Creating a functional XML sitemap is a crucial element for an optimized website. The XML sitemap acts as a guide for search engines to easily find and navigate to your important web pages. In this guide, we will provide step-by-step instructions on how to create an XML sitemap in Yoast SEO, a widely used search engine optimization plugin for WordPress.
Step 1: Install and Activate Yoast SEO Plugin
Firstly, you will have to install the Yoast SEO plugin. This can be done directly from your WordPress dashboard by navigating to the ‘Plugins’ section and clicking on ‘Add New’. Search for ‘Yoast SEO’, install and activate it.
Step 2: Enable XML Sitemaps
Once Yoast SEO is activated, you need to enable the XML Sitemaps functionality. This can be done by following these steps:
- Navigate to ‘SEO’ > ‘General’ in your WordPress dashboard.
- Click on the ‘Features’ tab.
- Scroll down to ‘XML sitemaps’ and toggle the switch to ‘On’.
- Don’t forget to click the ‘Save changes’ button.
Step 3: Check Your XML Sitemap
After enabling the XML Sitemaps feature, you can check your XML sitemap by clicking on the ‘?’ icon next to the ‘XML sitemaps’ title in the Yoast SEO plugin. Then click on the ‘See the XML sitemap’ link that appears.
Alternatively, you can directly access your XML sitemap by entering the URL of your website followed by ‘/sitemap_index.xml’ like this: ‘www.yourwebsite.com/sitemap_index.xml’.
Step 4: Customize Your XML Sitemap (Optional)
If you want to exclude certain content types or taxonomies from your XML sitemap, Yoast SEO allows you to do this. Simply navigate to ‘SEO’ > ‘Search Appearance’ and click on the ‘Content Types’ tab. Here you can toggle the ‘Show in search results’ switch to ‘No’ for the content types you want to exclude.
Conclusion
Creating an XML sitemap via Yoast SEO is a straightforward process that can greatly aid in enhancing the SEO of your website. Not only does it help search engines in indexing your pages, but it also allows you to take control of what content you want visible in search results.
