=== Dynamic XML Sitemaps Generator for Google ===
Contributors: wpgrim
Donate link: https://wpgrim.net/google-xml-sitemaps-generator-pro/?utm_source=wordpressorg&utm_medium=donate&utm_campaign=xml_sitemap
Tags: google, xml sitemap, google sitemaps, seo, google news, sitemaps, xml, sitemap, media sitemap, image sitemap, video sitemap, yahoo, bing, ask.com, yandex, google publisher
Requires at least: 5.0
Requires PHP: 5.6
Tested up to: 6.4.2
Stable tag: 1.7.4
License: GPLv2 or later
License URI: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html

Greatly improves your site's SEO 🚀 with special XML Sitemaps, HTML Sitemaps, Media Sitemaps and Google News.

== Description ==

## XML Sitemaps

Google XML Sitemaps Generator is a WordPress Sitemap plugin that improves your website's SEO by creating special XML Sitemaps for Search Engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing, Ask.com, and Yandex to index your site faster.

This plugin generates detailed **XML Sitemaps** that include your website's Pages, Posts, Custom Posts, and Taxonomies, enhancing your website's Search Engine Optimization (SEO) score. Plugin offers following Sitemaps:

* **General Sitemap** - single XML Sitemap with all links
* **Sitemap Index** - multiple Sitemaps in a single Sitemap Index
* **Google News Sitemap**
* **Image Sitemap**
* **Video Sitemap**

## Sitemap Structure

The plugin offers two primary XML Sitemap structures: **Single Sitemap** and **Sitemap Index**. The Single Sitemap displays all your website's content in a single XML Sitemap, while the Sitemap Index shows multiple XML Sitemaps in a single Sitemap Index.

**Sitemap Index** feature enables you to manage your sitemaps with **Multiple Inner Sitemaps** for various content types such as Pages, Posts, Custom Posts, Images, Videos and more. This feature makes easy the management of your Sitemaps and keep them organized.

## Google News

Make your website's News easily discoverable by Search Engines with Google News feature. By enabling "Google News" in the settings, a dynamic [Google News Sitemap](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/sitemaps/news-sitemap) will be created automatically. Google News Sitemap is fully compatible with popular multilingual plugins like **WPML**, **Polylang**, and **TranslatePress**.

The Google News Sitemap includes all the required fields such as **Publication Name**, **Language**, **Title**, and **Publication Date**. Additionally, it is fully compatible with the Google Publisher Center sitemap protocol, ensuring that your website's content is properly indexed and displayed in Google News.

## Image Sitemap

The Dynamic Image Sitemap is a valuable tool for optimizing website indexing and search engine visibility. By including images from Pages, Posts, and Custom Posts Content, it offers a comprehensive representation of visual content on your site. Additionally, its adherence to the [Google Image Sitemaps](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/sitemaps/image-sitemaps) structure ensures compatibility and optimal performance within the search engine ecosystem.

## Video Sitemap

Video Sitemap will also be dynamically generated using collected Videos from Pages, Posts, and Custom Posts Content that contains Playlist Shortcode or <video> tag nd fully compatible with [Google Video Sitemaps](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/sitemaps/video-sitemaps) structure. Title, Thumbnail, Description, and Duration fields will be respectively generated from Video Attachment's Title, Featured Image, Caption, and Length.

## Custom Sitemap URLs

Customizing your XML Sitemap is ease with Custom Sitemap URLs feature. You can add **External or Internal URLs** to your XML Sitemap under the Plugin Settings, making it easy to customize your XML Sitemap to fit your specific needs.

In addition, Google XML Sitemaps Generator plugin allows you to display a Sitemap under a **Custom URL** on your website, providing an additional level of customization.

## Sitemap Options

This plugin provides you with a very simple and clean UI to set **Priority**, **Frequency** options and easily **Include/Exclude** Pages, Posts, Custom Posts, Archives, Authors, Categories, Taxonomies and Tags into your Sitemap.

## Cache

The WordPress XML Sitemap plugin comes equipped with a Cache feature that automatically caches Sitemap Data when a user visits the Sitemap page. This means that subsequent visits to the sitemap page will be faster as the cached data is quickly retrieved instead of generating the Sitemap from scratch.

Cache feature also includes options to set a **Caching Timeout**, view the **Last Cached Time**, and **Clear Cache** when necessary. These features help to improve the performance of your website and ensure that your Sitemap is always up-to-date for Search Engines to crawl.

Here is a short list of Google XML Sitemap plugin features.

**Features:**

* Multiple Sitemaps by Sitemap Index 🔥
* Custom XML Sitemap URL 🔥
* Automatically notifies Search Engines like Google, Bing, Ask and YAHOO about changes via ping
* Control Sitemap Options for all Pages, Posts, Custom Posts, Archives, Authors, Categories, Taxonomies and Tags 🔥
* Include/Exclude Taxonomies, Categories, Tags 🔥
* Add Custom External/Internal URLs to your XML Sitemap 🔥
* Automatically add Sitemaps to robots.txt
* Cache Sitemaps 🔥
* Toolbar with most helpful Actions & Links 🔥
* WooCommerce compatible
* WPML compatible
* Polylang compatible
* TranslatePress compatible
* Yoast SEO compatible with noindex
* User-Friendly Interface
* No Coding required

**Google News Features:**

* Sitemap Tags: Publication Name, Language, Title and Publication Date
* Custom Google News URL 🔥
* Custom News Publication Name
* Automatically ping Google News daily and when Post Status changed
* WPML compatible
* Polylang compatible
* TranslatePress compatible

**Media Sitemaps Features**

* Image Sitemap 🔥
* Video Sitemap 🔥
* Include Pages & Posts
* Custom Image & Video Sitemaps URL 🔥

## Upgrade to Pro Version

Upgrade to the [Google XML Sitemaps Generator Pro](https://wpgrim.net/google-xml-sitemaps-generator-pro/?utm_source=wordpressorg&utm_medium=content&utm_campaign=xml_sitemap) to get access to even more features, like an HTML Sitemap, Exclusion of specific Pages and Custom Posts from your Sitemap, Google News Premium Features, and more.

[Get Pro Version now](https://wpgrim.net/google-xml-sitemaps-generator-pro/?utm_source=wordpressorg&utm_medium=content&utm_campaign=xml_sitemap) and take your Search Engine Optimization to the Next Level.

**HTML Sitemap**

Improve your website's navigation with HTML Sitemap feature. This feature allows you to create an HTML Sitemap that can be displayed on your website's pages using popular Page Builder Widgets such as Elementor, Gutenberg, WPBakery, or simple Shortcode.

You can also customize your HTML Sitemap by choosing which Post Types to display, including Pages, Posts, and Custom Post Types, through the convenient multiselect option. With this feature, you can easily enhance your website's user experience and make it more SEO-friendly. [Try Pro Version](https://wpgrim.net/google-xml-sitemaps-generator-pro/?utm_source=wordpressorg&utm_medium=content&utm_campaign=xml_sitemap) today!

**Premium Features**

* Exclude Pages, Posts, Custom Posts from Sitemap
* Exclude Categories and Tags from Sitemap 🔥
* HTML Sitemap 🔥
* Posts Priority Automatic Calculation:
-- by Number of Comments
-- by Average Comments Count
* Page Builder Widgets and Shortcode for **HTML Sitemap**:
-- Elementor widget
-- Gutenberg block
-- WPBakery (Visual Composer) widget
-- **[html-sitemap post-types="page,post,.." ..]**
* No Branding Marks 🔥
* Premium Support

**Google News Premium Features**

* Include Custom Post Types
* Include Taxonomies
* Keywords 🔥
* Stock Tickers 🔥
* Exclude Posts and Custom Posts
* Exclude Categories and Tags 🔥

**Media Sitemaps Premium Features**

* Image Sitemap MIME Types
* Exclude Broken (404) Images 🔥
* Featured Images for Image Sitemap
* WooCommerce Gallery for Image Sitemap 🔥
* Video Sitemap YouTube Data 🔥
* Include Custom Post Types

**Advanced Premium Features**

* Smart Caching 🔥
* Minimize Sitemap source code

⭐ [Get PRO Version Now](https://wpgrim.net/google-xml-sitemaps-generator-pro/?utm_source=wordpressorg&utm_medium=get_pro&utm_campaign=xml_sitemap)

## More Powerful Plugins

[Classic Editor and Classic Widgets](https://wordpress.org/plugins/classic-editor-and-classic-widgets/)

Developed with ❤️ by [WP Grim](https://wpgrim.net/?utm_source=wordpressorg&utm_medium=direct&utm_campaign=xml_sitemap)

== Screenshots ==

1. General Settings
2. Sitemap Options
3. Google News Settings
4. Media Sitemaps Settings
5. Advanced Settings
6. XML Sitemap
7. Index Sitemap
8. Video Sitemap
9. Image Sitemap
10. Google News

== Frequently Asked Questions ==

= Where can I find Plugin Settings? =

You can find plugin options under **Settings > XML Sitemaps**.

= How to submit Sitemap URL to Google Webmaster Tools? =

1. Sign in to Google [Search Console](https://search.google.com/search-console).

2. Select your website in the Sidebar and click on **Sitemaps** menu.

3. Enter **https://yoursite.com/sitemap.xml** in "Add a new sitemap" field and click **Submit**.

= Can I modify Priority and Frequency options? =

You can find Sitemap Content Options under **Settings > XML Sitemaps > XML Sitemap**.

= How to show my Posts on Google News? =

Follow this guide in order to [Show up your Publications on Google News](https://support.google.com/news/publisher-center/answer/9607025?hl=en). Also, you need to [Create a Google News section](https://support.google.com/news/publisher-center/answer/9548609?hl=en) from part of your website.

You need also to add the Sitemap URL to your [Google Search Console](https://search.google.com/search-console) account for validation.

= How to show HTML Sitemap on my Pages? =

You can show HTML Sitemap on your Pages using popular Page Builder Widgets such as **Elementor**, **Gutenberg**, **WPBakery (Visual Composer)**, or simple Shortcode like:

**[html-sitemap post-types="page,post,.." show-featured-image="true" show-date="true" date-format="F j, Y"]**

= How to set custom Priority and Frequency for chosen Page, Post, or Term? =

You can set custom Priority and Frequency for chosen Page, Post, or Term using filters:

**sitemap_post_priority**, **sitemap_post_frequency**, **sitemap_term_priority**, **sitemap_term_frequency**

Example:

``
add_filter( 'sitemap_post_priority', 'my_sitemap_post_priority', 10, 2 );
function my_sitemap_post_priority( $priority, $post ) {
    if ( $post->ID === 1 ) {
        $priority = 9; // priority from 0 to 10
    }
    return $priority;
}
``

== Installation ==
This section describes how to install the plugin and get it working.

1. Upload the plugin files to the `/wp-content/plugins/` directory, or install the plugin through the WordPress plugins screen directly.
2. Activate the plugin through the 'Plugins' screen in WordPress
3. Please find more details on Plugin Installation in documentation
4. Set Up Page in Settings -> XML Sitemaps.

== Changelog ==

= 1.7.4 - 2023-12-15 =
* Sitemap Index URLs issue with Plain Permalinks fixed
* Choose Sitemap Structure settings improved
* WordPress 6.4.2 compatible

= 1.7.3 - 2023-12-04 =
* All `pre_get_posts` filters removed from Sitemap Queries
* Inner Sitemaps displaying issue with other Sitemap plugins fixed

= 1.7.2 - 2023-11-15 =
* Include Pages option added to Google News Settings
* Page, Post, Term Priority and Frequency filters added, thanks to @mosterojei

= 1.7.1 - 2023-11-10 =
* WordPress 6.4.1 compatible
* Taxonomy Settings removed from Google News
* Pro Version: Exclude Categories and Tags feature added. Thanks to @vladynol

= 1.7.0 - 2023-11-07 =
* Image Sitemap added to Sitemap Index
* Video Sitemap added to Sitemap Index
* Adding Google News to robots.txt feature added
* Adding Image and Video Sitemaps to robots.txt feature added

= 1.6.7 - 2023-11-06 =
* WordPress 6.4 compatible
* Settings issue for WordPress versions older than 5.5.0 fixed. Thanks to @stephanie0000

= 1.6.6 - 2023-10-30 =
* Minor bug fixes

= 1.6.5 - 2023-10-06 =
* Sitemap issue with Plain Permalinks fixed
* SimpleXMLElement replaced with DOMDocument for better performance

= 1.6.4 - 2023-10-04 =
* Multilingual Sitemap URLs for WPML, Polylang, and TranslatePress outputted in Settings
* TranslatePress removing XSL Template issue fixed. Thanks to @sunlight1976

= 1.6.3 - 2023-09-28 =
* Multiple Sitemaps by Sitemap Index feature moved from Pro to Free version
* PolyLang secondary languages issue fixed
* TranslatePress compatibility improved

= 1.6.2 - 2023-09-18 =
* get_home_url() changed to get_site_url() for XSL templates. Thanks to @bretzsofas
* Disabled auto-generated WP Sitemaps

= 1.6.1 - 2023-09-11 =
* Readme updated

= 1.6.0 - 2023-09-01 =
* WordPress 6.3.1 compatible
* Pro Version: Split Sitemaps into multiple Sitemap by Sitemap Index feature added
* Pro Version: Image Sitemap - Exclude Broken Images feature added

= 1.5.6 - 2023-08-16 =
* Admin Notices added

= 1.5.5 - 2023-08-07 =
* WordPress 6.3 compatible
* Pro Version: HTML Sitemap Widget - Show Featured Image, Show Excerpt, Show Date, Date Format options added

= 1.5.4 - 2023-08-01 =
* Video Sitemap: Player_loc URL escaping issue fixed. Thanks to @track77

= 1.5.3 - 2023-07-20 =
* Conflict with older Pro Version fixed

= 1.5.2 - 2023-07-13 =
* Google News: <news:news> metadata is removed for posts older than 48 hours. Thanks to @dima2duo
* Video Sitemap: Video Link combined with Video Title for better view
* Video Sitemap: Description length is limited to 300 characters for better view

= 1.5.1 - 2023-07-11 =
* `sgg_sitemap_post_media_urls` filter added to modify Media Sitemap URLs
* Advanced Settings features improved

= 1.5.0 - 2023-07-04 =
* Dashboard Sitemap Settings escaping issues fixed
* Google News > Post Title escaping issues fixed
* Sitemap > Last Modified Date output format changed to ISO 8601
* Google News > Publication Date output format changed to ISO 8601

= 1.4.9 - 2023-06-20 =
* Plugin deactivation link removed when Pro Version is activated
* Toolbar actions improved

= 1.4.8 - 2023-06-09 =
* Yoast SEO noindex Categories, Taxonomies excluded from Sitemaps

= 1.4.7 - 2023-06-02 =
* Yoast SEO noindex Pages, Posts excluded from Sitemaps
* Video & Image Sitemap styles improved
* Pro Version: YouTube checking API Key option added
* Pro Version: YouTube API Data Caching feature added

= 1.4.6 - 2023-05-27 =
* Sitemaps styles improved
* Older PHP versions (7.3) support improved

= 1.4.5 - 2023-05-15 =
* Sitemaps restyled
* Image Sitemap: Image Preview column added

= 1.4.4 - 2023-05-07 =
* Plugin name changed

= 1.4.3 - 2023-05-03 =
* Cache Sitemaps feature added
* Caching Timeout option added
* Last Cached Time information block added
* Clear Cache added
* Google News date format changed
* Pro Version: Smart Caching feature added

= 1.4.2 - 2023-04-23 =
* Pro Version: Featured Images option added
* Pro Version: WooCommerce Gallery feature added

= 1.4.1 - 2023-04-22 =
* MediaSitemap syntax error fixed

= 1.4.0 - 2023-04-18 =
* Image Sitemap feature added
* Video Sitemap feature added
* Sitemap Content Options improved

= 1.3.5 - 2023-04-01 =
* HTML Sitemap shortcode improved

= 1.3.4 - 2023-03-26 =
* Security Update

= 1.3.3 - 2023-03-22 =
* WordPress 6.2 compatible

= 1.3.2 - 2023-03-08 =
* Scheduled posts removed from Sitemaps
* Additional URLs saving issue fixed

= 1.3.1 - 2023-03-06 =
* Save Changes issue fixed
* Ping Google News issue fixed

= 1.3.0 - 2023-03-03 =
* Help-bar with Tools, Previews, Tips, and Links added
* Automatically ping Google News feature added
* Ping Google News when Post Status changed feature added
* User-Friendly Interface improvements

= 1.2.8 - 2023-02-25 =
* Plugin name changed

= 1.2.7 - 2023-02-22 =
* Pro Features added

= 1.2.6 - 2023-02-18 =
* Minor bug fixes

= 1.2.5 - 2023-02-10 =
* Google News excluding Posts issue fixed

= 1.2.4 - 2023-02-06 =
* Pro Features added

= 1.2.3 - 2023-01-20 =
* Polylang displaying Home Page URL issue fixed

= 1.2.2 - 2022-12-29 =
* Minor bug fixes

= 1.2.1 - 2022-11-27 =
* Google News Sitemap added
* Google News custom Publication name feature added
* Google News custom Sitemap URL feature added

= 1.2.0 - 2022-11-14 =
* Pro Version added

= 1.1.2 - 2022-11-03 =
* WordPress 6.1 compatible

= 1.1.1 - 2022-10-05 =
* Minimum PHP Version downgraded

= 1.1.0 - 2022-09-17 =
* Front page last modified time issue fixed

= 1.0.7 - 2022-05-21 =
* WordPress 6.0 compatible

= 1.0.6 - 2022-01-19 =
* WordPress 5.9 compatible

= 1.0.5 - 2021-12-10 =
* WordPress compatibility update

= 1.0.4 - 2021-09-23 =
* Bug fixes.

= 1.0.3 - 2021-07-15 =
* WordPress 5.8 compatible

= 1.0.2 - 2021-03-09 =
* WordPress 5.7 compatible

= 1.0.1 - 2021-02-21 =
* Bug fixes

= 1.0.0 - 2021-02-17 =
* Release