> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.daftplug.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Sitemaps

> XML sitemaps, robots.txt, and what goes in them.

**Crownify > Settings > Sitemaps**

## XML sitemaps

**XML Sitemap** `toggle` (default: on)

Generates a paginated sitemap index at `/sitemap.xml`, split per post type and taxonomy, that stays current automatically.

Replaces the core WordPress sitemap when enabled, so you do not end up with two.

> [!WARNING]
>
> Generating a sitemap tells nobody it exists. Submit `https://example.com/sitemap.xml` in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. Until you do, this setting is doing much less than you think.

**Noindexed Content** `select` (default: Leave it out)

Whether pages marked noindex appear in the sitemap.

Leave it out. Listing a page you have told search engines not to index sends a contradictory signal, and it is one of the most common mistakes in SEO configuration.

**News Sitemap** `toggle` (default: off)

Pro. Publishes a Google News sitemap for articles from the last 48 hours.

Only useful for sites approved in Google News. Enabling it without approval does nothing.

**Video Sitemap** `toggle` (default: off)

Pro. Detects videos in your content and publishes a video sitemap with duration, thumbnail, and description, so they can appear in video results.

## What goes in the sitemap

Each selected type gets its own sitemap file, listed in the index at `/sitemap.xml`.

**Post Types** `checkboxes` (default: posts and pages)

Which post types are listed.

**Taxonomies** `checkboxes` (default: categories)

Which taxonomy archives are listed.

**Include Images** `toggle` (default: on)

Lists the featured image and any images in the content, so they can appear in image search.

> [!NOTE]
>
> Types set to noindex or disabled on the [Content Types tab](/crownify/settings/content-types.md) are left out automatically. You never have to keep two lists in agreement.

> [!TIP]
>
> A sitemap is a list of pages you want indexed, not an inventory of every URL. Leaving out tag archives and date archives makes it a stronger signal, not a weaker one.

## Crawling

**robots.txt Editor** `toggle` (default: on)

Serves a robots.txt generated by Crownify, including a link to your sitemap and any AI crawler rules.

Nothing is written to disk. Deactivate Crownify and the rules stop applying, leaving nothing behind.

> [!WARNING]
>
> A physical `robots.txt` file on disk always wins. If your rules are not appearing, check whether one exists in your site root, because WordPress cannot override it.

### Additional rules

**Additional Rules** `textarea`

Extra directives appended to the served robots.txt, one per line.

```text theme={null}
User-agent: SomeBot
Disallow: /private/
```

Lines that are not valid robots.txt directives are dropped, so a stray paste cannot corrupt the file.

**Served Output** `preview`

Exactly what your robots.txt returns right now, including the sitemap reference and AI crawler rules. Check this after any change.

> [!WARNING]
>
> robots.txt is the fastest way to remove a site from search. A stray `Disallow: /` takes everything out. Read the served output after every edit, and if you are not certain what a rule does, do not add it.

> [!NOTE]
>
> robots.txt controls crawling, not indexing. A page blocked here can still appear in results if other sites link to it, but with no description, because the crawler was never allowed to read it. To keep a page out of results, use noindex on the [Content Types tab](/crownify/settings/content-types.md) and leave it crawlable.

## Checking your work

**1. Open the sitemap**

Visit `https://example.com/sitemap.xml`. You should see an index linking to one file per type.

**2. Open robots.txt**

Visit `https://example.com/robots.txt`. It should reference your sitemap.

**3. Submit both**

Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. Search Console then reports what it actually indexed, which is the number that matters rather than what you listed.


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