How to have /sitemap.xml redirect to /sitemap_index.xml

Hello,

I’m sorry to hear that you’re experiencing issues with your sitemap redirection. To have /sitemap.xml redirect to /sitemap_index.xml, you will need to add some rewrite rules manually to your server configuration.

If you are using an Apache web server, you can add the following rewrite rules to your .htaccess file:

# START of Rank Math Sitemap Rewrite Rules
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^sitemap_index.xml$ /index.php?sitemap=1 [L]
RewriteRule ^([^/]+?)-sitemap([0-9]+)?.xml$ /index.php?sitemap=$1&sitemap_n=$2 [L]
RewriteRule ^([a-z]+)?-?sitemap.xsl$ /index.php?xsl=$1 [L]
# END of Rank Math Sitemap Rewrite Rules

If you are using an Nginx web server, you can add the following rewrite rules to your Nginx config file:

# START Nginx Rewrites for Rank Math Sitemaps
rewrite ^/sitemap_index.xml$ /index.php?sitemap=1 last;
rewrite ^/([^/]+?)-sitemap([0-9]+)?.xml$ /index.php?sitemap=$1&sitemap_n=$2 last;
rewrite ^/([a-z]+)?-sitemap.xsl$ /index.php?xsl=$1 last;
# END Nginx Rewrites for Rank Math Sitemaps

Please ensure that you add these rewrite rules correctly to your server configuration. If you’re not sure about adding these rules, I recommend reaching out to your server administrator or hosting support for assistance.

Let me know if you need further help with this!

Sources:
Rank Math Sitemap Issues and Their Fixes » Rank Math
Why the Sitemap_Index.xml is Throwing a 404 Error » Rank Math
Multilingual SEO with Rank Math SEO & WPML » Rank Math
How to Configure Sitemaps in Rank Math – Best Settings and Tips
How to Submit a Sitemap to Google » Rank Math