Every WordPress site needs a sitemap. Without one, search engines have to guess at your site’s structure, discovery of new content is slower, and pages that never attract internal links — so-called orphan pages — may never get indexed at all.
A good sitemap WordPress plugin solves all of this automatically, keeping Google, Bing, and every other search engine fully up to date every time you publish, edit, or delete content.
The challenge is that there are dozens of sitemap plugins to choose from — some standalone, some bundled inside larger SEO suites — and most comparison articles gloss over the real differences between them.
This guide doesn’t. We’ve independently tested every major sitemap plugin for WordPress, evaluated them on sitemap quality, performance impact, customization options, and compatibility, and ranked them so you can make a confident, informed choice.
Quick Answer: For most WordPress sites, Rank Math SEO offers the best sitemap plugin functionality — powerful, free, and integrated with IndexNow for near-instant indexing.
For a standalone sitemap-only option, XML Sitemap Generator for Google is the gold standard with over 2 million active installs and more than a decade of reliability. For the easiest setup imaginable, Yoast SEO works automatically from the moment you activate it.
Table of Contents
- What Is a Sitemap — and Why Does Your WordPress Site Need One?
- XML Sitemap vs. HTML Sitemap: What’s the Difference?
- Quick Comparison: Top 8 Sitemap WordPress Plugins
- Rank Math SEO — Best Overall Sitemap Plugin
- XML Sitemap Generator for Google — Best Standalone Free Plugin
- Yoast SEO — Best Set-and-Forget Sitemap Plugin
- All in One SEO (AIOSEO) — Best for Multiple Sitemap Types
- SEOPress — Best Lightweight Sitemap Plugin
- Jetpack — Best for Zero-Configuration Beginners
- WP Sitemap Page — Best for HTML Sitemaps
- Companion Sitemap Generator — Best Combined XML + HTML Plugin
- How to Submit Your WordPress Sitemap to Google
- How to Choose the Right Sitemap Plugin
- Frequently Asked Questions
What Is a Sitemap — and Why Does Your WordPress Site Need One?
A sitemap is a structured file that lists all the pages, posts, and other content on your website, along with metadata like when each page was last modified, how frequently it changes, and its relative importance within your site.
Think of it as a detailed map you hand to search engine crawlers so they never miss a room in your house.
WordPress generates basic sitemaps by default since version 5.5 (released in 2020), but this native sitemap is extremely basic — it doesn’t include images, videos, news articles, or custom post types, and it can’t be customized at all.
That’s why dedicated sitemap WordPress plugins exist: they generate complete, accurate, highly configurable sitemaps that cover everything on your site and update them automatically whenever your content changes.
There are two primary reasons sitemaps matter for SEO. First, they make crawling more efficient. Google sends crawl bots to your site on a regular schedule, but those bots have a finite crawl budget — a limit on how many pages they’ll process in one visit. A well-organized sitemap directs crawlers to your most important pages first and helps them understand your content hierarchy, using that budget wisely. Second, sitemaps speed up indexing.
When you publish a new post or update existing content, your sitemap plugin can notify search engines immediately via a “ping,” getting your changes into the index hours or days faster than passively waiting for crawlers to discover them.
For large sites — eCommerce stores with thousands of products, news publishers posting dozens of articles per day, or membership sites with gated content — a sitemap isn’t just helpful. It’s essential.
XML Sitemap vs. HTML Sitemap: What’s the Difference?
Before evaluating the plugins, it’s worth understanding the two distinct types of sitemaps that WordPress plugins can generate, because not every plugin produces both.
An XML sitemap is a machine-readable file written in XML format, designed specifically for search engine crawlers. It lists your site’s URLs along with metadata: the last modification date, the update frequency (hourly, daily, weekly), and the relative priority of each page compared to others on your site. XML sitemaps are typically accessible at a URL like yoursite.com/sitemap.xml or yoursite.com/sitemap_index.xml.
They’re what you submit to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. You never actually see your XML sitemap as a visitor — it’s purely for search engines.
An HTML sitemap is a human-readable page on your website — a structured list of links to your content, organized by category, post type, or date. It helps visitors navigate your site when they can’t find what they’re looking for through normal navigation or search, and it provides an additional layer of internal linking for search engines. For large content-heavy sites and eCommerce stores, a well-designed HTML sitemap page noticeably improves both usability and SEO.
Most sites need both. The best sitemap WordPress plugins generate both types — and some specialize in one over the other.
Quick Comparison: Top 8 Sitemap WordPress Plugins
| Plugin | XML Sitemap | HTML Sitemap | IndexNow | Image Sitemap | Video Sitemap | News Sitemap | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank Math SEO | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Free / $59+/yr |
| XML Sitemap Generator | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | Free |
| Yoast SEO | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Free / $99/yr |
| All in One SEO | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Free / $49.50/yr |
| SEOPress | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Free / $49/yr |
| Jetpack | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Free / $4.95/mo |
| WP Sitemap Page | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | Free |
| Companion Sitemap | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | Free |
1. Rank Math SEO — Best Overall Sitemap WordPress Plugin
Top Pick | Free + Pro | 2M+ Active Installs | IndexNow Supported
Rank Math has established itself as the most powerful and most complete free SEO plugin for WordPress, and its sitemap capabilities are central to why. The sitemap module in Rank Math doesn’t just generate a basic XML file — it creates a fully indexed, structured sitemap ecosystem covering every content type on your site and actively pushes updates to search engines the moment you publish.
When you install Rank Math, it automatically generates a sitemap index at yoursite.com/sitemap_index.xml. This index file links out to separate sitemaps for each content type — posts, pages, products, categories, tags, custom post types, and more — keeping individual sitemaps manageable in size and making it easy for search engines to find the content type they’re looking for. For a large site, this organization is genuinely valuable.
Rank Math supports every major sitemap type: XML sitemaps, HTML sitemaps (with a shortcode to display them on any page), image sitemaps (helps with Google Image Search indexing), video sitemaps, news sitemaps (for Google News inclusion), and local KML sitemaps for businesses with multiple physical locations. The free version covers all of these — no paid upgrade required for sitemap functionality.
The standout differentiator for Rank Math in 2026 is its built-in IndexNow integration. IndexNow is a protocol co-developed by Microsoft and supported by Bing, DuckDuckGo, Yandex, and Brave that allows websites to instantly notify participating search engines whenever content changes. When you publish or update a post with Rank Math active and IndexNow enabled, your URL is submitted directly to supporting search engines within seconds. Independent tests consistently show this results in fresh content appearing in Bing and Yandex search results within two to four hours, compared to one to three days with passive crawling. Rank Math also integrates with the Google Indexing API for eligible content types like job postings and live streams.
Sitemap configuration in Rank Math is extensive but well-organized. From the Rank Math > Sitemap Settings panel, you can control exactly which post types, taxonomies, and archives are included, set the number of links per sitemap page (default 200), toggle image inclusion, exclude specific post IDs, and enable or disable pinging search engines on each update. One particularly useful setting is the ability to exclude author archive pages from the sitemap — a common source of thin content issues on multi-author sites.
For WooCommerce sites, Rank Math automatically includes product, product category, and product tag sitemaps when the WooCommerce module is enabled. Product variations can be excluded to keep the sitemap focused on the pages that actually drive search traffic.
Pricing: The free version on WordPress.org includes all sitemap features with no limitations. Rank Math Pro starts at around $59/year and adds advanced schema types, multi-site support, and additional SEO modules — but you don’t need Pro for comprehensive sitemap functionality.
Pros: The most feature-complete free sitemap plugin available, IndexNow for near-instant indexing on Bing and other search engines, supports all sitemap types (XML, HTML, image, video, news, local KML), automatic sitemap index generation, comprehensive WooCommerce integration, and a well-documented settings panel.
Cons: The full plugin is a substantial install with many modules beyond sitemaps. Users who only want sitemap functionality and nothing else may prefer a lighter standalone option. Removing the Rank Math credit from XML sitemap files requires a small code snippet.
Best for: The majority of WordPress sites — bloggers, business sites, WooCommerce stores, news sites, and local businesses — who want the best sitemap functionality combined with a full SEO toolkit at no cost.
Get Rank Math SEO | Free on WordPress.org
2. XML Sitemap Generator for Google — Best Standalone Free Sitemap Plugin
100% Free | 2M+ Active Installs | 10+ Years of Reliability | IndexNow Supported
XML Sitemap Generator for Google (formerly known as Google XML Sitemaps) is the definitive standalone sitemap plugin for WordPress. It does exactly one job — generating XML sitemaps — and it does that job better than almost anything else. With over two million active installations, a rating of 4.8/5 stars from more than 2,000 reviews, and a track record spanning more than a decade, this is the plugin that established the standard for WordPress sitemap generation.
The XML Sitemap Generator for Google creates XML sitemaps for all WordPress content types including pages, posts, categories, tags, author archives, date-based archives, and custom post types. It generates image sitemaps and news sitemaps, and it recently added support for the IndexNow protocol for Microsoft Bing, keeping it competitive with newer all-in-one SEO plugins.
Configuration is straightforward but thorough. You can assign priority values and change frequency settings to each content type individually — for example, giving homepage and category pages higher priority than older archived posts. You can exclude specific posts or pages by ID, and you can control whether author and date archives appear in the sitemap at all. The plugin automatically pings search engines whenever your sitemap is updated.
The user interface is utilitarian rather than beautiful — it looks like a traditional WordPress settings page rather than a modern dashboard — but the functionality is complete and reliable. If your only goal is a well-configured XML sitemap and you don’t need an HTML sitemap or a full SEO plugin bundled alongside it, this is the cleanest, lightest solution available.
One important note: despite the name “for Google,” this plugin works perfectly for Bing, Yandex, and all other search engines that read XML sitemaps. The name reflects where you’ll submit the sitemap (Google Search Console) more than a technical limitation of the plugin itself.
Pricing: Completely free. No premium version. No upsells. Open source software.
Pros: 100% free, extremely lightweight (focused only on sitemaps), over a decade of active development, supports custom post types and taxonomies, IndexNow support added, 2M+ active installs, excellent reputation.
Cons: No HTML sitemap support, UI looks dated compared to modern SEO plugins, lacks the broader SEO tools that come with all-in-one plugins.
Best for: Sites that already have a separate SEO plugin (like Yoast Premium or another tool) and want a standalone, lightweight sitemap solution without overlap. Also ideal for developers who prefer a minimal plugin footprint.
Get XML Sitemap Generator for Google
3. Yoast SEO — Best Set-and-Forget Sitemap Plugin
Free + Premium | 13M+ Active Installs | Automatic and Maintenance-Free
Yoast SEO is the most-installed SEO plugin in the WordPress ecosystem, and for many users its sitemap functionality is reason enough to install it. From the moment you activate Yoast, it starts generating and maintaining an XML sitemap automatically. No setup wizard. No configuration required. Your sitemap is live at yoursite.com/sitemap_index.xml and it updates itself every time you publish, update, or remove content.
Yoast SEO splits sitemaps by content type — a separate sitemap for posts, pages, categories, authors, and any custom post types — which helps search engines prioritize and process each content category efficiently. You can exclude specific post types or taxonomies from the sitemap entirely, and you can exclude individual pages or posts using the noindex setting in the Yoast sidebar. Yoast also supports image sitemaps, video sitemaps (via the premium Yoast Video SEO add-on), and news sitemaps (via the Yoast News SEO add-on).
The limitation is that Yoast doesn’t support HTML sitemaps natively, and it doesn’t include IndexNow integration for instant search engine notification. This means content discovery on Bing, Yandex, and other non-Google engines may be slower than with Rank Math. For sites where Google is the dominant traffic source and you value simplicity above all else, this may not matter.
One area where Yoast’s sitemap implementation genuinely excels is its schema graph integration. When Yoast generates a sitemap, it’s part of a connected web of structured data that links your site’s entities together — helping Google understand not just which pages exist, but how they relate to each other. This connected approach can positively influence how Google represents your site in Knowledge Panel results.
Pricing: Free version on WordPress.org includes full sitemap functionality. Yoast SEO Premium costs $99/year and adds features like internal linking suggestions, redirect management, and AI-generated title and meta description support — but sitemap features are complete in the free version.
Pros: Zero-configuration sitemaps from day one, trusted by 13M+ sites, excellent schema graph integration, clean split sitemap structure, beginner-friendly.
Cons: No HTML sitemap support, no IndexNow integration, Premium is more expensive than alternatives, some users find the admin interface cluttered.
Best for: Beginners who want sitemaps working immediately without any configuration, and sites where Google is the primary search engine driver and ease of use is the priority.
Get Yoast SEO | Free on WordPress.org
4. All in One SEO (AIOSEO) — Best for Multiple Sitemap Types
Free + Pro | 3M+ Active Installs | XML, HTML, Video, News, RSS Sitemaps
All in One SEO is one of the original WordPress SEO plugins, and its sitemap module covers the widest variety of sitemap formats of any plugin reviewed here. In a single install, you get XML sitemaps, HTML sitemaps, video sitemaps, news sitemaps, and RSS sitemaps — each individually configurable with granular controls over which content is included and how it’s presented.
The AIOSEO sitemap interface is particularly beginner-friendly. Each sitemap type has its own settings tab with clear, plain-language options and toggle switches. You can enable or disable an entire sitemap type with a single click, configure how many links appear per sitemap page, include or exclude images and videos, and manage per-post type settings without any technical knowledge. The built-in Sitemap Preview lets you see exactly what your sitemap looks like before you submit it.
AIOSEO also provides automatic search engine notification whenever your sitemap is updated, and the Pro version adds the ability to prioritize crawling by content category — useful for news sites and large publishers where fresh content needs to be indexed as quickly as possible.
The multilingual sitemap support is one of AIOSEO’s hidden strengths. If you run a multilingual WordPress site using WPML, Polylang, or TranslatePress, AIOSEO automatically generates hreflang tags in your sitemap to indicate which language version of each page is intended for which geographic audience. This is a technically complex feature that most competing free plugins simply don’t support.
Pricing: Free version on WordPress.org includes XML sitemap and basic HTML sitemap. AIOSEO Pro starts at $49.50/year and adds news sitemaps, video sitemaps, RSS sitemaps, and advanced sitemap customization options.
Pros: Widest variety of sitemap types in a single plugin, beginner-friendly interface with sitemap preview, strong multilingual sitemap support, XML and HTML sitemaps both included in free tier.
Cons: No IndexNow support, some advanced sitemap types require the Pro upgrade, plugin size is substantial for users who only need sitemap functionality.
Best for: Publishers who need multiple sitemap types — especially video, news, and multilingual sites — and users who want a single plugin to cover all sitemap formats comprehensively.
Get AIOSEO | Free on WordPress.org
5. SEOPress — Best Lightweight Sitemap Plugin
Free + Pro | 300K+ Active Installs | White-Label Friendly | IndexNow Supported
SEOPress positions itself as the clean, efficient alternative to bloated all-in-one SEO plugins, and its sitemap implementation reflects this philosophy. The plugin generates XML and HTML sitemaps with a thoughtful feature set that covers everything most sites actually need, without the interface overhead of plugins that try to do everything at once.
SEOPress supports XML sitemaps, HTML sitemaps, image sitemaps, video sitemaps, and news sitemaps. It includes IndexNow integration for instant notification of Bing and other participating search engines. The sitemap settings panel is clean and well-organized, with options to include or exclude specific post types, control image handling, set update frequency, and manage priority values per content type.
What sets SEOPress apart from most competitors is that it’s fully white-labeled — even the free version. There’s no SEOPress branding in your admin dashboard, in your XML sitemap files, or anywhere visible to site visitors. For agencies and developers managing multiple client sites, this matters enormously.
SEOPress Free is genuinely capable, including all core sitemap types and IndexNow support at no cost. The Pro version at $49/year adds advanced features like structured data, WooCommerce SEO, and the Local SEO module — but for sitemap purposes, the free version is comprehensive.
Pricing: Free version on WordPress.org includes full XML and HTML sitemap functionality. SEOPress Pro starts at $49/year.
Pros: Lightweight and performance-conscious design, IndexNow support, fully white-labeled even in free version, covers all major sitemap types, competitively priced Pro tier.
Cons: Smaller community and ecosystem than Yoast or Rank Math, fewer third-party integrations, less documentation available for troubleshooting edge cases.
Best for: Agencies and developers who want a clean, white-label sitemap solution, performance-conscious site owners who want minimal plugin overhead, and WordPress users looking for a capable mid-tier alternative to the major players.
Get SEOPress | Free on WordPress.org
6. Jetpack — Best for Zero-Configuration Beginners
Free + Paid Plans | Built by Automattic | Works Automatically
Jetpack is built and maintained by Automattic — the company behind WordPress itself — which means long-term support and deep platform compatibility are essentially guaranteed. Its sitemap feature is one of the most hands-off options available: activate it and it works, without any settings to configure, any sitemap to submit manually, or any maintenance to perform.
Once the sitemap module is enabled in Jetpack, it automatically generates and maintains XML sitemaps for your pages, posts, categories, tags, custom post types, images, videos, and news content. The sitemap submits itself to search engines and updates automatically with every content change. For beginners who just want sitemaps working correctly without any learning curve, Jetpack delivers exactly that.
The trade-off is customization. Jetpack’s sitemap configuration options are minimal compared to Rank Math or AIOSEO. You can’t fine-tune priority values, set per-content-type update frequencies, or exclude specific posts by ID. For most small-to-medium sites, this doesn’t matter — the automated defaults are sensible. For sites with specific needs around content exclusion or priority management, a more configurable plugin is the better choice.
Jetpack also requires a WordPress.com connection to work, which some users prefer to avoid. It’s a larger install overall given all the bundled features beyond sitemaps.
Pricing: Sitemap functionality is included in Jetpack’s free tier. Paid plans start at $4.95/month and add security, backup, performance tools, and advanced SEO features. Available on WordPress.org.
Pros: Zero configuration required, built by Automattic for rock-solid compatibility, handles all content types automatically, generates news and image sitemaps.
Cons: Requires a WordPress.com account connection, minimal customization options, the full plugin is large if you only need sitemaps, no IndexNow support.
Best for: Absolute beginners, non-technical site owners who want sitemaps working without any setup, and users already running Jetpack for security or performance features.
7. WP Sitemap Page — Best Dedicated HTML Sitemap Plugin
Free | 300K+ Active Installs | HTML Sitemap Specialist
WP Sitemap Page does one thing: it creates beautiful, well-structured HTML sitemaps for your WordPress site. If you’re running an all-in-one SEO plugin that handles your XML sitemap but doesn’t generate a visible HTML sitemap page for visitors, WP Sitemap Page fills that gap perfectly.
The plugin is shortcode-based. Add
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With over 300,000 active installations and a 4.8/5 star rating, WP Sitemap Page has earned its reputation as the go-to solution for HTML sitemaps. The plugin is available in multiple languages including English, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Dutch, Czech, and Persian.
Pricing: Completely free. No premium version.
Pros: The best dedicated HTML sitemap plugin available, easy shortcode implementation, supports custom post types, multilingual, excellent ratings and reputation.
Cons: HTML sitemaps only — no XML sitemap generation, no IndexNow, and no other SEO features.
Best for: Sites that already have XML sitemaps handled by another plugin and just need a well-designed HTML sitemap page for visitors.
8. Companion Sitemap Generator — Best Combined Free XML + HTML Plugin
Free | Automatic Updates | XML + HTML in One Plugin
Companion Sitemap Generator occupies a useful niche: it generates both XML and HTML sitemaps in a single lightweight free plugin, without the broader SEO features of Rank Math or Yoast. If you want both sitemap types covered without installing a full SEO suite, this is the cleanest option.
The Companion Sitemap Generator automatically updates both your XML and HTML sitemaps whenever content is added or changed. For XML sitemaps, you can adjust update frequency and priority settings per post type. For HTML sitemaps, you can customize the appearance and layout to match your site’s design. The plugin also supports WooCommerce product sitemaps, making it useful for smaller eCommerce stores that don’t need the full weight of an all-in-one SEO plugin.
Pricing: Completely free.
Pros: Generates both XML and HTML sitemaps, automatic updates, supports WooCommerce products, customizable HTML sitemap layout, lightweight.
Cons: Smaller community and less documentation than major alternatives, no IndexNow support, fewer sitemap types (no video or news sitemaps).
Best for: Site owners who want both XML and HTML sitemaps without installing a full SEO plugin, and smaller WooCommerce stores needing a basic product sitemap.
Get Companion Sitemap Generator
How to Submit Your WordPress Sitemap to Google
Installing a sitemap plugin is only half the job. You also need to submit your sitemap to Google Search Console so Google knows where to find it. Here’s how:
First, find your sitemap URL. If you’re using Rank Math, it’s at yoursite.com/sitemap_index.xml. For Yoast, check Settings > General > Features and click the sitemap icon to see your exact URL. Most plugins display the sitemap URL directly in their settings panel.
Next, log into Google Search Console and select your property (your website). In the left sidebar, click “Sitemaps” under the Index section. Enter your sitemap URL in the “Add a new sitemap” field — just the path after your domain, like sitemap_index.xml — and click Submit.
Google will process your submission and display a status. “Success” means Google has received your sitemap. “Couldn’t fetch” usually means a server error or a misconfigured sitemap URL — check that your sitemap is accessible by entering the full URL directly in your browser.
Repeat the process for Bing Webmaster Tools if Bing traffic matters to your site. Bing also supports the IndexNow protocol, so if you’re using Rank Math or SEOPress, your content is already being submitted to Bing automatically with every publish.
After submitting, check back in Google Search Console after a few days to see how many pages have been discovered and indexed. If the number seems low relative to your total content, the Sitemap report will flag errors that need attention.
How to Choose the Right Sitemap WordPress Plugin for Your Site
With eight solid options reviewed above, here’s how to decide which one is right for your specific situation:
If you want the best all-around sitemap plugin at no cost, install Rank Math SEO. Its sitemap capabilities are genuinely comprehensive — XML, HTML, image, video, news, and local sitemaps, plus IndexNow for instant indexing — and they’re all free.
If you want sitemaps only, with no extra SEO features, use XML Sitemap Generator for Google. It’s the lightest, most focused option available, with a track record of reliability going back over a decade and IndexNow support recently added.
If you’re a complete beginner and want zero configuration, Yoast SEO or Jetpack will have your sitemaps working the moment the plugin is activated, with no settings to learn.
If you run a multilingual site, AIOSEO has the strongest hreflang sitemap support of any plugin in this comparison and handles the technical complexity of multilingual sitemaps better than alternatives.
If you’re an agency or developer managing client sites, SEOPress is the ideal choice because it’s fully white-labeled even in the free version — no plugin branding visible to clients in the admin panel or XML files.
If you already have an SEO plugin that handles XML sitemaps but need a visible HTML sitemap page, WP Sitemap Page is the best dedicated solution for that specific need.
One universal caution: never run two plugins that both generate sitemaps simultaneously. Duplicate sitemaps confuse search engines and waste crawl budget. If you install Rank Math, disable the sitemap module in any other SEO plugin you’re running. Google Search Console will flag duplicate sitemap entries as an issue.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does WordPress automatically create a sitemap?
Yes — WordPress has generated basic XML sitemaps natively since version 5.5. You can find it at yoursite.com/wp-sitemap.xml. However, the native WordPress sitemap is very limited: it doesn’t include images, custom post types beyond the basics, videos, or news content, and it can’t be customized. Most site owners replace or supplement the native sitemap with a dedicated plugin for more complete coverage.
What is the best free sitemap plugin for WordPress?
Rank Math SEO is the best free sitemap plugin for most sites — it’s comprehensive, supports all major sitemap types, and includes IndexNow for faster indexing. For a standalone option that does nothing but sitemaps, XML Sitemap Generator for Google is the most trusted and widely installed free option.
How often should a WordPress sitemap be updated?
Your sitemap plugin should update automatically every time you publish new content or make significant changes to existing pages. Most plugins ping search engines in real time with each update. You don’t need to manually update or resubmit your sitemap to Google Search Console after the initial submission — Google re-reads the sitemap automatically.
What is the difference between a sitemap index and a sitemap?
A sitemap index (sitemap_index.xml) is a file that points to multiple individual sitemaps, each covering a specific content type or a set of URLs. Individual sitemaps (post-sitemap.xml, page-sitemap.xml, product-sitemap.xml, etc.) contain the actual URLs. For sites with more than a few hundred pages, a sitemap index is the recommended structure because it keeps individual sitemap files manageable and makes it easier for search engines to process specific content categories.
Does having a sitemap guarantee Google will index all my pages?
No. A sitemap tells Google your pages exist and makes them easier to discover, but it doesn’t guarantee indexing. Google may still choose not to index pages it deems low-quality, duplicate, thin in content, or noindexed by other settings on your site. Use Google Search Console to monitor which URLs are indexed and investigate any that remain unindexed despite appearing in your sitemap.
Can I have both an XML sitemap and an HTML sitemap on the same site?
Yes, and it’s recommended for most sites. The XML sitemap serves search engine crawlers; the HTML sitemap serves human visitors and provides additional internal linking value for SEO. Rank Math, AIOSEO, SEOPress, and Companion Sitemap Generator all generate both types simultaneously.
Should I include all my pages in the sitemap?
No. Your sitemap should only include pages you want search engines to index and display in search results. Exclude login pages, thank-you pages, cart and checkout pages, privacy policy and legal pages, admin-only content, and any pages with the noindex tag already applied. Including these wastes crawl budget on pages that will never rank and can send confusing signals to search engines about your site’s quality.
What is IndexNow and should I use it?
IndexNow is a protocol supported by Microsoft Bing, DuckDuckGo, Yandex, Brave, and other search engines that allows websites to instantly notify participating search engines of new or updated content. When you publish or update a post on a site using IndexNow, the URL is submitted automatically within seconds — rather than waiting for crawlers to discover it. Rank Math and SEOPress both support IndexNow natively in their free versions. If your content is time-sensitive or if Bing traffic matters to your site, using a plugin with IndexNow support is a meaningful advantage.
Final Verdict: Which Sitemap WordPress Plugin Should You Use?
After testing every major option, here is the bottom line:
For the vast majority of WordPress sites, Rank Math SEO is the best choice — it provides the most complete sitemap functionality available in a free plugin, adds IndexNow for faster indexing on Bing and other engines, supports every sitemap type from XML to news to local KML, and comes with a full SEO toolkit at no cost.
If you want sitemaps and nothing else, XML Sitemap Generator for Google is the leanest, most proven option with over a decade of reliability and more than two million active installations.
If you’re a beginner who wants sitemaps working in thirty seconds with zero configuration, Yoast SEO or Jetpack activate and handle everything automatically from day one.
And if you need both XML and HTML sitemaps without a full SEO plugin, Companion Sitemap Generator is the cleanest combined solution available for free.
A sitemap isn’t optional. It’s one of the most impactful single steps you can take to improve how search engines crawl and index your content — and with any of the plugins above, it takes less than ten minutes to set up correctly.
Published on WPNova.com — your independent source for WordPress plugin reviews, tutorials, and expert guidance. Questions about setting up your sitemap? Drop them in the comments and we’ll help you out.