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The quickest method: in WordPress, go to Yoast SEO → Settings → Site features, turn on XML sitemaps, then select View the XML sitemap. Yoast normally publishes the sitemap index at https://your-domain.example/sitemap_index.xml. Submit that index URL—not each child file—to Google Search Console.
Turn on Yoast XML sitemaps
- Sign in to your WordPress administration area.
- Open Yoast SEO in the left-hand menu.
- Select Settings.
- Open Site features.
- Scroll to Technical SEO and switch XML sitemaps on. Yoast displays a purple checkmark when the feature is enabled.
- Select View the XML sitemap. This opens the sitemap index in a new browser tab.
If you do not see the link, save the setting, reload the page, and check that Yoast SEO is active and up to date. A cache or security plugin can also prevent the link or generated XML from appearing immediately.
Find your Yoast sitemap URL
The standard pretty URL is:
https://your-domain.example/sitemap_index.xmlReplace the domain with the exact WordPress site address, including the intended HTTPS scheme and hostname. For example, if the canonical site uses https://www.example.com, submit https://www.example.com/sitemap_index.xml rather than an HTTP or non-www variant.
The index is an XML document that links to separate files. Depending on the content types that are eligible for indexing, those files can cover posts, pages, custom post types, authors and taxonomies. You normally submit only the index; Google can discover the child sitemaps from it.
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Check what Yoast has included
Open the index URL and follow its child links. A URL generally appears only when it is eligible for indexing. Yoast excludes URLs that are:
- Marked
noindex. - Private or password-protected.
- Redirected.
- Assigned a different manual canonical URL.
- Search-result pages or non-public archives.
- On a site configured to discourage search-engine indexing.
This means a missing URL is not automatically a sitemap failure. First decide whether the page should be indexable. If it should, inspect that page’s indexability and canonical settings before changing the sitemap itself.
Sitemap size and splitting
Yoast’s current technical specification uses a default maximum of 1,000 items per sitemap. Larger sites are split into additional files; the specification allows up to 50,000 additional sitemap files. The index keeps those files discoverable, so you do not need to combine them manually.
| File or setting | Purpose | What to check |
|---|---|---|
/sitemap_index.xml |
Index of the generated child sitemaps | Returns XML and lists the expected content groups |
| Post, page or custom-type sitemap | Lists eligible URLs for that content type | Important published URLs are present |
| Author or taxonomy sitemap | Lists eligible public archives | Archives you intentionally expose are indexable |
| Yoast indexability controls | Determines whether content is eligible | No accidental noindex, redirect or canonical mismatch |
Submit sitemap_index.xml in Google Search Console
- Open Google Search Console and select the property that exactly matches your site’s protocol and host (for example, HTTPS and
www). - In the left navigation, open Sitemaps.
- Enter
sitemap_index.xmlin the sitemap submission field when Search Console has already displayed your site’s base URL. If it asks for a complete address, enter the fullhttps://your-domain.example/sitemap_index.xmlURL. - Select Submit.
- Review the resulting status and the date Google last read the file. Open the submitted sitemap entry for any reported fetch or parsing details.
Submit the index once. Yoast’s index points Google to the individual files, and Search Console reports when Google checks the submission and whether it found issues. A sitemap is a discovery aid, not a request to index every listed URL.
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How Yoast keeps the sitemap current
Yoast updates the index and its child sitemaps automatically as eligible content is added or removed. You should not regenerate XML by hand after publishing a post. If an expected change is not visible, request the URL again in your browser after clearing relevant caches, then investigate page, server or reverse-proxy caching.
Automatic generation does not override indexability decisions. Changing a page to noindex, making it private, adding a redirect, or changing its canonical URL can remove it from the sitemap even while the sitemap system is working correctly.
Troubleshoot a missing URL, blank sitemap or fetch error
A page is missing from the sitemap
- Open the page in WordPress and check Yoast SEO → Advanced for a
noindexdirective. - Verify the page’s canonical URL. A canonical pointing elsewhere can make the page ineligible for the sitemap.
- Check whether Yoast Premium Redirect Manager sends the URL to another address.
- Confirm the content is published, public and not password-protected.
- Check the relevant post type or taxonomy settings in Yoast’s Site features and content controls.
The sitemap does not show recent changes
Inspect page caching, server caching and any CDN or reverse-proxy cache. Purge the affected cache, then reload both the index and the child sitemap that should contain the URL. A stale cached XML response can make a correctly generated sitemap appear outdated.
The browser shows a blank page or no URLs
Look at the response source rather than only the styled browser view. Check whether the XML or its XSL presentation is being blocked, whether the response contains malformed XML, and whether a cache or optimization plugin is replacing the response with an empty document. Temporarily bypass the cache and test the index and a child sitemap separately.
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- Make sure the submitted URL is publicly reachable without a login and uses the same protocol and host as the Search Console property.
- Review
robots.txtfor a crawl block affecting the sitemap or its URLs. - Check server logs and firewall rules for blocked Google requests, authentication challenges or rate limits.
- Confirm the response is valid XML with a successful HTTP response rather than an HTML error page.
The pretty URL returns a server error
Yoast documents Apache and NGINX rewrite configurations for sitemap requests. If the query-string form works but /sitemap_index.xml fails, the web-server rewrite setup is the likely fault. Have the server administrator compare the active rewrite rules with Yoast’s documented rules, then retest after configuration changes. Back up the server configuration before editing it.
The domain or protocol is wrong
WordPress stores both a WordPress Address (URL) and a Site Address (URL). They should use the intended HTTP/HTTPS and www/non-www format. Correcting these values can affect every generated link, so back up the database and files before any database search-and-replace operation.
| Symptom | Likely cause | First action |
|---|---|---|
| One URL absent | noindex, canonical, redirect or privacy setting |
Inspect the page’s Yoast Advanced and publication settings |
| Old URL list | Page, server, CDN or plugin cache | Purge caches and reload the index and child file |
| Empty or styled blank view | Invalid XML, unavailable XSL or altered response | Inspect raw response and test without cache/optimization |
| Google fetch failure | Robots, firewall, authentication or HTTP error | Test public access and review logs and robots.txt |
| Pretty path fails, query form works | Apache or NGINX rewrite problem | Review the server rewrite configuration |
Customize Yoast sitemap output (developer option)
Most site owners should use Yoast’s Settings and each content type’s indexability controls. Developers who need custom exclusions or a bespoke URL set can use Yoast’s documented developer filters and APIs to alter sitemap entries and URL sets. Treat customization as application code: keep it in version control, document why each URL is included or excluded, and retest after Yoast, WordPress or server upgrades.
Do not remove URLs by editing generated XML directly. Yoast will regenerate the file, and manual edits will be lost. Change the source rule—indexability, canonical, redirect, public status or a supported developer hook—instead.
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Operational checks after setup
- Open the index and at least one child sitemap from an unauthenticated browser session.
- Confirm the response is XML, not a login page, cached HTML error or firewall challenge.
- Check a representative new post, updated page, custom post type and public archive.
- After major URL, migration or server changes, revisit the Search Console sitemap status.
- Keep the submitted index URL stable while correcting the site’s canonical protocol and host.
Or skip the browser setup
ScreenshotNeo is not a sitemap generator; Yoast still creates the XML. It can provide a clean remote screenshot of the generated index or a child sitemap when you need to inspect how the response renders without opening a local browser. Before capture it accepts cookie or consent banners and removes more than 60 known consent platforms, newsletter popups and chat widgets. Bot checks, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads and cache hits are not billed, and the response identifies the page verdict and billing status in X-Page-Verdict and X-Billed headers. Its MCP server lets Claude, Cursor and other MCP clients call screenshot tools directly.
Use the API endpoint and replace the example URL with your sitemap URL. The request returns an image; it does not alter the sitemap.
See the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for authentication and options.
cURL
curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://your-domain.example/sitemap_index.xml -o sitemap.webpPython
import requests
r = requests.get("https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot", params={"access_key": "YOUR_API_KEY", "url": "https://your-domain.example/sitemap_index.xml"}, timeout=90)
r.raise_for_status()
open("sitemap.webp", "wb").write(r.content)Node.js
const fs = require('node:fs/promises');
const q = new URLSearchParams({ access_key: 'YOUR_API_KEY', url: 'https://your-domain.example/sitemap_index.xml' });
const res = await fetch(`https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot?${q}`);
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`${res.status} ${res.statusText}`);
await fs.writeFile('sitemap.webp', Buffer.from(await res.arrayBuffer()));The Free plan includes 1,000 screenshots per month with no card. Paid plans start at $5 for 3,000 screenshots; every feature is available on every plan. Create a free ScreenshotNeo account.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a Yoast sitemap guarantee that Google will index every URL?
No. It helps Google discover eligible URLs, but indexing still depends on Google’s systems, page quality, canonical signals, crawl access and other signals.
Should I submit each post sitemap separately in Search Console?
Usually no. Submit the Yoast sitemap index so Google can follow its child sitemap links.
Can I edit sitemap_index.xml directly?
No. Yoast regenerates the file. Change indexability, canonical, redirect or supported developer settings instead.
What should I do after moving from HTTP to HTTPS?
Verify the HTTPS property in Search Console, ensure WordPress URLs and redirects use HTTPS, then submit the HTTPS sitemap index.
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