Hello,
I’m sorry to hear that you are facing issues with one of your sitemaps showing 404 errors. To resolve this problem, you can follow these steps:
-
Flush the Sitemap Cache: You can try flushing the sitemap cache to ensure that the latest version is being served. You can do this by clearing your browser’s cache or using a private (incognito) window to access the sitemap.
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Fix Sitemap Issues on Litespeed Server: If you are using Litespeed server, ensure that the correct rewrite rules are in place. You may need to add specific rules to your server configuration to handle the sitemap URLs correctly.
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Exclude the Sitemap Files in the Caching Plugin: Since you have already excluded the main sitemap URL from Litespeed caching, make sure that all related sitemap files are also excluded from caching. This will prevent any cached versions of the sitemap from causing 404 errors.
If the issue persists after following these steps, please provide more details or reply to this ticket for further assistance. Our support team is here to help you with any additional questions or concerns you may have.
Thank you for reaching out, and we appreciate your cooperation in resolving this issue.
Best regards.
Sources:
Why the Sitemap_Index.xml is Throwing a 404 Error » Rank Math
How to Fix the Submitted URL Seems to Be a “Soft 404” Error » Rank Math
Hello,
We’ve checked the post, and it is accessible when logged in to your site.
Please note that the sitemap will not remove URLs that are still available in the WordPress backend.
You can either completely delete/unpublish those pages, or set them to noindex and they will be removed from the sitemap.
Looking forward to helping you.
Hi Reinelle
I know they <are available if logged in but they show as 404s for normal users.
I do not want this. Nor do I wish to delete or unpublish the pages.
I want them to be normal.
Please help.
Thanks
Jackie
Hello,
I’m not logged in to your site but the sitemaps are accessible to me:
Please follow this video to flush your sitemap: https://i.rankmath.com/pipRDp
Thank you for your patience and cooperation
Hello,
In this case, you may need to exclude those posts in your sitemap in Rank Math > Sitemap Settings > General.
You may refer to the screencast in the sensitive data section on how to get their post IDs.
Looking forward to helping you.
Hi Reinelle
Why would I want to exclude them?
I want them to be indexed.
Thanks
Jakcie
Hello,
Please note that Google crawls the URLs as a non-logged-in user. Since the URLs return a 404 error, Google will not index them. So, there is no point in including them in the sitemap or setting them to index. If you want those pages to be indexed, you should make them accessible for the logged out users. Otherwise, you should use the option mentioned by my colleague to exclude those URLs from the sitemap to avoid getting 404 errors in your GSC account.
Please do not hesitate to let us know if you need our assistance with anything else.
hi Jaideep
It is a Rank Math sitemap that has caused this. I am looking for the solution
At least this is what GTranslate told me.
I am lost and not sure what I can do as I thought you could help.
Hello,
We investigated this on your website and we can see that the pages are working correctly when logged in, but when we attempt the page, it is showing a different permalink. Here’s a video and some screenshots: https://i.rankmath.com/v/97OgU1
This is not related to Rank Math and is happening even with Rank Math deactivated. We believe the issue might be from your database or a conflicting plugin. Please reach out to your web developer or host and ask why your post is showing on the backend but not showing on the frontend – and why the posts have different post slugs, as shown in the video above.
Thank you for your patience and cooperation
Thank you, Great This is a step in the right direction.
I have contacted my hosting company now and will update you when I have news.
Thanks,
Jackie
Hello,
We’re glad to have been of help. Let us know if you need help with anything else.
Regards
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.
