PluginWiz Sitemap Plugin

Overview

PW Sitemap is a powerful, feature-rich WordPress plugin that generates both XML and HTML sitemaps for your website. Designed to meet Google Search Console requirements, this completely free plugin helps improve your site’s SEO by making it easier for search engines to discover and index your content.

Perfect for: Small blogs, large e-commerce sites, business websites, and everything in between.

Key Features

XML Sitemap Generation

HTML Sitemap

Advanced Control

Performance

SEO Features

Installation

Method 1: WordPress Admin (Recommended)

Log in to your WordPress admin panel
Navigate to Plugins → Add New
Search for “PW Sitemap”
Click “Install Now”
Click “Activate”

Method 2: Manual Installation

Download the plugin zip file
Log in to your WordPress admin panel
Navigate to Plugins → Add New
Click “Upload Plugin”
Choose the zip file and click “Install Now”
Click “Activate Plugin”

Quick Start Guide

Step 1: Access Settings

After activation, go to Tools → PW Sitemap in your WordPress admin menu.

Step 2: Basic Configuration

The plugin works great with default settings, but you can customize:

Sitemap URL: Default is sitemap.xml (customizable)
Post Types: Select which post types to include
Individual Sitemaps: Enable separate sitemaps per post type (optional)

Step 3: Your Sitemap is Live!

Once activated, your sitemap is immediately available at:

yoursite.com/sitemap.xml (or your custom URL)

You can verify it’s working by visiting the URL in your browser.

Detailed Configuration

Post Types Settings

Location: Tools → PW Sitemap → Post Types section

Select which post types to include in your sitemap:

Posts
Pages
Custom post types (automatically detected)

Tip: Only include post types that are publicly accessible and should be indexed by search engines.

Individual Sitemaps

Location: Tools → PW Sitemap → Individual Sitemaps option

When enabled, creates separate sitemaps for each post type:

sitemap.xml becomes an index file
sitemap-post.xml for posts
sitemap-page.xml for pages
etc.

Benefits:

Better organization for large sites
Easier to manage specific content types
Recommended for sites with 1000+ URLs

Advanced Settings

Location: Tools → PW Sitemap → Advanced Settings

Configure change frequency and priority for each post type:

Change Frequency: How often content is updated (always, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, never)
Priority: Importance relative to other pages (0.0 to 1.0)

Default Values:

Posts: Weekly, Priority 0.8
Pages: Monthly, Priority 0.9
Homepage: Daily, Priority 1.0

HTML Sitemap Setup

Enable HTML Sitemap

Location: Tools → PW Sitemap → HTML Sitemap section

Check “Enable HTML sitemap page”
Select an existing page or create a new one
Click “Create New Sitemap Page” (if creating new)

The shortcode will be automatically added to the page.

				
					Shortcode: ['pw_sitemap'] - *Note: Remove the '' from the shortcode.

Using the Shortcode

The HTML sitemap uses a shortcode that works anywhere:

Basic Usage:

				
					Shortcode: ['pw_sitemap'] - *Note: Remove the '' from the shortcode.

With Options:

				
					['pw_sitemap' post_types="post,page" show_dates="true" columns="3"] - *Note: Remove the '' from the shortcode.

Shortcode Parameters:

post_types: Comma-separated list of post types (e.g., “post,page”)
show_dates: Show publication dates (true/false, default: true)
columns: Number of columns (default: 3)

Page Builder Integration

The shortcode works with all major page builders:

Elementor: Add a Shortcode widget, paste the shortcode
Beaver Builder: Add a Text Editor module, paste the shortcode
Gutenberg: Add a Shortcode block, paste the shortcode
Classic Editor: Paste the shortcode directly in content

Taxonomy Archives

Enable Taxonomy Archives

Location: Tools → PW Sitemap → Taxonomy Archives section

Check “Include Taxonomies”
Select which taxonomies to include:
- Categories
- Tags
- Custom taxonomies (automatically detected)

Exclude Specific Terms

You can exclude specific taxonomy terms from the sitemap. Posts assigned to excluded terms will also be excluded.

Use Cases:

Exclude test categories
Hide private content
Remove outdated content categories

Author Pages & Date Archives

Author Pages

Location: Tools → PW Sitemap → Author & Date Archives section

Enable to include author archive pages in your sitemap. Only authors with published posts are included.

Settings:

Change frequency (default: weekly)
Priority (default: 0.5)

Date Archives

Enable to include date-based archive pages (yearly, and optionally monthly).

Settings:

Include monthly archives (optional)
Change frequency (default: monthly)
Priority (default: 0.4)

Per-Post Control

Accessing Per-Post Settings

When editing any post or page, you’ll see a “PW Sitemap” metabox in the sidebar.

Options Available

Exclude from sitemap: Checkbox to exclude this specific post/page
Priority: Override default priority (0.0 to 1.0)
Change Frequency: Override default change frequency
Last Modified Date: Custom date override (format: YYYY-MM-DD)

Use Cases

Exclude specific pages (privacy policy, terms, etc.)
Boost important pages with higher priority
Mark frequently updated content with higher change frequency
Override dates for republished content

Best Practices

For Small Sites (Less than 100 pages)

Use default settings
Single sitemap (don’t enable individual sitemaps)
Include posts and pages only
Enable automatic pinging

For Medium Sites (100-1000 pages)

Consider individual sitemaps
Include relevant taxonomies
Enable caching
Customize priorities

For Large Sites (over 1000 pages)

Enable individual sitemaps
Enable caching with longer duration
Enable compression
Include all relevant content types
Monitor performance

SEO Recommendations

Set appropriate priorities:
- Homepage: 1.0
- Important pages: 0.8-0.9
- Blog posts: 0.7-0.8
- Archives: 0.4-0.6
Set realistic change frequencies:
- Frequently updated: daily or weekly
- Occasionally updated: monthly
- Rarely updated: yearly
Keep sitemap updated:
- Enable automatic cache clearing
- Enable automatic pinging
- Monitor in Search Console
Don’t over-optimize:
- Use defaults unless you have a specific reason
- Focus on content quality over sitemap tweaking

FAQs

Is PW Sitemap free?

Yes! PW Sitemap is completely free with all features included. There is no premium version.

Does it work with WooCommerce?

Yes! PW Sitemap automatically detects and supports WooCommerce products and other custom post types.

Can I customize the sitemap URL?

Yes! You can set any URL you want in the settings (default is sitemap.xml).

Will it slow down my site?

No! PW Sitemap uses intelligent caching and optimized queries. It’s designed to perform well even on large sites.

Do I need to manually submit to search engines?

No! With automatic pinging enabled, search engines are notified automatically. However, you can still manually submit in Search Console for verification.

Does it work with page builders?

Yes! The HTML sitemap shortcode works with all major page builders including Elementor, Beaver Builder, and Gutenberg.

Can I exclude specific posts?

Yes! Each post and page has a metabox where you can exclude it or customize its settings.

Does it support custom post types?

Yes! PW Sitemap automatically detects and supports all public post types.

Support

For support, feature requests, or to report bugs:

WordPress Repository: Coming Soon
PluginWiz Website: PluginWiz Support
Custom Development: Contact Us

Download

Download PW Sitemap:

WordPress Plugin Repository – Link coming soon

Requirements:

WordPress 5.0 or higher
PHP 7.2 or higher