WordPress 5.5 sitemap feature

FRom my research on this same subject, it appears to be that the new built-in sitemap function is very basic and does not do all that this plugin does. Example: there is not settings area for is where you can filter what is added to the sitemap, and what is not. IT also does not notify the search engines actively as this plugin can.

I found a simple way to disable the new built-in sitemap; I downloaded a new plugin named Disable WP Sitemaps. IT does not show up in the search for plugins inside a WordPress install as yet, but it is downloadable from the WordPress plugins website. DL the zip file and upload to your WordPress install using the new zip upload function in the Plugins area.

Basically you can use this code in your functions.php which does the same as the plugin:
add_filter( 'wp_sitemaps_enabled', '__return_false' );

I would advocate for adding add_filter( 'wp_sitemaps_enabled', '__return_false' ); to this plugin so we can be sure if we turn on Google XML Sitemaps that there’s no conflict with the core feature.

I agree with @squarecandy. Yoast SEO already did this in their latest version.

I’m also interested in what this plugin offers beyond the new core functionality so that I can determine if I still need it. Thanks!

+1 on all of the above… thanks!

I recommend keeping Google XML Sitemaps installed (it has more granular control than the new core feature), and it doesn’t appear that any adjustment on our part or the developer is required.

Should be no need to install a plugin or manually add:

add_filter( 'wp_sitemaps_enabled', '__return_false' );

Be sure to physically check your sitemap though: https://example.com/sitemap.xml

And also be sure to validate it:

https://www.xml-sitemaps.com/validate-xml-sitemap.html
https://www.seoptimer.com/sitemap-checker

And finally, check Google Search Console:

https://search.google.com/search-console/sitemaps

To make sure the structure of the sitemap is still intact, that there’s no virtual core sitemap interfering for example.

This plugin appears to be overriding the new default core feature just fine without issue, so again, I don’t believe anything needs to be fixed.

If you have carefully adjusted your settings to omit certain pages that are noindexed for example, Google Search Console will give you an alert if anything in that regard breaks or changes.

I realize this is an incredibly serious matter concerning the SEO of many businesses, and I think all of the above checks should give you peace of mind.

Thanks. Would be good to hear from the plugin author as well, plus there seems to be no harm in the plugin disabling the new native sitemap just to be sure.

According to a WordPress FAQ:

“What about sites with existing sitemap plugins?

Many sites already have a plugin active that implements sitemaps. For most of them, that will no longer be necessary, as the feature in WordPress core suffices. However, there is no harm in keeping them. The core sitemaps feature was built in a robust and easily extensible way. If for some reason two sitemaps are exposed on a website (one by core, one by a plugin), this does not result in any negative consequences for the site’s discoverability.”

So that seems somewhat reassuring… Regardless, to my mind it still seems confusing and unhelpful to have two sitemaps exposed unnecessarily.

It may not result in negative consequences for “discoverability” but it could have negative consequences for people who have spent time crafting how the output of their sitemap works. Examples:

• You have hidden specific pages like form thank you pages or a page with a survey intended to only be accessed via a direct link. The default wp-sitemap.xml could cause these pages to become indexed.
• You want an entire custom post type not to be indexed.
• You have carefully set the priority levels of different posts and post types according to your needs

That’s why https://search.google.com/search-console/sitemaps is probably the most important check to ensure that all of that is still good. In all my testing, everything looks good.

That said, sure, a simple update to the main plugin file to add this single line as a way to make absolutely sure that the core feature isn’t conflicting with the plugin in any way seems reasonable:

add_filter( 'wp_sitemaps_enabled', '__return_false' );

Thank you @squarecandy for raising an issue that has me concerned too.

I request the developers to confirm that using this plugin will override or disable the new wp-xml sitemap that has been added to WordPress 5.5.

Thanks in advance

Hello there!
I just updated this plugin and it caused critical error. Can anyone confirm this.
ERROR MESSAGE
“There has been a critical error on your website. Please check your site admin email inbox for instructions.”
I disabled it and regained access to my wordpress dashboard.

No need to add any code, it’s already in version 4.1.1.

A grep -Ri add_filter on the plugin’s folder returns (among others)

google-sitemap-generator/sitemap-loader.php: add_filter( 'wp_sitemaps_enabled', '__return_false' );

Aha! I originally thought that was the case because I saw an update for Google XML Sitemaps immediately after the release of WP 5.5, but after checking the changelog, there was no notice of it being added.

Good to know!

Thanks

Agree. It would have been helpful to have been included in the changelog, which only mentioned fixing a security issue.

Thanks for the info!