It’s funny how a plugin on your site will stop working without notice. Sometimes, I get vexed when a plugin tries to mess with my blog simply because I upgraded to its latest version or I upgraded my blog’s platform.
I had a minor issue with my sitemap some few days ago. Well, I wouldn’t call it minor because Google was not indexing my blog for some days due to my sitemap URL was not available.
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WHAAT… how could that have happened you say? My host did an upgrade that lasted for 4 days, so the upgrade affected my blog.
After some few more days, I checked my Google Webmaster tool to discover that my site wasn’t being indexed. How that could have been, beats me.
I quickly checked my sitemap URL and discovered that truly my blog has been running for a while without a sitemap 🙂
Sitemap Index Giving 404 Error? Try These Simple Steps
Okay, I am using the WordPress SEO sitemap to run my blog. I am no more using a stand-alone sitemap plugin because I am watching the weight of my blog 🙂 . Keeping your blog plugin to its minimal is the best way to ensure a healthy blog *****fact*****
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I checked online for a solution to my little but big problem and discovered that many bloggers using the WordPress SEO sitemap get this similar problem. Thank God I am not the only blogger having this problem 😀
Would you like to know how I resolved the sitemap issue? Then continue reading…
TRY THE BELOW STEPS TO RESOLVE THE SITEMAP 404 ERROR
If you are using the WordPress SEO sitemap chances of having a similar problem is high, so following the below steps will help you out…
Okay, first go to your WordPress Admin Dashboard and click “Settings” >>> click “Permalinks”.
In your “Permalink Settings” simply scroll down and click “Save Changes”.
Note: Don’t adjust or change anything, just click the save changes button only and you are done with the first step.
Now check your sitemap URL… has it started working? If yes, let’s go to our Webmaster tool so Google can better index our site once more.
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Go to your Google Webmaster Tool >>> Click “Crawl” >>> Click “Sitemap” >>> Click the box beside your sitemap and click the “Resubmit” button.
You’ll get a message like “Are you sure you want to resubmit 1 sitemaps?” Click the “Yes” button
You will get another message saying “Sitemaps were successfully resubmitted” >>> then click the “Refresh the Page” link.
Wait for some few hours for your sitemap to be processed. After that, you will get indexed and crawled by Google.
Conclusion
If you are using the WordPress SEO sitemap, you might face this problem along the line. Now, here is a backup plan to help and protect your blog 😉
Back to you
Looks like I have said so much about so much on “Sitemap index giving 404 error” now it’s time to pass the keyboard to you guys 🙂
Do you use the WordPress SEO sitemap? Have you faced such problem before? How did you solve the problem? Please, do drop your reply using the comment box below…
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Hello Babanature,
Wow!!! to see that you face such a background problem ehn… anyways, thank God you were able to solve such problem on time.
I am still on the blogger platform and sitemaps are being created and submitted by Google itself…
But you have truly opened our eyes for people who use the WordPress platform.
Thank you for an educative post and do have a nice weekend.
Hello Bello,
You are right, thank God i found the problem and solved it before it could get worst 😉
This problem happen to blogger who uses the WordPress SEO sitemap…
I am sure many will really find it useful 😀
Thanks for the comment… i truly appreciate it. Have a blessed weekend
babanature recently posted…Using your Blog Logo as Favicon to Boost Your Brand
Longest time Baba,
How are you doing? This is really a very awesome tutorial indeed. Although I’ve never encountered such a problem before but i do know how weird it can be.
This is one of the various problems that usually arise on wordpress blogs especially after an upgrade.
Thanks for sharing.
Hello Theodore,
Indeed bro… I am doing good bro. Hope everything is good over there?
You got that right, as long as you’re using the platform, problems are bound to rise from time to time…
Thanks for stopping by and dropping your comment. Do have a wonderful week ahead…
babanature recently posted…Using your Blog Logo as Favicon to Boost Your Brand
Hey Babanature,
I just followed your advice on the 404 error. Thank you this was valuable information for me. I like how you put it little but big problem. I near go into a panic when I get a message from Google. It gets me so confused. I have spent many hours attempting to fix something and never really knowing if I have.
So I will check in a couple of hours to see if this has worked.
Rachel