Hello, we apologize for the issue you are facing with Rank Math. The error message you are seeing, "XML declaration allowed only at the start of the document," typically indicates that there are extra spaces or blank lines before the XML declaration in your sitemap file.
To resolve this issue, please check the following:
- Check for Blank Spaces: Ensure there are no blank lines or spaces before the
` line in your sitemap file. This could be caused by a blank line in yourwp-config.phpfile or your theme'sfunctions.php` file.
- Plugin Conflicts: If there are no blank spaces, consider checking for plugin conflicts using the Health Check plugin.
- Clear Cache: Make sure to clear any caching plugins you might be using, as they can interfere with the sitemap functionality.
If these steps do not resolve the issue, please reply to this ticket, and a human agent from the Rank Math Support team will assist you further. Thank you for raising this concern!
Sources:
Rank Math Sitemap Issues and Their Fixes » Rank Math
Hello,
Thank you for contacting us and sorry for any inconvenience that might have been caused due to that.
This sitemap error indicates that there must be some white space before the XML Sitemap’s source code. You can also look at the source code of Sitemap and you’ll see there are two extra lines before the XML. This is caused by the blank lines or space in your wp-config.php or functions.php file.
Please follow this troubleshooting guide to fix that issue:
https://rankmath.com/kb/fix-sitemap-issues/#xml-text-declaration
Let us know how it goes. Looking forward to helping you.
Hello,
Since we did not hear back from you for 15 days, we are assuming that you found the solution. We are closing this support ticket.
If you still need assistance or any other help, please feel free to open a new support ticket, and we will be more than happy to assist.
Thank you.
