How to View a WordPress Sitemap

Quick answer: For self-hosted WordPress, open https://yourdomain.com/wp-sitemap.xml. For WordPress.com, open https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml. If Yoast SEO generates your sitemap, open Yoast SEO → Settings → Site features → Technical SEO and select View the XML sitemap.

The correct address depends on which system generates your sitemap and whether the site uses pretty permalinks. A sitemap opening in your browser confirms that the URL returns XML; it does not guarantee that Google has crawled or indexed every URL inside it.

1. Open the WordPress core sitemap

WordPress core has generated XML sitemaps since WordPress 5.5.0. On a self-hosted installation with pretty permalinks enabled:

1. Copy your canonical homepage address, including HTTPS if the site uses it.
2. Add /wp-sitemap.xml.
3. Open the complete address in a browser.

https://yourdomain.com/wp-sitemap.xml

The index normally links to separate files for posts, pages, authors, taxonomies, and other public content types. The exact child files depend on the content available and the providers enabled on the site. WordPress documents the core sitemap route and its permalink-dependent behavior in the WordPress Developer Resources.

When pretty permalinks are disabled

With plain permalinks, WordPress documents the core index route as:

https://yourdomain.com/?sitemap=index

Try this URL when /wp-sitemap.xml returns a 404 or another page and the site is using a non-pretty permalink structure.

2. View a WordPress.com sitemap

WordPress.com documents a different shortcut:

https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml

You can also find the setting in the dashboard:

1. Open your WordPress.com site dashboard.
2. Go to Jetpack → Traffic, or Jetpack → Settings → Traffic.
3. Find Sitemaps and confirm that Generate XML Sitemaps is enabled.

WordPress.com says sitemaps are active by default. The site must be publicly visible, and Discourage search engines from indexing this site must not be enabled if you expect search engines to find and use the sitemap. See the WordPress.com sitemap documentation.

3. View a Yoast SEO sitemap

Yoast SEO can provide the sitemap index instead of the WordPress core endpoint.

1. Sign in to WordPress.
2. Open Yoast SEO → Settings → Site features.
3. Under Technical SEO, turn XML sitemaps on if it is disabled.
4. Select View the XML sitemap.

Yoast’s index links to individual sitemap files. It updates as content changes and omits post types configured as noindex. Use the link shown in the Yoast settings rather than guessing which provider is active. Yoast explains these controls in its XML sitemap documentation.

4. Identify which sitemap provider your site uses

Setup	First URL to try	Dashboard path	Important detail
Self-hosted WordPress core	/wp-sitemap.xml	Core behavior follows site configuration	Without pretty permalinks, use /?sitemap=index
WordPress.com	/sitemap.xml	Jetpack → Traffic (or Settings → Traffic)	Sitemaps are on by default, with a generation toggle
Yoast SEO	Use Yoast’s View link	Yoast SEO → Settings → Site features	noindex post types are omitted

If more than one system appears installed, use the dashboard link for the system that is enabled. Do not submit multiple competing indexes unless you know why each is needed.

5. Check the sitemap with HTTP tools

A browser is sufficient for viewing XML. These commands help confirm redirects, status codes, and response content when diagnosing a site.

cURL

curl -iL https://yourdomain.com/wp-sitemap.xml

Use -I for headers only, or remove -i when you only need the XML body.

Python

import requests

url = 'https://yourdomain.com/wp-sitemap.xml'
r = requests.get(url, timeout=30)
r.raise_for_status()
print(r.status_code)
print(r.headers.get('content-type'))
print(r.text[:500])

Node.js

const res = await fetch('https://yourdomain.com/wp-sitemap.xml', {
  redirect: 'follow'
});
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`${res.status} ${res.statusText}`);
console.log(res.status, res.headers.get('content-type'));
console.log((await res.text()).slice(0, 500));

6. Troubleshoot a missing or broken sitemap

/wp-sitemap.xml returns 404

• Confirm the site is self-hosted WordPress rather than WordPress.com; try /sitemap.xml for WordPress.com.
• Try /?sitemap=index if pretty permalinks are disabled.
• Check whether Yoast or another SEO plugin owns the sitemap and use its dashboard link.
• Save or re-save Settings → Permalinks to refresh rewrite rules, then retry.

The URL redirects to the homepage or a login screen

Check redirect rules, maintenance mode, password protection, and security plugins. A sitemap must be publicly reachable for search engines to fetch it.

The XML is empty or omits content

Review post type visibility and noindex settings. Yoast omits post types marked noindex; other plugins can apply similar exclusions. Private, draft, or non-public content is not expected to appear.

Search Console reports a fetch or parsing error

Open the affected sitemap in Search Console and inspect the reported URL, HTTP status, XML format, and size details. Correct malformed XML, invalid URLs, server errors, or access restrictions, then resubmit the sitemap. Google’s Sitemaps report documentation describes these diagnostics.

The sitemap opens, but pages are not indexed

Opening or submitting a sitemap is not an indexing guarantee. Google says a sitemap submission is only a hint. Make sure important pages are internally linked, return successful HTTP responses, and are not blocked by robots or noindex directives. See Google’s guidance on building and submitting sitemaps.

The sitemap is missing from the Search Console list

Only sitemaps submitted through the Search Console Sitemaps report or its API appear in that report. Google may discover a sitemap by another method without listing it as a submitted sitemap.

7. Performance, reliability, and cost considerations

• Performance: Viewing an XML index is lightweight, but very large sites can expose multiple child files. Fetch the index first and request only the child sitemap needed for a specific content type.
• Reliability: Use the canonical HTTPS hostname, follow redirects, and monitor the HTTP status returned by the sitemap URL. A temporary server error can prevent fetching even when the URL works later in a browser.
• Cost: WordPress core and WordPress.com generate sitemaps without requiring a paid sitemap product. A plugin is optional when you need its controls; viewing the generated file itself does not require a purchase.
• Freshness: Core and Yoast-generated sitemaps update as content changes. Search engines still decide when to recrawl the files.

8. Or skip the browser setup

If you need a rendered image or PDF of a sitemap page for an audit, support ticket, or monitoring workflow, ScreenshotNeo can capture the URL with one request. Its cleanup step accepts cookie or consent banners and removes more than 60 known consent platforms, newsletter popups, and chat widgets before capture. Bot checks, blank pages, failed loads, timeouts, and cache hits are not billed, and each response reports the result with X-Page-Verdict and X-Billed headers. An MCP server provides take_screenshot, get_page_info, and capture_pdf tools for AI agents.

See the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for all options.

cURL

curl -G 'https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot' -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://yourdomain.com/wp-sitemap.xml -o sitemap.webp

Python

import requests
r = requests.get('https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot', params={'access_key': 'YOUR_API_KEY', 'url': 'https://yourdomain.com/wp-sitemap.xml'}, timeout=90)
open('sitemap.webp', 'wb').write(r.content)

Node.js

const q = new URLSearchParams({ access_key: 'YOUR_API_KEY', url: 'https://yourdomain.com/wp-sitemap.xml' });
const res = await fetch(`https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot?${q}`);

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9. FAQ

What is the default WordPress sitemap URL?

For self-hosted WordPress core with pretty permalinks, it is /wp-sitemap.xml. WordPress.com documents /sitemap.xml.

Can I view a sitemap without logging in?

Yes, if the site and sitemap are publicly accessible. A private, password-protected, or maintenance-mode site can block access.

Does a sitemap contain every URL on my site?

No. It contains URLs selected by the active sitemap provider and its visibility, indexing, and content-type settings.

Should I submit both /sitemap.xml and /wp-sitemap.xml?

Submit the sitemap index that your active platform or plugin generates. Submitting duplicates can make diagnosis harder without adding value.

Does seeing XML in a browser prove Google indexed it?

No. It proves that your browser received a response. Crawling and indexing are separate processes.