Fixing sitemap.xml not found issues
The process of making a sitemap in either XML or HTML is now simple. Numerous sitemap generators and plugins are available for anyone to use. However, you could still face various issues if your work is not correctly structured and submitted. If that happens you may get the 404 error Page Not Found.
One issue that could be creating the error is the All in One SEO sitemap viewer. All in One SEO’s inability to create a sitemap, resulting in a 404 error in WordPress, could be attributed to a few different factors. Follow the diagnostic steps below to see if making All in One SEO corrections will clear up the Page Not Found error.
Step 1 – Ensure the sitemap is enable
First, make sure that the sitemap is enabled by:
- Going to All in One SEO » Sitemaps
- Click on the tab for the sitemap you are having issues with
- Check to see if the sitemap toggle is in the ‘On’ position. If not, turn it on by clicking the toggle.
Once the sitemap is enabled you can examine it by clicking the ‘Open Sitemap’ button. Are you using the Video Sitemap and the News Sitemap within All in One SEO? In that case, you should use the primary XML Sitemap within All in One SEO.
Step 2 – Double check the content
Have you checked to ensure that the sitemap includes all of the information published on your website? Verify that the Post Types and Taxonomies options reflect the content that should be included in your sitemap.
If this is a News Sitemap, then the content you provide must have been published within the last two days, at the very latest. Due to the standards set forth by Google, any content that is older than this will not be featured in the News Sitemap.
Step 3 – Make sure Noindex has been assigned to the content
All in One SEO excludes content that has been set to Noindex. Information will be excluded from the sitemap if you have:
- Enabled Noindex using the Robots Meta options in Search Appearance.
- Enabled Noindex on your page.
- Marked ‘Show in Search Rankings’ as ‘No’.
Step 4 – Make sure permalinks aren’t set to ‘Plain’
If you are using a version of All in One SEO that’s 4.2.2 or older, then “pretty permalinks” are the only kind of permalinks that will work with sitemaps. Navigate to the section of your website titled Settings » Permalinks, and check to see that it has not defaulted to Plain.
Step 5 – XML or XSL are both included in the CDN plugin
Whether you are utilizing a CDN service or CDN plugin, uninstalling the plugin or service may resolve the issue. Try clicking the “Activate” button on the plugin or service to uninstall.
XML and XSL URLs are included in some CDN services and plugins when they really shouldn’t be. If caching is done at the server level, then you need to get in touch with the plugin developer, the service provider, and/or your hosting company to learn how to exclude XML and XSL URLs from being cached.
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