Easy XML Sitemap

FAQ

Where is the sitemap?

The main sitemap index is:
– /easy-sitemap/sitemap.xml

This index lists all enabled sitemap endpoints.

Does it support Custom Post Types?

Yes. In v2.0.0 you can enable/disable all public custom post types in Settings → Easy Sitemap → Post Types.
Each enabled post type is published at:
– /easy-sitemap/{posttype}.xml

Can it include images in the sitemap?

Yes. Enable “Include Images” in Settings → Easy Sitemap → Media.
The plugin includes:
– Featured images
– Images found in post content (<img src="...">)

Can it include videos in the sitemap?

Yes, but this is intentionally conservative to avoid generating invalid video sitemap entries.
Enable “Include Videos” in Settings → Easy Sitemap → Media.

Notes:
– YouTube embeds are supported with reliable thumbnails.
– Self-hosted video can be included when a thumbnail is available.
– Vimeo thumbnails require API access; this plugin avoids external dependencies and only includes Vimeo when a reliable thumbnail is available (fallback uses featured image when possible).

Why does it say it detected Yoast SEO or Rank Math? Will there be conflicts?

Yoast SEO and Rank Math often generate their own sitemaps.
Running multiple sitemaps can confuse site owners and crawlers.

Easy XML Sitemap:
– does NOT disable Yoast/Rank Math automatically
– does NOT override their settings
– does NOT intercept their sitemap URLs
– simply warns you clearly so you can choose which sitemap to use

Recommendation:
Use only one sitemap solution and submit the chosen sitemap in Google Search Console.

Does the plugin ping search engines automatically?

Yes. When enabled (Advanced tab), the plugin pings search engines after content updates.
It uses a debounce delay so that multiple updates in a short time trigger only one ping.

You can configure:
– enable/disable auto ping
– choose engines (Google/Bing)
– debounce delay (minutes)

What does the Status page show?

Settings → Easy Sitemap → Status shows technical diagnostics:
– last generation timestamp
– URL count from last generation
– generation time
– total hits and hits by endpoint type
– last ping time, engine and status

This is not SEO analytics — it is technical health information.

What WP-CLI commands are available?

The plugin provides a minimal set of WP-CLI commands:

• wp easy-sitemap status
  Shows last generation stats and hit counters.

• wp easy-sitemap regenerate
  Clears cache so the sitemap is regenerated on next request.

• wp easy-sitemap clear-cache
  Clears cache immediately.

These are useful after large imports, deployments, or troubleshooting.

Does it affect robots.txt?

If enabled, the plugin adds the sitemap index URL to WordPress’ virtual robots.txt output.
This does not modify a physical robots.txt file on disk.

My sitemap returns 404. What should I do?

Most common causes:
1) Permalink rules not flushed
2) Cached rewrite rules on the site

Fix:
– Go to Settings → Permalinks and click “Save” (without changes), or
– Use the “Regenerate All Sitemaps” button, or
– Run wp rewrite flush --hard and wp easy-sitemap regenerate