How to submit a sitemap to Google in WordPress
To submit your WordPress sitemap to Google, open Google Search Console, go to Indexing → Sitemaps, paste your sitemap index URL into Add a new sitemap and click Submit. You do it once. Google then rereads the sitemap on its own schedule, so you do not resubmit every time you publish.
The five minutes that matter are the ones before you click Submit: finding the right URL and checking the sitemap only lists pages you want indexed. This guide covers the task. For the reasoning behind what belongs in a sitemap, read XML sitemap best practices.
Step by step
1. Find your sitemap URL
With Hydrogen SEO, open Hydrogen SEO → Sitemap and use the View Sitemap link on the Sitemap Status card. Copy the URL from there instead of guessing it, because the path differs between plugins.
Without an SEO plugin, WordPress core has served its own sitemap at /wp-sitemap.xml since version 5.5. If you use another SEO plugin, its settings screen shows its sitemap address.
Use one sitemap system. If two plugins both generate sitemaps, pick the one that also controls your robots settings, so the sitemap and your noindex rules agree.
2. Open it and spot-check the contents
Load the URL in a browser. You should see a sitemap index: a short list of child sitemaps such as posts, pages and categories. Open two or three of those and check a few URLs:
- Do they load with a 200 status, not a redirect or a 404?
- Are they the final
httpsaddress, with the samewwwchoice your site uses? - Are they pages you actually want in Google?
Hydrogen SEO leaves out anything set to noindex and all password-protected posts. If a whole type does not belong, such as a custom post type used for internal content, switch it off in the Post Types card and click Save Changes. That screen does not autosave.
3. Make sure robots.txt does not block it
Open yoursite.com/robots.txt. There should be no Disallow rule that matches the sitemap path. Hydrogen SEO adds a Sitemap: line pointing at its sitemap index automatically, which also lets other crawlers find it. To test a specific path, paste your file into the robots.txt tester.
4. Submit the sitemap index in Search Console
- In Search Console, select your property and open Indexing → Sitemaps.
- In Add a new sitemap, enter the sitemap index URL or path.
- Click Submit.
Submit only the index. Google follows it to every child sitemap, and submitting each child individually adds nothing but clutter. If you have not set up Search Console yet, start with how to add Google Search Console to WordPress.
5. Read the status correctly
The sitemap appears in Submitted sitemaps with a status. It can show as pending for a short time.
- Success means Google fetched and parsed the file. It does not mean the URLs are indexed. Indexing is decided per URL, and the Pages report shows those decisions.
- Couldn't fetch means Google could not retrieve the file. Open the exact submitted URL yourself, check for typos and
http/httpsmismatches, and check that no firewall or security plugin blocks Googlebot. It sometimes clears on its own within a day or two. The full checklist is in sitemap troubleshooting.
Click the sitemap row to see Discovered pages. If that number is far from the number of pages you expect, open the sitemap and compare.
6. Remove sitemaps you no longer use
If you switched from another SEO plugin, the old sitemap URL may still be listed and now return a 404 or redirect. Click it, open the menu in the top right and choose Remove sitemap. This only removes it from the report; it does not remove any pages from Google.
7. Submit the same URL to Bing
In Bing Webmaster Tools, open Sitemaps and submit the same sitemap index. If you imported the site from Search Console, the property is already verified.
When to resubmit
Almost never. Resubmit after you fix a Couldn't fetch error, or when your sitemap moves to a new URL, for example after changing SEO plugins or domains. Publishing and updating posts does not require it: Hydrogen SEO clears its sitemap cache when content changes, and Google keeps rereading the file.
If new posts are missing from the live sitemap, a page cache or CDN in front of the site is usually holding an old copy. Purge it and reload the sitemap in a private window.
Common mistakes
- Submitting a sitemap full of URLs you have noindexed. Search Console reports these as submitted but excluded. Keep your robots settings and your sitemap telling the same story.
- Listing old URLs that redirect. The sitemap should contain final destinations only.
- Expecting the sitemap to force indexing. It helps Google discover pages. Pages that are thin or duplicated still get skipped, which shows up as Discovered, currently not indexed or crawled but not indexed.
Common questions
Do I need to resubmit my sitemap every time I publish a post?
No. Google rereads submitted sitemaps periodically, and the sitemap updates itself when you publish. Resubmit only after fixing an error or moving the sitemap.
Should I submit post and page sitemaps separately?
No. Submit the sitemap index and Google follows it to every child sitemap automatically.
The status says Success but my pages are not in Google. Why?
Success only means Google read the file. Check the Pages report and URL Inspection for the reason each page is not indexed.
Where is the WordPress sitemap if I have no SEO plugin?
WordPress core serves one at /wp-sitemap.xml on sites with pretty permalinks. If that URL returns a 404, a plugin or theme has usually disabled it.