How to Fix the “Your Sitemap Appears to Be An HTML Page” Error

Aug 16, 2023

How to Fix the “Your Sitemap Appears to Be An HTML Page” Error

Wondering what exactly is wrong with your sitemap appearing as an HTML page? 🤔 This video has the answers ⬆️
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Error messages in WordPress tend to be confusing and challenging to solve, but the “Your sitemap appears to be an HTML page” error, thankfully, isn’t one of them.

If you’ve encountered this problem, you’re likely wondering what this error means, what’s wrong with your sitemap being HTML, and how exactly you can fix this issue. And what if your sitemap is already in the proper format and you still see this error?

We’ll walk you through everything: how a sitemap works, the format it’s meant to be in, and a few different ways to solve this problem. Tune in! ▶️

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🕘Timestamps

0:00 Intro
0:59 What Is a Sitemap?
2:32 Differences Between HTML and XML Sitemaps
4:03 Other Types of Sitemaps
5:34 Generate a Sitemap with a Plugin
5:52 How to Fix the Sitemap Error
6:18 Check for Errors and Redirects
8:08 Disable Caching
8:54 Check Your Sitemap URL
9:35 Remove Extra Sitemaps
10:33 Do You Really Need a Sitemap?

📚Resources

🛠How to Fix the “Your Sitemap Appears to Be An HTML Page” Error
► https://kinsta.com/blog/your-sitemap-…

💻 A Complete Guide and List of HTTP Status Codes
► https://kinsta.com/blog/http-status-c…

#XMLSitemap #SitemapErrors

Content

0.17 -> Hi, I'm Maria.

1.24 -> And today I'll show you how to fix the,

2.937 -> "Your site map appears to be an HTML page error."

6.564 -> (upbeat music)

12.38 -> Error messages in WordPress tend to be confusing

15.23 -> and challenging to solve.

16.56 -> But the, "Your site map appears to be an HTML page error,"

19.98 -> thankfully, isn't one of them.

22.11 -> If you've encountered this problem,

23.93 -> you're likely wondering what this error means.

26.53 -> What's wrong with your site map being HTML?

29.1 -> And how exactly you can fix this issue.

31.74 -> And what if your site map is already in the proper format

34.47 -> and you still see this error.

36.15 -> In this video, we'll walk you through everything,

38.83 -> how a site map works, the format it's meant to be in

42.28 -> and a few different ways to solve this problem.

45.31 -> But before we get too far,

46.91 -> I want to let you know that there will be links

48.59 -> to more resources in the video's description.

51.18 -> And remember, subscribe and ring that bell

53.51 -> to get notifications for future helpful content.

56.21 -> Now, let's get started.

61.16 -> Do you know how search engines find your website?

63.87 -> The answer is with a handy little bot called a web crawler

67.64 -> and automated tools sent out by search engines

69.98 -> to index the pages of your site.

72.33 -> With literally millions of pages on the web,

74.77 -> gathering information about each site

76.77 -> would be impossible with humans.

78.9 -> Web crawlers go through the internet,

81.12 -> caching the info on every page and piece of media.

84.09 -> That seems simple enough,

85.7 -> but Google doesn't automatically know

87.56 -> when you add a new page to your site.

89.52 -> Such as when you publish a blog post

91.62 -> or release a new product in your store.

94.3 -> They periodically send the web crawler to visit your site

97.22 -> and see if anything has changed,

99.09 -> but the process isn't instantaneous.

101.55 -> When you have a huge website, it's easy for the crawler

104.07 -> to miss key pages even after multiple visits.

107.53 -> It's primarily a concern when such pages

109.97 -> aren't linked too often.

111.47 -> That's where site maps come in to help the crawlers.

114.64 -> These XML files are different

116.72 -> from a regular page on your site.

118.77 -> They're generally unreadable by humans

120.87 -> and not meant to be seen by visitors,

122.93 -> but web crawlers can use them

124.41 -> to ensure everything gets indexed.

126.53 -> The way they work is by simply listing out all the pages

129.45 -> on your site, along with the link hierarchy,

132.22 -> plus other files on your site, such as images and videos.

135.96 -> It ensures that Google sees everything on your site

138.44 -> and improves SEO accordingly.

140.39 -> If you've used a tool like Google Analytics

142.81 -> or Google Search Console,

144.48 -> then you may have seen an option to link to your site map.

147.88 -> Google will reference this first,

149.44 -> when they send web crawlers to your site.

151.58 -> So your site map is an HTML page,

153.98 -> but what exactly is the problem with that?

156.21 -> Why does Google want you to change it?

158.4 -> Site maps must be written in a particular format

161.43 -> for web crawlers to understand them.

163.64 -> A majority of the time, it needs to be an XML file.

167.32 -> They may also read an RSS, ADaM, KML or text file,

172.55 -> but XML is the most common choice.

174.91 -> XML stands for extensible markup language.

178.58 -> It's a web language very similar to HTML.

181.7 -> The difference is its use.

183.6 -> While it's human-readable, its primary function

186.37 -> is to help machines encode documents and read data.

189.55 -> In this case, it's helping a web crawler understand

192.59 -> where the pages and other media on your site are

195.27 -> and how they interact with each other.

196.89 -> But you may have seen the term site map used before

199.3 -> in a very different context.

201.42 -> HTML site maps do exist, but the big difference is

205.37 -> that they're made for humans, not for web crawlers.

208.55 -> If you've ever clicked a link to a site's navigation

211.11 -> and found a human-readable

212.55 -> and pleasantly designed list of pages on the site,

215.21 -> this is technically known as a site map.

217.48 -> But while it can be helpful to your visitors,

219.6 -> it's not what Google is looking for.

221.56 -> An XML sitemap will look like a mess of unreadable code

225.01 -> or a massive wall of links to most users.

228.01 -> So if you want to add a helpful navigation page

230.41 -> to your site,

231.4 -> feel free to create an HTML site map alongside it.

234.95 -> But you must create an XML site map as well.

237.76 -> When you think of a site map, what comes to mind

240.16 -> may be a simple list of the pages on your site,

242.84 -> but Google uses several different types of site maps

245.56 -> to catalog various information.

247.66 -> Video.

248.493 -> Videos on your site can be specifically indexed

251 -> to appear in Google Video results.

253.25 -> Images.

254.2 -> The same goes for images.

255.92 -> Some images such as those embedded in JavaScript code

259.7 -> may not be customarily indexed.

262.08 -> An image site map can help

263.81 -> ensure your site appears in Google images.

266.31 -> News.

267.143 -> Writing a column?

268.3 -> Google has a specially dedicated Google News section

271.26 -> in its search.

272.33 -> And a news site map can ensure

274.06 -> you're appearing properly there and getting more traffic.

276.99 -> Code.

277.92 -> Google indexes code snippets

279.63 -> to help programmers search for code and files.

282.48 -> Geographic data.

283.71 -> You can use a special KML site map

286.22 -> to give Google better data on where your business is.

289.47 -> Typically, some of this information

291.28 -> is in your main site map.

293.18 -> Others must have their special dedicated site map.

295.99 -> And in the end, they all need to be appropriately formatted

299.35 -> in XML or another supported format, not HTML.

303.55 -> If you've intentionally submitted a link

305.59 -> to an HTML site map,

307.3 -> you'll need to replace it with an XML file instead.

310.64 -> If you don't know how to make one,

312.21 -> there are several different ways to create it

314.25 -> with WordPress plugins and generators you can find online.

317.55 -> Even if you have an XML sitemap that just isn't working,

321.4 -> regenerating or submitting a different site map

324.33 -> may fix the issue.

326.02 -> There are two easy ways to get a site map,

328.57 -> either use a plugin or generate one with the site map.

331.7 -> With WordPress, the easiest way

333.71 -> to get a dynamically updating site map on your website

336.65 -> is to download a plugin.

338.37 -> This way, you don't have to upload any files

340.97 -> to your server manually.

342.32 -> There are quite a few plugins that will generate a site map.

350.35 -> The site map error is often caused

352.56 -> by accidentally submitting an HTML page

355.68 -> rather than a properly formatted XML file.

359.07 -> But if your XML site map is still claiming

361.52 -> to be an HTML page, you may have a deeper problem.

364.97 -> But no worries, the issue usually lies

367.75 -> with an easy to fix conflict in your WordPress plugins.

370.68 -> Here are a few suggestions

372.08 -> to get your site map working correctly again.

374.55 -> It's much easier to diagnose a problem

376.79 -> if you have an explicit error code to search for.

379.35 -> The first thing you should do is visit your site map page

382.21 -> and see if there are any strange error codes.

384.78 -> If you notice an error when you visit your site map,

387.66 -> this will cause Google to think it sees an HTML page.

391.17 -> Use this error to help you in your search

393.44 -> to fix the problem.

394.85 -> Our list of HTTP status codes may help.

398.01 -> What if you notice the site map error intermittently,

401.34 -> sometimes there, sometimes not.

403.74 -> It may happen if you're dynamically generating a site map.

406.74 -> Minor server blips and timeouts will read to Google

409.71 -> like your site map is suddenly an HTML page,

412.7 -> as it shows an error message rather than an XML file.

416.72 -> As long as the err is rare and is not ongoing or frequent,

420.26 -> it's usually not a cause for concern.

422.67 -> Another thing to look out for is redirects.

425.38 -> If you visit your site map page

427.31 -> and suddenly end up on the homepage

429.91 -> or in an infinite redirect loop,

432.56 -> this will also cause things to break.

434.81 -> If you find any errors or redirects that won't go away,

438.36 -> the problem usually lies with the plugin conflict.

441.43 -> Plugins that generate site maps,

443.17 -> such as Yoast, may cause a conflict

445.65 -> or a caching plugin could be the source of the issue.

449.52 -> But sometimes even seemingly random plugins

452.45 -> can cause conflicts.

453.68 -> Use the health check and troubleshooting plugin

456.05 -> to identify them.

457.46 -> Install it if it isn't present already, then go to tools,

461.26 -> then site health, then troubleshooting mode.

464.14 -> It'll turn off all plugins temporarily

466.43 -> without affecting your visitors.

468.35 -> See if the error or redirect is now gone on your site.

471.98 -> If it is, re-enable plugins one by one

474.93 -> until the site breaks again.

476.84 -> Look for conflicts between multiple plugins.

479.54 -> You can now contact the plugin authors

481.98 -> to report the bug and ask for assistance.

484.24 -> One of the biggest causes of conflicts

486.13 -> is with caching plugins.

488.08 -> When a site map gets cached, it can occasionally

491.14 -> cause issues with Google reading it as an HTML page,

494.9 -> as you shouldn't cache XML files this way.

498.27 -> Most caching plugins will avoid caching a site map page

501.45 -> because of this, but they may erroneously do so anyway.

505.81 -> Especially if you're using a unique URL for your site map.

509.84 -> Thankfully, you do not need to disable

512.02 -> the entire caching plugin, you can add an exception

515.47 -> and the issue should clear up automatically.

517.89 -> Your plugins documentation should cover this.

520.7 -> In the description below, you'll find resources

523.27 -> on how to do it in two of the most used caching plugins,

526.6 -> WP Super Cache and W3 Total Cash.

529.76 -> While this is a small suggestion,

531.64 -> it's always worth double-checking,

533.71 -> did you submit the correct link?

536.03 -> It's an elementary mistake to make

537.87 -> and even one incorrect character

539.56 -> will point to the wrong place.

540.95 -> Check the link you've submitted both via Google

543.677 -> and in any SEO or site map plugins.

546.97 -> Some plugins may be adding a trailing slash

549.46 -> to the end of your site map page.

551.72 -> This one character can lead to massive problems,

554.84 -> especially if it causes a redirect loop.

557.67 -> Again, turn on troubleshooting mode

559.89 -> and the health check plugin

561.24 -> and attempt to find which plugin is causing the issue.

564.6 -> A majority of the time,

565.99 -> you can trace it back to one individual plugin.

568.65 -> While it won't usually cause problems

570.65 -> as long as you link to the proper page,

572.8 -> having extra site maps active can occasionally cause issues

576.21 -> or confusion for yourself.

578.52 -> Plus your server is spending additional resources,

581.53 -> updating several unnecessary site maps.

584.09 -> Plugins may add different site maps,

585.95 -> and you may not know that WordPress

587.72 -> even generates its own for you.

590.06 -> You should check for these

591.23 -> and remove all but the one you want to use.

593.64 -> Here are a few URLs you can try on your site.

597.161 -> /sitemap.xml is a common choice for generated site maps

601.02 -> throughout most site map plugins.

603.113 -> /wp-sitemap.xml, this is the default site map generated

607.41 -> by WordPress since version 5.5.

610.21 -> /sitemap_index.xml,

612.621 -> the URL for the site map generated by Yoast.

615.75 -> And if you've downloaded other SEO or site map plugins,

619.44 -> they may be using a different URL entirely.

622.63 -> Check the documentation and make sure you disable

625.34 -> any site map functionality you don't want.

631.26 -> Sometimes site maps can inexplicably be the source

634.45 -> of a constant stream of issues

636.4 -> and a simple fix may not be enough to make them go away.

640.01 -> If you run into difficult to solve problems constantly,

642.99 -> you may begin to question

644.33 -> whether a site map is vital for you.

646.51 -> It's generally encouraged to create a site map

649.3 -> as Google says itself,

650.59 -> that it will never penalize your SEO for doing so.

653.82 -> It can only help improve your SEO

655.92 -> and get your site indexed faster.

658.16 -> But it's not required that you have one

659.88 -> in certain situations.

661.52 -> And Google itself suggests that some sites not use them.

664.79 -> Suppose your site has fewer than 500 pages

667.52 -> and is not likely ever to have more than that,

670.1 -> in that case, as long as it's internally linked well,

673.31 -> and doesn't have many media files you want to show up

675.96 -> in Google Images and Google Video,

678.14 -> you may not need to have a site map at all.

681.35 -> On the other hand,

682.38 -> it can really help your SEO to have a site map,

685.36 -> and there's no harm in having one.

687.23 -> So pushing through and fixing the problem

689.3 -> can do nothing but good.

691.02 -> Your site may be small now, but it probably won't always be.

695.09 -> If you're stuck, you can always turn to your host support

698.17 -> to figure out what might be causing the problem.

702.2 -> Kinsta's WordPress hosting can speed up your website

704.52 -> by up to 200% and you'll get 24-7 support

707.93 -> from our expert WordPress engineers.

710.18 -> Let us show you the Kinsta difference.

712.25 -> Try a free demo of our MyKinsta dashboard

714.51 -> at demo.kinsta.com.

716.72 -> Thank you for watching.

718.09 -> Don't forget to subscribe for more tutorials,

720.25 -> explainers and helpful content like this.

722.511 -> (upbeat music)

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibUMwepfWik