PrestaShop sitemap: how to turn it on and submit it to Google
A PrestaShop sitemap is made by the free Google sitemap module. You install it in Modules → Module Manager, choose what goes into the sitemap and click generate. This creates an XML file with the addresses of products, categories and pages. You add its address to robots.txt and submit it in Google Search Console, in the Sitemaps report.
Author: The TellMyShop team. A guide for PrestaShop store owners: the cause, the manual fix and the same work in a chat conversation.
Last updated: · 6 min read
Does your store need a sitemap?
Most often, yes. In its guide to building and submitting a sitemap, Google says a sitemap helps with large sites, new sites with few links and pages that are easy to miss. A store with several hundred products and several levels of categories fits that description. A small site where every page can be reached from the menu can manage without one.
A sitemap won't replace good navigation. In its guide to ecommerce site structure, Google advises that every important product should be linked from a category. The sitemap is a supplement for addresses that links struggle to reach.
How to turn on the sitemap in PrestaShop step by step
The module is called Google sitemap, and gsitemap in the code. You will find its code and description in the gsitemap repository on GitHub. The steps for PrestaShop 8.1 and 9:
- Open Modules → Module Manager and search for “sitemap”. If the module isn't in the list of installed modules, install it from the catalogue.
- Click Configure next to the Google sitemap module.
- Set how often your store changes. This is only a hint for Google, not an instruction.
- Untick the page types you don't want in the sitemap, for example pages that offer nothing to a customer coming from Google.
- Click the button to generate the sitemap. The module shows the addresses of the files it created.
- Open the index file address in a browser and check that you see a list of files and addresses with your domain.
- Copy the cron job address from the module settings and ask your host or the store's caretaker to set up automatic refreshing.
In a store with several languages the module creates separate files for each language, linked by one index file. You only submit the index.
Where to add the sitemap and how to submit it to Google
A sitemap works best when Google knows where to look for it. There are two ways, and it is worth using both.
| Place | What to enter there | Who does it |
|---|---|---|
| robots.txt in the store's main folder | a Sitemap: line with the full address of the index file | you in the file, or the chat in Service mode |
| Search Console → Sitemaps | the index file address in the “Add a new sitemap” field | you, in your Google account |
| The Google sitemap module | page types in the sitemap, frequency, generating | you in the admin, or the chat with the Modules switch |
| A cron job at your host | the refresh address from the module settings | your host or the store's caretaker |
PrestaShop can generate robots.txt in Shop Parameters → Traffic & SEO. After generating it, check that the file contains the sitemap line. If it doesn't, add it at the end of the file. Remember that every time you generate robots.txt again from the admin, your manual additions are overwritten.
In Search Console you submit the sitemap in the report described in Google's help on managing sitemaps. The report shows when it was last read, the number of addresses found and any errors. When you see “Couldn't fetch”, open the sitemap address in a browser: the file may not exist or the store may be blocking it.
The most common sitemap problems in PrestaShop
The sitemap is old. The file was generated once, when the store launched, and nobody has refreshed it since. New products don't get into the sitemap, and deleted ones are still in it. The fix is a cron job.
The sitemap contains disabled products or addresses with a 404 error. This is usually also the result of an old sitemap. Generate it again and check the 404 error report. More on this in the post on 404 errors in PrestaShop.
robots.txt blocks what is in the sitemap. The sitemap says “here are important pages”, and robots.txt says “keep out”. Google gets conflicting signals. Check that the rules in robots.txt don't cover categories or product images.
A submitted sitemap from another domain. After moving from a test address, or from http to https, the old sitemap stays in Search Console. Remove it from the report and submit the new one.
The sitemap is there, but the products still aren't in Google. A sitemap helps Google find them, but doesn't force indexing. What to do next is covered in the post on the “Crawled, currently not indexed” status.
How the chat checks the sitemap in your store
With the TellMyShop module you ask for a review in one sentence. Your chat (Claude or ChatGPT) checks whether the sitemap module is installed and enabled, opens the sitemap file and robots.txt the way Google sees them, and compares this with the list of active products.
You: Check whether my sitemap is all right.
Your chat: The Google sitemap module is enabled, but the sitemap file's latest date is several months old. There is no line with the sitemap address in robots.txt. I suggest adding it at the end of the file:
You: Add it. And what about refreshing?
Your chat: Changing robots.txt needs the Service switch in the module panel. When you turn it on, I'll show you a preview of the file before saving. You set up sitemap refreshing with a cron job at your host, and I'll give you the address from the module settings.
Card status: waiting for your “yes”old version: (no sitemap line)
new version: Sitemap: https://yourstore.com/1_index_sitemap.xml
The file address in the example is illustrative. The module shows the file name in your store.
In the free TellMyShop Free the chat reads the store's reports, opens pages the way Google sees them and sees the list of modules, so it tells you what is wrong. It changes nothing. In TellMyShop Pro the chat also reads the module settings and can change them once the Modules switch is on for 24 hours. It makes the robots.txt fix in Service mode, which lasts 3 hours and makes a copy of the file before saving. Examples of such requests are in the use cases reviewing module settings and fixing a file that blocks Google.
Every change has a preview, waits for your “yes” and goes into the change history. You can undo most changes with one instruction. Submitting the sitemap in Search Console stays on your side, because TellMyShop doesn't connect to your Google account. Plans and prices are on the pricing page, and other guides on store SEO on the blog.
Questions and answers
Does PrestaShop have a sitemap as standard?
Yes. The sitemap is created by the free Google sitemap module (gsitemap) from the PrestaShop developers. In many stores it is already installed, but you have to configure it and generate the file.
Where do I find my store's sitemap address?
After generating, the module shows the file addresses on its settings page. Usually it is an index file in the store's main folder, one per store, with files for each language. That is the address you enter in Search Console.
How often do I need to generate the sitemap again?
Every time you add or remove a lot of products and categories. The most convenient way is a cron job at your host that calls the address given in the module. Then the sitemap refreshes itself, for example once a day.
Will a sitemap make Google index all my products?
No. A sitemap helps Google find addresses, but Google decides about indexing, partly based on the page content. Products with no descriptions or with wholesaler text may be skipped despite the sitemap.
Will TellMyShop submit the sitemap to Search Console?
No. TellMyShop works in the store, not in your Google account. The chat checks the module, the sitemap file and robots.txt and prepares fixes, and you submit it in Search Console yourself, in a few clicks.
PrestaShop is a registered trademark of PrestaShop SA. Claude is a trademark of Anthropic PBC. ChatGPT and OpenAI are trademarks of OpenAI. TellMyShop is not affiliated with these companies.