error on line 2 at column 6: XML declaration allowed only at the start of the do

  • Resolved Rajeev Rajan

    (@rajeevrf)


    3 years, 1 month ago

    I am getting the below error when viewing the Sitemap Index URL @ https://comparethehealth.com/sitemap_index.xml
    “error on line 2 at column 6: XML declaration allowed only at the start of the document”
    I went through through the doumentation provided by your team for this issue and done all the steps mentioned there. I checked for empty spaces on top or on bottom of WP Config and Functions.php. Nothing over there. I installed the Health Check and TroubleShooting plugin and deactivated all plugins and themes with only the Default theme enabled. I get this issue only when the YOAST SEO plugin is enabled and not any other plugins or theme.

    The page I need help with: [log in to see the link]

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)
  • Plugin Support Michael Ti?a

    (@mikes41720)

    Hi @rajeevrf

    We understand you are getting the ‘error on line 2 at column 6: XML declaration allowed only at the start of the document’ error, and we can confirm that when viewing your sitemap index (https://comparethehealth.com/sitemap_index.xml). We do see the empty whitespace when viewing the page source of your sitemap.

    You can learn more about it here – https://yoast.com/help/xml-sitemap-error/

    You’ve mentioned that you’ve already checked your files, and have performed a conflict check with a default WP theme and only the Yoast SEO plugin.

    Did you already clear your cache?

    You may also need to clear your cache from your plugins/theme/CDN such as Cloudflare/server caching etc. If you are not sure how to clear cache, please speak with your developers or contact your host provider.

    Otherwise, we may need to investigate this further, which we are unable to do so over these public forums. You may want to consider Yoast SEO Premium so we can take a closer look at this.

    Plugin Support devnihil

    (@devnihil)

    We are going ahead and marking this issue as resolved due to inactivity. If you require any further assistance please create a new issue.

    Thread Starter Rajeev Rajan

    (@rajeevrf)

    I am not sure how this issue can be marked as resolved. I am just leaving this comment here to let others know that this issue is not yet solved and if someone else face this same issue, they can refer this.

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