If your site Yoast SEO XML sitemap is throwing 404 error- page not found; it means that the sitemap page (sitemap index page) doesn’t exist. It badly effects your SEO, if you are using it in webmaster tools (Google, Yahoo etc). There are many reasons for this issue. Below are the basic reasons most of us get into.
Steps to fix Yoast SEO XML sitemap 404 error
- After you have installedYoast WordPress SEO plugin, if you goto Admin-> SEO->XML Sitemaps and click “XML Sitemap”, sometimes, it throws 404 error. Below steps may help you to fix it.
- In General tab, make sure you have checked”Check this box to enable XML sitemap functionality” box (see below pic). Click “Save Changes”
- In Post Types tab, check only the boxes which are applicable for your site. Click “Save Changes”.
- In Toxonomies tab, check only the taxonomies which are there on your site. Click “Save Changes”. If your site don’t have categories and if you select “Categories (category) box, it may throw XML sitemap 404 error.
- Now, goto General tab, click on “XML Sitemap” button. If you don’t see, reopen your browser and check.
2. If you have recently updated Yoast WordPress SEO plugin, then goto SEO-> XML Sitemaps, click on all “Save Changes” buttons in all the tabs without altering your settings. It quickly solves 404 error (recently I did).
3. If you have recently updated wordpress to a new version, follow the step 2.
4. Sometimes, Resetting the permalink structure also solves 404 error. To do this,
Goto Admin->Settings->Permaliks and click Save button without changing anything.
If your problem is not yet solved with above steps, Click here.
