sitemap_index.html is invalid

#1115000
  • Resolved Brad Butlley

    1 month, 3 weeks ago

    Rank Math free

    Having this error in my sitemap page:
    https://medsurgbanks.com/sitemap_index.xml

    This page contains the following errors:
    error on line 6 at column 6: XML declaration allowed only at the start of the document
    Below is a rendering of the page up to the first error.

    When I view page source, I see this on line 1:
    <?xml version=”1.0″ encoding=”UTF-8″?><?xml-stylesheet type=”text/xsl” href=”//medsurgbanks.com/main-sitemap.xsl”?>

    The XSL stylesheet declaration is on the SAME LINE as the XML declaration, which breaks XML validation.

    I’ve tried:
    – Adding filter: add_filter(‘rank_math/sitemap/enable_xsl’, ‘__return_false’); in functions.php
    – Flushing permalinks multiple times
    – Clearing Rank Math cache
    – Checking for plugin conflicts
    – Nothing works

    The sitemap is being rejected by XML validators and may affect Google Search Console indexing.

    Please advise how to fix this issue or disable the XSL stylesheet properly.

    Thank you!

Viewing 2 replies - 1 through 2 (of 2 total)
  • RankBot

    1 month, 3 weeks ago

    Hello,

    We apologize for the issue you are facing with your sitemap. The error you are encountering indicates that there is a problem with the XML declaration due to the XSL stylesheet declaration being on the same line. This can indeed cause validation issues and affect indexing in Google Search Console.

    To resolve this issue, you can try the following steps:

    1. Check for Whitespace: Ensure that there are no blank lines or spaces before the `

    Sources:
    Rank Math Sitemap Issues and Their Fixes Ā» Rank Math
    Why the Sitemap_Index.xml is Throwing a 404 Error Ā» Rank Math

    Reinelle

    1 month, 3 weeks ago

    Hello,

    The most common reason for this error is a whitespace in your theme code, such as a blank line or space in your wp-config.php file or your themeā€™s functions.php file. This can happen when you edit these files manually or use a plugin or theme that modifies them.

    To fix this error, you need to find and remove the whitespace from your theme code.

    If the issue persists, you can also use this script to automatically fix this error: https://wejn.org/stuff/wejnswpwhitespacefix.php.html

    Looking forward to helping you.

    RankBot

    3 weeks, 4 days ago

    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.

Viewing 2 replies - 1 through 2 (of 2 total)

The ticket ‘sitemap_index.html is invalid’ is closed to new replies.