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Fix guide · Squarespace

How to Fix a Missing XML Sitemap in Squarespace (2026)

Squarespace generates a sitemap at /sitemap.xml for every site. You cannot create, edit or replace it. So when our checker reports "sitemap.xml was not found" on a Squarespace site, the file is almost never the problem. The request is. Either the site is not public, or the URL that was checked is not the domain Squarespace serves the site on. This guide starts with the exact request our checker makes, so you can reproduce the finding before you change anything.

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Why it matters

What this issue costs you

A sitemap is how search engines find pages that are poorly linked: new blog posts, products, pages inside index pages. Squarespace documents that its sitemap includes your pages, pages in dropdowns, content on pages within index pages, and image metadata. If crawlers cannot fetch it, they can still find you through links, but more slowly. For a new site with few inbound links, that delay is the difference between pages being indexed this week or next month.

Step-by-step

How to fix: Missing XML sitemap

Squarespace

  1. 1

    Reproduce what our checker saw

    The check is simple and you can run it yourself. It reads your robots.txt and uses the first absolute Sitemap: URL it finds there. If there is none, it requests /sitemap.xml on the URL you entered. It follows redirects, and it counts the sitemap as present when the final response is 2xx or 3xx. A 4xx, a 5xx, or no response at all (a timeout, a DNS failure) is reported as missing. Run these two commands against the exact domain you audited and compare them with the status in your report.

    Terminal
    # 1. Which sitemap URL does robots.txt declare?
curl -s https://yourdomain.com/robots.txt | grep -i "^sitemap:"

# 2. What does that URL (or /sitemap.xml) actually return?
curl -sL -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code} %{content_type} %{url_effective}\n" \
  https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml
  2. 2

    If the request is refused: check site availability

    Go to Settings > Site Availability. The three options are Public, Password Protected and Private. Squarespace says the sitemap only loads when the site is Public, and trial sites are private by default. Switch to Public, then repeat the second command. If you are still building the site and do not want it public yet, the missing sitemap is correct behaviour. Ignore the finding until launch.

  3. 3

    If it times out or the domain does not resolve: check the domain

    Run the commands against both your custom domain and your built-in sitename.squarespace.com address. If the built-in address returns 200 and the custom domain fails, the sitemap is fine and the domain is not. Check the domain under Settings > Domains, confirm it is connected and set as primary, and wait for DNS changes to finish before re-checking. Then audit the domain you actually want indexed. The www and bare forms are different hosts to a crawler, so use the one your site redirects to.

  4. 4

    If it returns 200 but pages are absent: check what you have hidden

    Squarespace leaves these out of the sitemap by design: disabled pages, password-protected pages, and pages with "Hide page from search results" switched on (Page Settings > SEO). It also leaves out the contents of code and embed blocks, and uploaded file URLs. If a page you expect is missing, check those settings first. Squarespace says changes usually appear in the sitemap within an hour, but can take up to 24 hours. Wait before you conclude it is broken.

  5. 5

    Submit it to Google Search Console

    Once the second command returns 200, open Google Search Console > Sitemaps for the property that matches the domain you just tested. Enter sitemap.xml and click Submit. The report shows how many URLs Google discovered and, over the following days, how many it indexed. If Search Console says it "couldn't fetch" a sitemap that loads in your terminal, check that the property is for the same host (www or bare) that served the 200.

Verify the fix

Run the checker to confirm the issue is resolved

After applying the steps above, paste your URL below. Our checker will re-run every applicable check and show whether missing xml sitemap still shows as a failing check.

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FAQ

Common questions about missing xml sitemap

Does Squarespace update the sitemap automatically?

Yes. Squarespace updates the sitemap when you add or remove content. Its documentation says updates usually appear within an hour but can take up to 24 hours. There is nothing to trigger manually.

Can I exclude specific pages from the Squarespace sitemap?

Yes, by turning on "Hide page from search results" in the page's SEO settings. That removes the page from the sitemap. Disabled and password-protected pages are left out too. The option is not available for the homepage.

Can I edit, replace or upload my own sitemap on Squarespace?

No. Squarespace states that you cannot edit the sitemap. That is why a "missing sitemap" finding on Squarespace is nearly always about site availability or the domain, not the file.

Can I add the sitemap to robots.txt myself?

No. Squarespace says all its sites share the same robots.txt and users cannot access or edit it. Our checker uses a Sitemap: line if robots.txt declares one, and falls back to /sitemap.xml if not. On Squarespace either path leads to the same generated file.

While you're here

Related fix guides for Squarespace

Missing XML sitemapWordPress→Missing robots.txtSquarespace→Missing canonical tagSquarespace→

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