First, I recommend clearing all caches, including any server-level cache, to ensure that you’re not seeing an outdated version of your website or sitemap. Clearing the cache helps refresh all stored data and might resolve issues related to the sitemap not being found after optimizations. Server-level caching, in particular, can sometimes retain old data that conflicts with the changes made during optimizations.
After clearing the cache, it’s important to check your permalinks. Sometimes, the permalink structure can get disrupted after running optimizations, which might affect your sitemap’s accessibility. You can easily reset them by going to the Settings menu in your WordPress dashboard, selecting Permalinks, and then clicking “Save Changes” without making any actual changes to the settings. This simple step can often help restore proper functionality.
Do you have any SEO plugins installed? If you’re using a plugin like Yoast SEO, you can regenerate the sitemap to ensure that it is correctly refreshed after the optimizations.
