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Troubleshooting 404 Errors in Your XML Sitemap

39 threads Sep 16, 2025 Plugin → Xml sitemap generator for google

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Encountering a "404 Not Found" error for your XML sitemap or the URLs within it is a common issue reported by users of the 'XML Sitemap Generator for Google' plugin. This problem can prevent search engines from properly indexing your site and often appears in tools like Google Search Console. Based on community reports, here are the most frequent causes and their solutions.

Why Do Sitemap 404 Errors Happen?

These errors typically occur because the physical sitemap.xml file cannot be found at the expected location, or the URLs listed inside the sitemap are returning a 404 status code. Common triggers include incorrect WordPress configuration, conflicts with other plugins, and server-level caching.

Common Solutions to Fix Sitemap 404s

1. Verify Your Permalink Structure

The 'XML Sitemap Generator for Google' plugin requires a specific WordPress configuration to function. A frequent cause of a missing /sitemap.xml file is an incompatible permalink setting.

  • Action: In your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Settings > Permalinks.
  • Ensure you are not using the "Plain" (default) setting. Select any other option, such as "Post name," and save the changes. This refresh often resolves the issue by allowing the plugin's rewrite rules to work correctly.

2. Resolve Plugin and Caching Conflicts

Caching plugins are a common source of sitemap problems. They can serve an old, cached version of the sitemap or, in some cases, cache a 404 response.

  • Action: If you use a caching plugin (e.g., W3 Total Cache, WP Super Cache), clear its entire cache.
  • Look for a setting to exclude the sitemap file from being cached. You often need to add sitemap.xml or sitemap(*).xml to a "Never cache the following pages" list.
  • As a test, temporarily deactivate your caching plugin and check if the sitemap becomes accessible. If it does, you've confirmed the conflict and can adjust your caching settings accordingly.

3. Manually Rebuild the Sitemap

If your site content has changed significantly, the sitemap may need to be manually regenerated to remove outdated URLs that now lead to 404 errors.

  • Action: In your WordPress admin area, go to Settings > XML Sitemap.
  • Click the "Build sitemap" or similar button to force a rebuild. This process should remove URLs for content that has been deleted or is no longer published.

4. Check for Incorrectly Included Pages

The sitemap should only include publicly accessible content. If it includes URLs for drafts, private posts, or pages behind a paywall, those links will likely result in 404 or 403 errors when Googlebot tries to crawl them.

  • Action: Review the plugin's settings to ensure it is not configured to index non-public content. Pay special attention to post types and taxonomies that might have special visibility rules.

5. Investigate Multisite and Subdirectory Installations

For WordPress Multisite installations or sites running in a subdirectory, the sitemap's path can sometimes be misconfigured.

  • Action: For a site in a subdirectory (e.g., example.com/blog/), the sitemap should typically be available at example.com/blog/sitemap.xml. Ensure you are submitting the correct, full path to Google Search Console.
  • If you have applied custom tweaks to change the sitemap's base URL, double-check those settings for accuracy, as an error here can cause the main sitemap index to reference sub-sitemaps at incorrect locations.

What to Do After Applying Fixes

After working through these steps, revisit Google Search Console (or other webmaster tools) to monitor the situation.

  1. Resubmit Your Sitemap: In Search Console, remove the old sitemap URL and then add it again. This prompts Google to recrawl it.
  2. Be Patient: It can take some time for Google to process the updated sitemap and re-crawl the URLs. Monitor the "Coverage" report for updates.

By systematically checking these common areas, you can usually identify and resolve the cause of 404 errors in your XML sitemap.

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