XML Sitemaps

Auto-generated XML sitemaps that help search engines discover and index all your content efficiently.

On this page

Overview Sitemap Types Configuration Per Post Type Per Taxonomy Advanced Settings Sitemap Pinging

Overview

The sitemap module () generates a sitemap index at /sitemap.xml with individual sub-sitemaps for each post type and taxonomy. It hooks into WordPress rewrite rules for clean URLs.

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Sitemap Settings Page

Screenshot: Sitemaps configuration page with all toggles — 900 × 500px — assets/images/sitemaps-settings.png

Sitemap URL Structure

yoursite.com/sitemap.xml # Sitemap index
yoursite.com/sitemap-post.xml # Posts
yoursite.com/sitemap-page.xml # Pages
yoursite.com/sitemap-product.xml # WooCommerce products
yoursite.com/sitemap-category.xml # Categories
yoursite.com/sitemap-post_tag.xml # Tags
yoursite.com/sitemap-product_cat.xml # Product categories

Sitemap Types

Type	Content	Tier
Post Type Sitemaps	All public post types (posts, pages, products, etc.)	Free
Taxonomy Sitemaps	Categories, tags, custom taxonomies	Free
Image Sitemap	Images embedded in content with `<image:image>` tags	Pro
News Sitemap	Google News compatible sitemap for recent posts	Pro

Configuration

Navigate to Serpelo → Settings → XML Sitemaps (slug: serpelo-sitemaps).

Global Settings

Setting	Option Key	Default	Description
Enable Sitemaps	—	`1`	Master toggle for XML sitemap generation
Include Images	—	`1`	Add `<image:image>` elements for embedded images
Exclude Posts	—	`""`	Comma-separated post IDs to exclude from sitemaps
Max URLs per Sitemap	—	`5000`	Maximum entries per individual sitemap file

Per Post Type Settings

Each public post type gets its own configuration block:

Setting	Option Key Pattern	Values
Include in Sitemap	`serpelo_sitemap_{post_type}`	`1` (included) / `0` (excluded)
Priority	`serpelo_sitemap_priority_{post_type}`	`0.1` – `1.0` (default varies by type)
Change Frequency	`serpelo_sitemap_freq_{post_type}`	`daily`, `weekly`, `monthly`, `yearly`

Per Taxonomy Settings

Setting	Option Key Pattern
Include Taxonomy	`serpelo_sitemap_tax_{taxonomy}`
Priority	`serpelo_sitemap_tax_priority_{taxonomy}`

Advanced Settings

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Noindexed Posts: Posts marked with _serpelo_noindex = 1 are automatically excluded from sitemaps. The sitemap module checks this meta before including any URL.

WooCommerce Integration

When WooCommerce is active, the sitemap module automatically:

Generates sitemap-product.xml for all published products
Includes sitemap-product_cat.xml and sitemap-product_tag.xml
Respects WooCommerce-specific visibility settings

Sitemap Pinging

After saving settings or publishing new content, you can notify search engines about your updated sitemap.

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Ping Endpoints: The plugin pings both Google and Bing with your sitemap URL. You can trigger this manually via the Dashboard quick action or it runs automatically when content is published.