XML Sitemap — Technical SEO Audit

Based on Google's sitemap specification (sitemaps.org protocol) and observed patterns across WordPress, PrestaShop, Shopify, and Magento sites.

Discovery — How to find the sitemap

Priority order

1. robots.txt Sitemap: directive — authoritative. Sitemap: https://domain.com/sitemap_index.xml
2. Standard paths — HEAD request to confirm existence:
   • /sitemap_index.xml (WordPress with Yoast / Rank Math)
   • /sitemap.xml (generic)
   • /1_index_sitemap.xml (PrestaShop default — the standard path does not exist)
   • /sitemap/ (some custom implementations)
3. Not found — critical issue. Google cannot discover it automatically.