Your sitemap URL is almost always https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml. If you're running WordPress with Yoast SEO, Rank Math, or All in One SEO, that URL already works. The plugin generates it automatically and keeps it updated as you publish. You don't need a separate plugin for sitemaps if you already have an SEO plugin active. Submit that URL to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools and you're done.
Find your current sitemap URL
Try these in order:
- Yoast SEO:
yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml - Rank Math:
yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml - All in One SEO:
yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml - No SEO plugin, block editor site: WordPress core generates a basic sitemap on many modern installs, at
yourdomain.com/wp-sitemap.xml. No setup required.
Load the URL in a browser. A real sitemap returns XML, either a plain list of page URLs or an index file that links out to several smaller sitemaps (posts, pages, categories). If you get a 404, work through the fixes below.
If there's no sitemap yet
Check whether an SEO plugin is already active first, since duplicate sitemap generators conflict with each other and confuse search engines about which one is authoritative. Open wp-admin → Plugins and look for Yoast, Rank Math, or All in One SEO.
If one is active but the sitemap 404s, the setting is usually off. In Yoast: SEO → General → Features, confirm XML sitemaps is enabled. In Rank Math: Rank Math → Sitemap Settings, confirm it's toggled on.
If none is active and you don't want to install one, confirm WordPress core's built-in sitemap is reachable at yourdomain.com/wp-sitemap.xml. On most WordPress installs it's automatic, no configuration needed, and it's enough for most sites. Reach for a full SEO plugin only if you want control over what's included and excluded, custom priorities, or the other SEO features bundled with it (meta descriptions, redirects, schema).
Submit it to Google and Bing
Sitemaps don't get you indexed by themselves. They tell search engines what exists and when it last changed, which speeds up discovery.
- Google Search Console: verify your domain if you haven't already, then go to
Sitemapsin the left sidebar, enter the path after your domain (sitemap.xmlorsitemap_index.xml), and click Submit. Status should flip to "Success" within a few minutes to a day. - Bing Webmaster Tools: same idea, under
Sitemapsin the sidebar. Bing results also feed some of Yahoo and DuckDuckGo, so this one submission covers more ground than it looks.
You only need to submit once. The plugin or WordPress core updates the sitemap's contents automatically every time you publish, update, or delete content. Search engines recrawl it periodically on their own schedule.
Common problems
Sitemap 404s even though a plugin should generate one
Usually a permalinks issue. Go to wp-admin → Settings → Permalinks and click Save Changes without changing anything. This flushes WordPress's rewrite rules, which is what actually serves the sitemap URL. If that doesn't fix it, deactivate and reactivate the SEO plugin to force it to re-register its routes.
Pages you don't want indexed are showing up
Most SEO plugins let you exclude specific post types, categories, or individual posts from the sitemap in their settings. This is separate from noindex tags. A page can be excluded from the sitemap and still get crawled if something links to it, so pair sitemap exclusion with a noindex meta tag on any page you genuinely don't want search engines to show.
Sitemap shows old URLs after a redesign or URL change
Give it a few minutes. Sitemap plugins regenerate on content changes, but there can be a short delay, or something in front of your site holding an old version. Big structural changes are safer to test on a staging copy first, since a sitemap full of broken links after a botched URL migration is worse than no sitemap at all.
Submitted but Search Console shows errors
Click into the sitemap entry in Search Console to see which specific URLs failed and why, usually a redirect chain, a 404, or a page blocked by robots.txt. Fix the underlying page, not the sitemap; the sitemap only reflects what your site actually serves.
When to contact support
If your sitemap 404s after flushing permalinks and reactivating the plugin, open a ticket from the portal under Support → New ticket. It's a real person, not a bot, and they can check the server directly.