Unknown Sitemap error

HI @zoogee

I hope you’re well today!

Do you see that message in the “SmartCrawl -> SEO Health” report or after running “Troubleshoot Sitemap” option in “SmartCrawl -> Sitemaps -> Settings” page?

I believe it might be the second one and if so, sometimes it actually is a false alarm related to the server performance (as this option also regenerates entire sitemap from scratch).

However, could you please just share an URL of your site’s sitemap so we could take a look at it directly?

Sitemaps are XML formatted files so usually just checking that directly on site can help a lot in finding out if there really is an issue and what it is.

Kind regards,
Adam

I see it after running the trouble shoot, as I get a pop up on every page at the top saying: Hey, admin! A problem on your site is preventing sitemaps from functioning properly. Identify and resolve any issues with SmartCrawl’s Sitemap Troubleshooting feature. So I do the trouble shoot and end up getting this error every time. https://www.zoogee.com/sitemap.xml/ however it gives me a 404 error, so it’s not working. Not sure what to do.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 2 months ago by zoogee.

I could be wrong, but I think that’s the problem, it’s not generating a sitemap like it should be.

Hi @zoogee

Thank you for response!

Yes, this seems to be related to the lack of actual sitemap but I don’t think it’s the case of plugin not generating it.

SmartCrawl doesn’t physically generate sitemap.xml file in a root folder. Instead it uses internal WordPress redirects to serve the sitemap in a dynamic way. Since you provided site/sitemap URL I was able to check and I can confirm that the sitemap itself is correctly generated; you can see it here:

https://www.zoogee.com/index.php?wds_sitemap=1&wds_sitemap_type=index

So it looks like those redirects are not working and, additionally, the 404 message seems to be coming from the server.

So to start with, please try a simple thing:

1. go to “Settings -> Permalinks” page in your site’s back-end and just re-save permalink settings (no need to change anything, simply re-save them as they are)

2. then clear all cache on site/server (if there is any cache used

3. then go to the “Dashboard -> Home” page and look for the widget titled “Sitemaps -> SmartCrawl”; there should be a small “Update sitemap now” link there – so click on it and wait until it completes (it will be rather fast)

4. after that clear all cache again and just visit sitemap URL to see if sitemap shows up.

In most cases this process solves such issues but if you still see the very same 404 messages after that, please consult with your host if there’s any kind of “fixed” redirect or rewrite rule added in server configuration for “forced” serving of physical sitemap.xml file from the root folder of the domain.

It’d be a rare case but it does happen with some hosts and if so, such rule must be disabled and then the steps that I shared above would work.

Alternatively, you can also just use the direct URL that I shared. It’s not “pretty” but should work just fine as there’s no requirement for the sitemap to be at “domain.com/sitemap.xml” for as long as it’s accessible and returns properly formatted sitemap XML.

Best regards,
Adam

This might sound like a stupid question, but how to I clear the cache? I also don’t see that update option on the dashboard – Home page

HI @zoogee

It’s a fair question but I mentioned clearing cache “by default” as I don’t know if you/your site is actually using any.

In general:

– if you have any caching plugin (e.g. our own Hummingbird, or a plugin such as e.g. W3 Total Cache or similar) installed – you should see an option in site’s back-end
– it’s worth checking cPanel or whatever server management panel you are using as there’s also often option to clear/purge server level cache (that is, if there is any used)
– and finally, you can also confirm with your host support if there is any server-side cache active and how to clear it.

It’s also possible that there is no cache used for the site in which case you simply skip the steps related to cache clearing (but still go through all others that I outlined).

Best regards,
Adam

Thanks. I will check with the host, as I followed all your steps above and still no luck.

Hi @zoogee,

Please check with your host and let us know the results accordingly.

Kind regards,
Zafer

Hello @zoogee ,

We haven’t heard from you for over a week now, so it looks like you no longer need our assistance.

Feel free to re-open this ticket if needed.

Kind regards
Kasia