Yoast SEO cripples WordPress 5.5 wp-sitemap.xml functionality

@gzt We intentionally don’t allow the WordPress sitemap to generate if you have Yoast SEO installed in order to prevent multiple sitemaps being automatically generated for a user’s site.

If you’ve previously deliberately disabled the sitemaps in your SEO plugin, that infers that you didn’t want to use the Yoast SEO sitemap, and we assume that probably have a very good reason for doing so, such as using another plugin to generate your sitemap.

Now after updating WordPress to version 5.5, why would we suddenly allow WordPress to silently enable and generate sitemaps on your site anyway? We want you to have the best sitemap experience, and if you don’t want sitemaps, we make that happen for you as well.

I fully agree with @gzt here.

We want you to have the best sitemap experience, and if you don’t want sitemaps, we make that happen for you as well.

No offense, @devnihil — but this is just intolerable arrogance. Users should have the choice whether they want WP standard sitemaps, Yoast sitemaps or nor sitemaps at all.

And if you do not change your plugins behavior accordingly, I am going to delete it right away.

Hi @gzt and @thomascloer,

We understand that you’re asking why the Yoast SEO sitemaps replace the sitemap feature that has been included in core WordPress.

If you haven’t already, we highly recommend reading more about the reasons behind that decision and the differences between the basic features available in the WordPress sitemaps at this point and those in the Yoast SEO sitemaps in this FAQ: FAQ: XML sitemaps in WordPress 5.5 and Yoast SEO.

There is an option to disable the Yoast SEO sitemaps in the settings. You can go to SEO > General > Features and change the setting for “XML sitemaps” to “Off”.

Disabling the Yoast sitemap does not necessarily activate the default sitemap that wordpress is supposed to generate.

Correct me if I am wrong but the option to reenable the default wordpress sitemap is entirely missing in Yoast.Also the instructions on renabling the default wordpress sitemap are missing in the FAQ you created.

So if you have a yoast plugin and you would NOT like to use their Yoast sitemap, there exists no option on the backend to enable the default wordpress sitemap. We will just wait for them to confirm the steps on renabling the wordpress default sitemap.

While I appreciate that Yoast has this function, I do not believe it to be in the interest of a common user to take over disabling the wordpress core function without giving the user a choice to make that selection in your wordpress.

Can you please shed some light on this.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 3 months ago by dave.

Hi Dave,

Sorry about the confusion! Since disabling the Yoast SEO sitemaps doesn’t automatically enable the WordPress core sitemaps and there isn’t a documented way to enable it, we’d like to make sure that you get the right response.

The best way to move forward is to create a new feature request for our developers to review. Please be sure to share any specific reasons why this should be considered as well as any impact this is currently having on your site.

So, Let me get this right.

Yoast disables a core feature of wordpress without a user consent ( that is if installing yoast for the first time ), then even on turning off the sitemap function it continues to disable the sitemap that is a core feature and there is no way to turn the core feature on ?

Would this be a correct assessment ? In my tests so far, that seems to be what is happening…

If this is the case, Yoast really needs to rething their strategy of how internal features should operate with yoast…

“Since disabling the Yoast SEO sitemaps doesn’t automatically enable the WordPress core sitemaps and there isn’t a documented way to enable it, we’d like to make sure that you get the right response.”

This is such a BS response from Priscilla, she’s basically suggesting that it’s WordPress fault, and WordPress has no documentation for enabling it.

FACT: It’s CORE functionality that works out of the box, it doesn’t need enabling because it’s already enabled, and it’s Yoast that’s breaking it.

So ridiculous that Yoast can’t understand the concept of “core functionality”.

Hi @gzt & @weboptimizers

Since Yoast SEO for WordPress v14.5, we automatically turn off the default WordPress XML sitemap and make sure that our Yoast SEO sitemap runs flawlessly. We believe that there’s much more being offered in our sitemap (options or ability to determine what goes into the sitemap, last modified date, large sitemaps are broken into smaller ones to help keep everything fast, and inclusion of images in the sitemaps). It’s discussed further here — https://yoast.com/help/faq-xml-sitemaps-wordpress-yoast-seo/

Just to clarify, you would like that when the Yoast SEO sitemap feature is disabled, it would automatically enable the WordPress sitemap?

Would it be possible for you to provide a more specific reason or more details on why you want this configuration or specific SEO setup? Is there anything in the WordPress sitemap that you aren’t able to achieve with the Yoast SEO sitemap? We’d like to know so that we have a better understanding regarding this.

Would it be possible for you to provide a more specific reason or more details on why you want this configuration or specific SEO setup?

What is so difficult to understand here? Users should have the choice which XML sitemap(s) they want – Yoast, WP Core or none. And with Yoast installed, you’re taking one of the options away deliberately. Existing Yoast users cannot even compare Yoast’s functionality with the one form Core to see why yours would be superior.

Core XML sitemaps are now switched on by default. No plugin should change this without user consent. And no plugin should disable the default Core option right away, however superior its functionality may be.

Your obvious unwillingness to even see our point here has already made me uninstall Yoast and use another SEO plugin instead.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 3 months ago by Thomas Cloer.

We appreciate everyone taking your time for letting us know all of your thoughts. We completely understand that you when you disable Yoast SEO specific sitemap, WordPress specific sitemap should be enabled. We have already forwarded this topic to the relevant team at Yoast so they will decide on this.

In addition, it would be best if anyone of you can submit an issue report directly at our GitHub development repository with all of your thoughts on this so our development team and as well as everyone would have a place to see the progress of the report and decide on this.

We are going ahead and marking this issue as resolved due to inactivity. If you require any further assistance please create a new issue.

“Just to clarify, you would like that when the Yoast SEO sitemap feature is disabled, it would automatically enable the WordPress sitemap?”

You people are astonishingly clueless.

Your plugin BREAKS the core built-in WordPress sitemap functionality that’s already enabled. When the Yoast sitemap plugin is disabled, or the Yoast sitemap feature is disabled there should be no “enabling” required because it’s core functionality that’s already enabled by default – because *drumroll* it’s core functionality.

Yoast is breaking the core functionality.

When Yoast sitemaps are disabled the core built-in functionality should work, just like it does when your plugin is not installed at all.

STOP BREAKING IT!

How hard is that to understand?

• This reply was modified 4 years, 2 months ago by gzt.
• This reply was modified 4 years, 2 months ago by gzt.
• This reply was modified 4 years, 2 months ago by gzt.
• This reply was modified 4 years, 2 months ago by gzt.

Couldn’t agree more with other users here. It is astonishing that despite seeing that your plugin breaks core functionality, you are saying that it is done with a user’s best intrest in mind ?

How is it in User’s best intrest if they install yoast & turn off the sitmap generation provided by Yoast ? This leaves them with no sitemap at all ?

please I need help urgently my sitemap for my WordPress eCommerce website does not work properly. I am using yoast plguin and woocomerce plugin.

But any time I decide to check my sitemap I get this error message “Error establishing a database connection”. so noticed that when I disable the woo-commerce plugin the Yoast plugin displays my site map URL but if I activate the woo-commerce plugin I get the same error message.

I have contacted my host and they have done all they could but they said I should contact the owners of these plugins that there is an error somewhere.

please I need your advice

Absolutely disgusting what I have experienced.

In October, I built a very elaborate site with dozens and dozens of pages. Unfortunately in November, the South African Host that the client was using, of which I built the site on – subsequently received a multiple bot net DDOS attack. (But this is neither here or there) I had to redo absolutely everything to make sure their was no XSS injections, or anything else. Therefore, did the Yoast (free) process twice. During both times, the functionality to include meta descriptions in relation to focused key words, was existent and fully working. Within 8 weeks, the site reached number 1 in the clients market on SE rankings. Great! However, i noticed multiple alerts coming through which indicated the SEO was not functioning correctly. Low-and-behold, the field where I had my meta descriptions in, all disappeared with out notice, without consent!

HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?

Considering the issue with sitemaps and your disruption to WordPress core functionalities, I am very dubious about continuing with you, however this has seriously impacted my clients SEO function. Now having to go through other processes to make sure we are back to number 1/2. This is out of order. You are such a vipers nest and I am just waiting for another problem to occur with you.

However, now spending 106 pounds with you – I hope this will not happen in the future, but who knows? At least now I should receive premium support.

Oh, by the way – the second the premium plugin was installed – guess what. My meta descriptions appeared. (going through database tables, exporting pages/posts – scouring through everything – nothing was to be found; thanks Yoast for making me purchase your product to make sure I get my descriptions back.)