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XML Sitemaps in WordPress ​

An XML sitemap is a file that lists all the important URLs on your website, acting as a roadmap for search engine crawlers. It tells them which pages you consider important, when they were last updated, and how often they change.

Since WordPress 5.5, the platform automatically generates a basic sitemap — but developers often need to customise the output for optimal SEO performance.


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Why the default sitemap isn't always enough ​

The default WordPress sitemap is a solid starting point, but it has a few limitations:

  • Too inclusive — Every public post, page, category, and tag is included by default. This can cause search engines to index thin content pages (for example, a tag used on only one post).
  • No media information — The default sitemap doesn't include image or video metadata, which is a missed opportunity for ranking in image and video search.
  • Limited control — Customisation options are minimal and require code.

A well-managed sitemap strategy focuses crawlers on high-value content, saves crawl budget, and prevents low-quality pages from being indexed.


Customising the core sitemap ​

You can control the core sitemap programmatically using filters in your theme's functions.php or a custom plugin.


1. Exclude an entire post type ​

If you have a custom post type that shouldn't be indexed (e.g. internal_docs), you can remove it from the sitemap entirely.

php
/**
 * Exclude a specific post type from the XML sitemap.
 */
add_filter( 'wp_sitemaps_post_types', 'exclude_post_type_from_sitemap' );

function exclude_post_type_from_sitemap( $post_types ) {
    // 'my_secret_cpt' is the name of the custom post type
    unset( $post_types['my_secret_cpt'] );
    return $post_types;
}

2. Exclude a specific post by ID ​

Useful for pages like "Thank You" that should stay public but not be indexed.

php
/**
 * Exclude a specific post or page by its ID from the sitemap.
 */
add_filter( 'wp_sitemaps_posts_query_args', 'exclude_specific_post_from_sitemap', 10, 2 );

function exclude_specific_post_from_sitemap( $args, $post_type ) {
    // Exclude post with ID 123
    $args['post__not_in'] = isset( $args['post__not_in'] ) ? $args['post__not_in'] : [];
    $args['post__not_in'][] = 123;

    // To exclude multiple posts/pages:
    // $args['post__not_in'] = array_merge( $args['post__not_in'], [ 123, 456, 789 ] );

    return $args;
}

3. Disable the core sitemap entirely ​

If you use a dedicated SEO plugin (such as Yoast SEO or Rank Math), you should disable the core sitemap to avoid conflicts.

WordPress' core sitemap works, but for serious SEO work we recommend disabling it and using a dedicated SEO plugin like Yoast SEO, Rank Math, or SEOPress instead. These offer a much better UI for excluding content, automatic generation of image and video sitemaps, and tighter integration with other SEO features.
php
/**
 * Disable the core WordPress XML sitemap.
 * Recommended when using a dedicated SEO plugin.
 */
add_filter( 'wp_sitemaps_enabled', '__return_false' );