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[Resolved] Split:I'm experiencing a persistent issue: the language-specific sitemap

This thread is resolved. Here is a description of the problem and solution.

Problem:
You are experiencing 404 errors when trying to access language-specific sitemap pages like 

/de/sitemap_index.xml

, 

/it/sitemap_index.xml

, etc., while using Yoast SEO and WPML with the 'Different languages in directories' structure.
Solution:
We recommend that you do not create separate sitemaps for each language when using Yoast SEO with WPML. These two plugins are designed to work together to manage multilingual sitemaps efficiently. For more details on how Yoast SEO integrates with WPML and handles sitemaps, please visit our documentation: Using WordPress SEO with WPML.

If this solution does not resolve your issue or seems irrelevant due to being outdated or not applicable to your specific case, we highly recommend checking related known issues at https://wpml.org/known-issues/, verifying the version of the permanent fix, and confirming that you have installed the latest versions of themes and plugins. If the problem persists, please do not hesitate to open a new support ticket for further assistance at WPML support forum.

This is the technical support forum for WPML - the multilingual WordPress plugin.

Everyone can read, but only WPML clients can post here. WPML team is replying on the forum 6 days per week, 22 hours per day.

This topic is split from https://wpml.org/forums/topic/unable-to-download-wpml-seo-plugin-despite-active-cms-license/

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This topic contains 1 reply, has 0 voices.

Last updated by Andrey 2 months ago.

Assisted by: Andrey.

Author Posts
June 5, 2025 at 3:30 pm #17110996

yaojinh

Hi WPML Support Team,

I'm experiencing a persistent issue: the language-specific sitemap pages such as `/de/sitemap_index.xml`, `/it/sitemap_index.xml`, etc., all return a 404 error.

✅ My site uses Yoast SEO and WPML (registered).
✅ I have enabled the "Different languages in directories" structure (e.g., `/de/`, `/it/`, etc.)
✅ The default language sitemap `/sitemap_index.xml` works fine.
❌ But translated versions always lead to 404.

I have already enabled the WPML SEO plugin and registered my license.

Please assist me in resolving this issue. Thank you!
This issue affects all language sitemaps, including `/fr/`, `/es/`, etc.
June 5, 2025 at 3:45 pm #17111147

Andrey
WPML Supporter since 06/2013

Languages: English (English ) Russian (Русский )

Timezone: Europe/Kyiv (GMT+03:00)

If I understand the problem correctly, when using Yoast SEO with WPML, there is no need to create separate sitemaps for each language. Yoast SEO and WPML work together to handle multilingual sitemaps efficiently. We provided a link to documentation on how Yoast SEO works with WPML: https://wpml.org/documentation/plugins-compatibility/using-wordpress-seo-with-wpml/#translate-sitemaps

If this is not what you are asking, can you please elaborate a little more so I can better understand? Sometimes screenshots illustrating what you mean may go a long way to clarify what words fail to transmit, so if you like, use "upload an image" below the comment area.