**Subject: Critical Issue: Sitemap is Frozen at 1000 URLs and Not Updating – Bro

#1099510
  • Hello Rank Math Support Team,

    I am writing to report a critical and persistent issue with the sitemap functionality on my website, fullfundscholarship.com. The sitemap generation process appears to be completely frozen, and no new posts are being added.

    Here is a detailed summary of the situation:

    1. **The Core Problem:** My main post sitemap, post-sitemap1.xml, has reached its limit of 1,000 URLs and is now completely frozen. It correctly contains my latest 1000 posts, but it has stopped adding any new articles published after that point. A new sitemap file (post-sitemap2.xml) is not being created for the new posts.

    2. **The Cause of the Freeze:** I have identified the exact point where the sitemap broke. The generation process stopped immediately after it incorrectly added my main “Posts Archive” page to the sitemap. The problematic URL is: https://fullfundscholarship.com/المقالات/. Ever since this URL was included, the sitemap has not updated.

    3. **Current Status:** I have over 50 new articles that have been published but are not included in any sitemap, which is severely impacting my site’s indexing.

    **Troubleshooting Steps I Have Already Taken (Without Success):**

    I have exhaustively tried every standard and advanced troubleshooting step, including:

    * **Sitemap Settings:** Changing the “Links Per Sitemap Page” value multiple times to force a rebuild.
    * **Permalinks:** Re-saving the permalinks structure multiple times.
    * **Rank Math Database Tools:** Using the tools under Status & Tools to “Clear Transients,” “Re-create Database Tables,” and “Clear SEO Analysis.”
    * **Plugin/Theme Conflict:** Using the “Health Check & Troubleshooting” plugin to disable all other plugins and switch to a default WordPress theme. The problem persisted even with only Rank Math active.
    * **Re-installation:** Completely deactivating, deleting, and reinstalling the Rank Math plugin. The issue returned immediately upon re-activation, indicating the faulty setting is likely stored in the database.
    * **Exclusion Attempts:** I tried to set the Posts Archive page to noindex via Titles & Meta settings, but this did not remove the problematic URL from the sitemap or fix the freeze.

    It seems there is a stubborn entry or a bug that is forcing the inclusion of the posts archive URL, which in turn breaks the entire sitemap generation logic.

    Could you please provide assistance on how to forcefully remove this specific URL and reset the sitemap generation process? I believe I need a more direct way to clean up the corrupted sitemap data from my database.

    Thank you for your time and assistance.

    Best regards.

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)
  • Hello,

    We apologize for the issue you are facing with your sitemap functionality. It sounds like a frustrating situation, especially with the impact on your site’s indexing.

    Based on your description, it seems that the inclusion of the "Posts Archive" page in your sitemap may have caused the generation process to freeze. Here are a few steps you can take to try and resolve this issue:

    1. Check Sitemap Settings: Ensure that the problematic URL is not set to be included in the sitemap. You can do this by going to Rank Math SEO → Sitemap Settings and checking the options for each type of post/taxonomy.

    2. Flush Permalinks Again: Sometimes, simply re-saving permalinks can help. Go to Settings → Permalinks and click “Save Changes” again.

    3. Clear Cache: If you are using any caching plugins, make sure to clear the cache after making changes to your sitemap settings.

    4. Check for Custom Canonicals: If you have set custom canonical URLs for any posts, ensure that they are not conflicting with the sitemap generation.

    5. Manual Sitemap Regeneration: You might want to try manually regenerating the sitemap by temporarily disabling the sitemap feature in Rank Math, saving changes, and then re-enabling it.

    If these steps do not resolve the issue, we recommend replying to this ticket with any additional details or errors you may encounter. A human agent from our support team will take over and provide further assistance.

    Thank you for bringing this concern to our attention, and we hope to resolve it swiftly for you!

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

    This is an automated reply from Rank Math Support Bot. Your ticket has been assigned to a human agent and we will get back to you shortly.

    Re: Critical Issue: Sitemap is Frozen at 1000 URLs and Not UpdatingHello,Thank you for your reply.I want to confirm that I have already performed all the steps you suggested before contacting you, and the problem still persists.To be specific:Sitemap Settings: I have checked all post types and taxonomies. The problematic URL (•/المقالات/) is not something I can manually exclude from the settings.Permalinks: I have re-saved the permalinks multiple times.•Cache: I have no caching plugins, and I have cleared all server-level cache.•Canonical URLs: I am not using custom canonicals that would interfere.•Manual Rebuild: I have disabled and re-enabled the sitemap feature multiple times.•As stated in my original ticket, the issue is that the sitemap generation process is broken and frozen at the point where it tries to process the posts archive URL. Standard troubleshooting steps are not working.Please escalate this ticket to a technical support agent who can investigate the database issue or provide a code snippet to forcefully exclude the problematic URL from the sitemap query.Thank you.

    Hello,

    Thank you for contacting us. We apologize for any inconvenience that may have been caused.

    Please apply the following filter to your site.

    add_filter( 'rank_math/sitemap/enable_caching', '__return_false');
    

    Here’s how you can add a filter/hook to your WordPress site:
    https://rankmath.com/kb/wordpress-hooks-actions-filters/

    Once done, clear your website cache and check the sitemap again.

    Let us know how it goes. We look forward to hearing from you.

    Thank you.

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)

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