Troubleshooting Sitemap Issues in Magento 2

Symptoms:

• Sitemap generates but contains 0 URLs
• XML file is very small

Solutions:

1. Check module is enabled:

   • Magmodules → Sitemap → General → Enabled must be Yes

2. Check feed generation enabled:

   • Feed Generation Settings → Enable must be Yes for the store view

3. Check noindex exclusion:

   • If "Exclude No-Index" is enabled, verify pages aren't all marked noindex

4. Verify products/categories exist:

   • Ensure you have enabled products and active categories

Prevention: Start with basic configuration, then add exclusions as needed.

Symptoms:

• Sitemap generation never completes
• PHP timeout errors in logs
• Memory exhausted errors

Solutions:

1. Run via CLI instead of admin:

   bin/magento mm-sitemap:generate --store-id=1
   

   CLI has longer timeouts and no browser limitations.

2. Reduce sitemap size:

   • Lower "Maximum No of URLs Per File" setting
   • The module will create multiple files automatically

3. Increase PHP limits (temporary):

   • Increase max_execution_time and memory_limit for CLI

Symptoms:

• Clicking sitemap URL shows page not found
• Sitemap file doesn't exist

Solutions:

1. Check sitemap was generated:

   • Look for the file in your Magento root or configured location
   • Check generation timestamp in admin

2. Regenerate sitemap:

   • Click Generate button or run CLI command

3. Check file permissions:

   • Ensure web server can write to the sitemap location

4. Verify filename configuration:

   • Check the configured filename in Feed Generation Settings

Symptoms:

• Specific categories/products don't appear
• URL count is lower than expected

Solutions:

1. Check page status:

   • Products/categories must be Enabled
   • CMS pages must be Active

2. Check noindex settings:

   • If "Exclude No-Index" is enabled, check page meta tags

3. Check visibility (products):

   • Products set to "Not Visible Individually" may be excluded

4. Check store assignment:

   • Pages must be assigned to the store view

Debug tip: Enable Debug Mode and check logs for exclusion reasons.

Symptoms:

• File exceeds size limit
• Search engines reject sitemap

Solutions:

1. Configure file limits:

   • Set "Maximum No of URLs Per File" to 50,000 or less
   • Set "Maximum File Size" appropriately

2. Module handles this automatically:

   • When limits are exceeded, a sitemap index is created
   • Multiple sitemap files are generated

3. Verify sitemap index:

   • Check if a sitemap index XML was created pointing to sub-files

Symptoms:

• Pages show wrong robots meta tag
• Default settings being ignored

Solutions:

1. Check robots module enabled:

   • Magmodules → Robots → General → Enabled must be Yes

2. Clear cache:

   • Full page cache may be serving old meta tags

   bin/magento cache:flush
   

3. Check page-level overrides:

   • Individual pages may have robots set at the page level
   • Page-level settings override defaults

4. Verify correct store view:

   • Settings are per store view

Symptoms:

• Some pages have correct robots, others don't
• Inconsistent behavior

Solutions:

1. Check page-level settings:

   • Categories: Catalog → Categories → [Category] → Search Engine Optimization
   • Products: Catalog → Products → [Product] → Search Engine Optimization
   • CMS Pages: Content → Pages → [Page] → Search Engine Optimization

2. Page settings take precedence:

   • Module sets defaults, but page-level overrides win

3. Review the hierarchy:

   • Page-level > Module defaults > Magento defaults

Symptoms:

• Sitemap doesn't update automatically
• Manual generation works fine

Solutions:

1. Check cron is enabled:

   • Feed Generation Settings → Cron Enable must be Yes

2. Verify Magento cron running:

   bin/magento cron:run
   

3. Check cron schedule table:

   SELECT * FROM cron_schedule WHERE job_code LIKE '%sitemap%' ORDER BY scheduled_at DESC LIMIT 10;
   

4. Check server cron:

   • Ensure system cron is configured to run Magento cron