XML Sitemaps Index & Exclusion Rules
Configure dynamic sitemap_index.xml generation, manage post type exclusions, paginate large archives, and submit sitemaps to search engines.
UPDATED NOVEMBER 2026 · 4 min READ · STANDALONE WORDPRESS ARCHITECTURE
1. Sitemap Index Architecture
SearchNexa serves an index file at /sitemap_index.xml with dedicated sub-sitemaps: post-sitemap.xml, page-sitemap.xml, and custom post type sitemaps.
Large sites are automatically paginated at 1,000 URLs per sub-sitemap to comply with Google crawling guidelines and avoid PHP memory limits.
2. Custom Post Type & Taxonomy Exclusion
Under SearchNexa SEO → XML Sitemaps, toggle which post types and taxonomies should be included. Drafts, password-protected posts, and posts set to noindex are automatically excluded.
SearchNexa handles canonical rewrite rules automatically on Nginx, Apache, LiteSpeed, and Caddy servers.
3. Submitting to Google Search Console & Bing
Log into Google Search Console, navigate to Indexing → Sitemaps, and enter your sitemap URL: sitemap_index.xml.
SearchNexa includes lastmod timestamps derived from post modified dates, ensuring search engine crawlers re-index updated pages immediately.