LTD is back · Limited time only

Get Classic Monks

How to Disable Core Sitemaps in WordPress

Last updated on August 11, 2026

Key Takeaways

• Single toggle, no nested options

• Disables WordPress’s `/wp-sitemap.xml` endpoint

• Prevents duplicate sitemap submissions to Google Search Console

• Lets your SEO plugin’s sitemap be the canonical sitemap

• Affects all public post types

What Is the Disable Core Sitemaps feature?

WordPress 5.5 (released August 2020) added a built-in XML sitemap at /wp-sitemap.xml. It’s a basic sitemap that includes all public post types, taxonomies, and users. For many sites, this is the only sitemap they need.

For sites running a dedicated SEO plugin (Yoast SEO, RankMath, SEOPress, etc.), the built-in sitemap creates a problem: two sitemaps, one of which is canonical and one of which is not. Submitting both to Google Search Console can cause:

  • Duplicate sitemap entries
  • Confusion about which is the canonical sitemap
  • Sitemap errors in Search Console
  • Wasted crawl budget

Disable Core Sitemaps turns off the built-in sitemap, leaving your SEO plugin’s sitemap as the only one. This is the recommended setup for any site running a dedicated SEO plugin.

Why You Need It

The built-in sitemap is functional but minimal:

  • No priority or changefreq hints (most SEO plugins add these)
  • No image sitemap (most SEO plugins add this)
  • No news sitemap (if you run a news site)
  • No control over which post types or taxonomies are included

If you’re already running a full SEO plugin, the built-in sitemap is redundant. Disable it so the SEO plugin’s sitemap is the only one.

How to Use Disable Core Sitemaps in Classic Monks

Step 1: Navigate to Settings

Click into the Classic Monks plugin settings in your WordPress dashboard.

Step 2: Go to the Content Subtab

Click on the Core menu, then click the Content subtab.

Step 3: Enable Disable Core Sitemaps

Scroll to the SEO and Visibility section and toggle on Disable Core Sitemaps.

Disable core sitemaps toggle

Step 4: Save Changes

Click Save Changes.

Step 5: Verify

Visit https://yoursite.com/wp-sitemap.xml in a browser. The page should return a 404 (or a “sitemap not found” message) instead of the built-in sitemap.

Page not found message

Step 6: Update Google Search Console

If you previously submitted the built-in sitemap to Google Search Console, remove it and submit your SEO plugin’s sitemap instead. Common replacements:

  • Yoast SEO: /sitemap_index.xml
  • RankMath: /sitemap_index.xml or /sitemaps.xml
  • SEOPress: /sitemaps.xml

Configuration Options

Option Description Default
Disable Core Sitemaps Master toggle. Off

No nested options.

What Gets Disabled

When the toggle is on, WordPress’s built-in sitemap system is fully disabled:

Endpoint Before After
/wp-sitemap.xml Returns the sitemap index Returns 404
/wp-sitemap-posts-post-1.xml Returns posts sitemap Returns 404
/wp-sitemap-taxonomies-1.xml Returns taxonomies sitemap Returns 404
/wp-sitemap-users-1.xml Returns users sitemap Returns 404
/robots.txt includes Sitemap: /wp-sitemap.xml Yes No
wp_sitemaps filter and wp_sitemaps_index filter Active Inactive (filters removed)

What Does NOT Get Disabled

  • Your SEO plugin’s sitemap: Yoast, RankMath, etc. continue to generate their own sitemaps independently
  • WordPress’s other XML-RPC and feed endpoints: /feed/, /comments/feed/, etc. are unaffected
  • Custom sitemaps from other plugins: If you have a separate sitemap plugin (e.g., for a custom post type), it continues to work

Developer Notes

This feature is a single toggle with no developer hooks currently exposed. The feature-specific logic is loaded conditionally when the toggle is enabled.

Options used:

Option Type Default
Feature toggle Boolean false

Troubleshooting

Cause: A caching plugin or CDN is serving a cached version of the sitemap. The toggle only affects new requests; cached responses are still served.
Fix: Clear all caching layers (page cache, object cache, CDN). Most caching plugins have a “purge all” option. For CDNs (Cloudflare, etc.), trigger a manual purge.

Cause: A SEO plugin with a poorly-coded sitemap integration is reading the core sitemap and assuming it’s still active.
Fix: This is rare. Verify the SEO plugin’s sitemap is generated by the plugin itself, not by reading the core sitemap. If the SEO plugin depends on the core sitemap, the SEO plugin’s code needs to be updated.

Cause: A SEO plugin has a filter that re-enables the core sitemap, or a custom plugin is re-registering the sitemap.
Fix: Check for wp_sitemaps_add_provider filters in custom code. Some SEO plugins have a setting like “Use WordPress core sitemap” that re-enables the built-in. Disable that setting.

Cause: You previously submitted the core sitemap to Google Search Console. After disabling it, Search Console tries to fetch the now-404’d sitemap and reports errors.
Fix: Remove the old sitemap from Search Console (Settings > Sitemaps in the legacy Search Console or via the new URL Inspection API). Submit the new sitemap from your SEO plugin. Errors clear within a few days of the next crawl.

Cause: The toggle fully disables the core sitemap.
Fix: Don’t enable the toggle. Instead, register a custom sitemap provider via the wp_sitemaps_register_providers filter (see Advanced Options). The core sitemap and your custom sitemap will run side by side.

Sumit Your Ideas or Feature Requests

All submissions go through a manual review, so not every idea will be published. That said, the most upvoted ideas are given priority on our official roadmap.Please check if your idea already exists before submitting. If you find it, simply upvote it to help us prioritize it.