FAQ

How can I fully disable sitemap generation?

If you update the WordPress settings to discourage search engines from indexing your site, sitemaps will be disabled.
Alternatively, use the wp_sitemaps_enabled filter, or use remove_action( 'init', 'wp_sitemaps_get_server' ); to disable initialization of any sitemap functionality.

How can I disable sitemaps for a certain object type?

You can use the wp_sitemaps_register_providers filter to disable sitemap generation for posts, users, or taxonomies.

How can I disable sitemaps for a certain post type or taxonomy?

You can use the wp_sitemaps_post_types filter to disable sitemap generation for posts of a certain post type.

By default, only public posts will be represented in the sitemap.

Similarly, the wp_sitemaps_taxonomies filter can be used to disable sitemap generation for certain taxonomies.

Example: Disabling sitemaps for the “page” post type

add_filter(
    'wp_sitemaps_post_types',
    function( $post_types ) {
        unset( $post_types['page'] );
        return $post_types;
    }
);

Example: Disabling sitemaps for the “post_tag” taxonomy

add_filter(
    'wp_sitemaps_taxonomies',
    function( $taxonomies ) {
        unset( $taxonomies['post_tag'] );
        return $taxonomies;
    }
);

How can I exclude certain posts / taxonomies / users from the sitemap or add custom ones?

The wp_sitemaps_posts_query_args, wp_sitemaps_taxonomies_query_args, and wp_sitemaps_users_query_args filters can be used to modify the underlying queries. Using these queries, certain items can be excluded.

Example: Ensuring the page with ID 42 is not included

add_filter(
    'wp_sitemaps_posts_query_args',
    function( $args ) {
        $args['post__not_in'] = isset( $args['post__not_in'] ) ? $args['post__not_in'] : array();
        $args['post__not_in'][] = 42;
        return $args;
    }
);

Example: Ensuring the category with ID 7 is not included

add_filter(
    'wp_sitemaps_taxonomies_query_args',
    function( $args ) {
        $args['exclude'] = isset( $args['exclude'] ) ? $args['exclude'] : array();
        $args['exclude'][] = 7;
        return $args;
    }
);

Example: Ensuring the user with ID 1 is not included

add_filter(
    'wp_sitemaps_users_query_args',
    function( $args ) {
        $args['exclude'] = isset( $args['exclude'] ) ? $args['exclude'] : array();
        $args['exclude'][] = 1;
        return $args;
    }
);

How can I add `changefreq`, `priority`, or `lastmod` to a sitemap?

You can use the wp_sitemaps_posts_entry / wp_sitemaps_users_entry / wp_sitemaps_taxonomies_entry filters to add additional attributes like changefreq, priority, or lastmod to single item in the sitemap.

Example: Adding the last modified date for posts

add_filter(
    'wp_sitemaps_posts_entry',
    function( $entry, $post ) {
        $entry['lastmod'] = $post->post_modified_gmt;
        return $entry;
    },
    10,
    2
);

Similarly, you can use the wp_sitemaps_index_entry filter to add lastmod on the sitemap index. Note: changefreq and priority are not supported on the sitemap index.

How can I add image sitemaps?

Adding image sitemaps are not supported yet, but support will be added in the future so that plugin developers can add them if needed.

How can I change the number of URLs per sitemap?

Use the wp_sitemaps_max_urls filter to adjust the maximum number of URLs included in a sitemap. The default value is 2000 URLs.

How can I change the appearance of the XML sitemaps in the browser using XSL?

A variety of filters exist to allow you to adjust the styling:

• wp_sitemaps_stylesheet_url – Filter the URL for the sitemap stylesheet.
• wp_sitemaps_stylesheet_index_url – Filter the URL for the sitemap index stylesheet.
• wp_sitemaps_stylesheet_content – Filter the content of the sitemap stylesheet.
• wp_sitemaps_index_stylesheet_content – Filter the content of the sitemap index stylesheet.
• wp_sitemaps_stylesheet_css – Filter the CSS only for the sitemap stylesheet.

Does this plugin support `changefreq` and `priority` attributes for sitemaps?

No. Those are optional fields in the sitemaps protocol and not typically consumed by search engines. Developers can still add those fields if they really want to.

Why is there no last modified date shown in the sitemap?

XML sitemaps are first and foremost a discovery mechanism for content. Exposing the date the content was last modified is not needed for the majority of sites.