Hello,
Thank you for reaching out to us. We’re sorry to hear about the trouble you’re experiencing with your sitemap. It sounds like the product category index is missing from the main sitemap page.
To resolve this issue, please ensure that you have enabled the Sitemap module and included the product categories in the sitemap settings. You can do this by navigating to Rank Math SEO → Sitemap Settings → Categories and then enabling the Include in Sitemap option for product categories.
Here’s a helpful guide on how to enable the Sitemap module and include product categories: How to Enable Sitemaps for Tag Archives
Once you’ve made these changes, please check if the product categories are now included in the main sitemap page. If the issue persists, please let us know, and we’ll be happy to assist you further.
We hope this helps!
Sources:
Rank Math Sitemap Issues and Their Fixes » Rank Math
How to Enable Sitemaps for Tag Archives » Rank Math
How To Exclude Rank Math Sitemaps from Caching » Rank Math
Hello,
Thank you for your patience.
For initial troubleshooting, please follow these steps to flush your sitemap cache:
1. Flush the Sitemap cache by following this video screencast:
https://i.rankmath.com/pipRDp
2. Exclude the Sitemap files of the Rank Math plugin in your caching plugin. The cache could be via a plugin or from the server. For plugins or Cloudflare, please follow this article:
https://rankmath.com/kb/exclude-sitemaps-from-caching/
3. Disable the transient cache for the sitemap by applying this filter. This will make sure that your XML sitemap always reflects the latest changes on your site:
/**
* Filter if XML sitemap transient cache is enabled.
*
* @param boolean $unsigned Enable cache or not, defaults to true
*/
add_filter( 'rank_math/sitemap/enable_caching', '__return_false');
If you’re not sure how to add this code, you can follow this guide:
https://rankmath.com/kb/wordpress-hooks-actions-filters/
Let us know how this goes.
Hello,
I tried everything you said but the product categories are still not showing up in the sitemap.
They only show up when you access directly their sitemap link as stated in the private section of the topic.
Please help me resolve this, I can’t start the website without proper indexation.
This happened also on another new website I started last week.
It seems to be an occuring problem.
Hello,
In this case, we might need to take a closer look at the settings. Please edit the first post on this ticket and include your WordPress & FTP logins in the designated Sensitive Data section.
Please do take a complete backup of your website before sharing the information with us.
It is completely secure and only our support staff has access to that section. If you want, you can use the below plugin to generate a temporary login URL to your website and share that with us instead:
https://wordpress.org/plugins/temporary-login-without-password/
You can use the above plugin in conjunction with the WP Security Audit Log to monitor what changes our staff might make on your website (if any):
https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-security-audit-log/
We really look forward to helping you.
Hello,
I have updated the sensitive data as requested. Can you please check further?
Thank you.
Hello,
Thank you for your patience.
We’ve checked your site, and it seems that you have indexed the product category but have not yet assigned a single product to it.
To include it in your sitemap index, you may need to use that product category for one of your products.
Moreover, we have already forwarded it to our development team for investigation and get back to you shortly.
We would really appreciate your kind patience regarding this matter.
Looking forward to helping you.
Hello,
Yes, when I added a product, the product category appeared now in the sitemap.
Strange because I didn’t have the option to deindex it if there are no products.
Hello,
Glad that worked for you. The devs are checking this internally and we will inform you once we have an update.
We really appreciate your patience in the meantime.
Please do not hesitate to let us know if you need our assistance with anything else.
Hello,
Since we did not hear back from you for 15 days, we are assuming that you found the solution. We are closing this support ticket.
If you still need assistance or any other help, please feel free to open a new support ticket, and we will be more than happy to assist.
Thank you.
