sitemap is not found

Hello,

We apologize for the issue you are facing with your sitemap not being found. It seems like there might be a few reasons for this problem. Here are some steps you can take to troubleshoot and potentially resolve the issue:

1. Check if the Sitemap is Enabled: Ensure that the Sitemap module is enabled in Rank Math. You can do this by going to Rank Math Dashboard → Sitemap Settings.

2. Access the Sitemap Directly: Try accessing your sitemap directly by visiting https://yourdomainname.com/sitemap_index.xml. Replace yourdomainname.com with your actual domain name. If this URL returns a 404 error, it indicates that the sitemap is not being generated correctly.

3. Rewrite Rules: If you are using an Apache server, you may need to add rewrite rules to your .htaccess file. Here’s a sample code you can add:

   # 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 Nginx, you will need to add similar rules to your Nginx configuration file.

4. Check for Plugin Conflicts: Sometimes, other plugins can conflict with Rank Math. You can use the Health Check plugin to identify any conflicts.

5. Clear Cache: If you are using a caching plugin, make sure to clear the cache and exclude the sitemap from caching.

6. Check robots.txt: Ensure that your robots.txt file is not blocking access to your sitemap. You can check this in Rank Math SEO → General Settings → robots.txt.

If after trying these steps you still cannot find your sitemap, please reply to this ticket, and a human agent from the Rank Math Support team will assist you further.

Thank you for bringing this concern to our attention!

Sources:
Rank Math Sitemap Issues and Their Fixes » Rank Math

Hello,

We’ve checked your sitemap, and it is already opening fine.

To fix this issue permanently, please follow these steps to flush your sitemap cache:

1. Flush the Sitemap cache by following this video screencast:
https://i.rankmath.com/pipRDp

2. Exclude the Sitemap files of the Rank Math plugin in your caching plugin. The cache could be via a plugin or from the server. For plugins or Cloudflare, please follow this article:
https://rankmath.com/kb/exclude-sitemaps-from-caching/

3. Disable the transient cache for the sitemap by applying this filter. This will make sure that your XML sitemap always reflects the latest changes on your site:

/** 
 * Filter if XML sitemap transient cache is enabled.
 *
 * @param boolean $unsigned Enable cache or not, defaults to true
 */
add_filter( 'rank_math/sitemap/enable_caching', '__return_false');

If you’re not sure how to add this code, you can follow this guide:
https://rankmath.com/kb/wordpress-hooks-actions-filters/

Looking forward to helping you.