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XML Sitemap question

By Mike | May 11, 2008

Today’s question:

If XML-Sitemap gets corrupted, can we delete it altogether (thru cpanel or FTP) and recreate a fresh one without creating any problems? Thanks

Now I have to make an assumption here and we all know what that ass/u/me word does. If you are using the plugin for WordPress here is what you can do with some caveats.

Yes, you can delete the files with either FTP or cpanel. There will be 2 files. sitemap.xml and sitemap.xml.gz.

Then go into your settings - XML sitempa and manually rebuild them.

The caveat and the problem is that once you have deleted them depending on your server settings the folder your blog is in may not be writeable. If you get an error than you will need to increse the permissions of that folder. Click the rebuild link again. Then return the folder to it’s original permissions. Make sure that the new sitemap.xml and sitemap.xml.gz are set to 666 so that the blog can update them each time you post after that.

It is important that you not leave the folder for your blog set to the permissions necessary to write your original sitemap.xml files as this will leave you vulnerable to hacking.

Make sure that you have submitted the sitemap to Google and Yahoo too if you hadn’t originally.

As always your questions and comments are welcomed.

Mike Paetzold

If you enjoy the information here you can buy me a coffee.