies it, then clear caches.
Why does the sitemap show XML instead of a designed web page?
That is normal. A sitemap is machine-readable XML, and browsers may display a plain tree or raw markup.
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