Joomla Sitemap: Create an XML Sitemap with OSMap
Short answer: Joomla core does not create an XML sitemap, so you need an extension. The most common choice is OSMap by Joomlashack. It builds the sitemap from your menus, and its XML sitemap lives at a URL like https://yoursite.com/index.php?option=com_osmap&view=xml&id=1, where id is the sitemap’s number in OSMap. Submit that URL in Google Search Console.
Which Extension to Use
- OSMap (Joomlashack). Actively maintained, with versions for Joomla 3 through Joomla 6; pick the one that matches your site in the Joomla Extensions Directory. The free version creates XML, HTML, news and image sitemaps. Support for third-party components such as K2 and VirtueMart is in the Pro version.
- JSitemap Pro. A paid alternative listed in the Joomla Extensions Directory, with extra sitemap types built in.
- Xmap. The older extension OSMap grew out of. It is no longer maintained, so don’t use it on a current Joomla site.
Google’s results for "joomla sitemap" are mostly the extensions directory and OSMap pages, and that reflects reality: for most sites, OSMap is the whole answer.
Set Up OSMap
- Install OSMap from System → Install → Extensions, using the package from the Joomla Extensions Directory or Joomlashack.
- Open Components → OSMap. A default sitemap is created for you; open it or create a new one.
- Choose which menus to include. Pick your public content menus and leave out user, login and admin menus.
- Open the XML version of the sitemap from the OSMap list and copy its URL.
- Turn on Search Engine Friendly URLs in System → Global Configuration → SEO, so the sitemap lists clean URLs instead of
index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=42.
Why Some Articles Are Missing: OSMap Reads Your Menus
According to Joomlashack’s documentation, OSMap relies on menus to find your content. An article doesn’t need its own menu item, but it must be reachable through a menu item, for example a category view that lists it. If an article isn’t reachable from any included menu, it won’t appear.
The usual fix is a hidden menu: create a menu that isn’t shown on the site, add items pointing to the categories you want covered, and include that menu in the sitemap.
The reverse problem happens too. Every component that adds public pages, such as user profiles, search results or tag pages, can add URLs to the sitemap if its menu or plugin is included. Leave out anything that shouldn’t rank, and disable OSMap plugins for components you don’t want listed (System → Manage → Plugins, search for "osmap").
Priority and Change Frequency
OSMap lets you set priority and change frequency per menu item. Don’t spend time on it for Google: Google’s sitemap documentation says it ignores both values. It does use <lastmod> when the dates are consistently accurate.
Multilingual Joomla Sites
Joomla stores each language version as its own content and links them through associations (Content → Articles → Associations). The clean approach is one sitemap per language, each built from that language’s menus, submitted separately in Search Console. If you want hreflang links inside the sitemap, check whether your OSMap edition supports them before relying on it. For the rules, see multilingual sitemaps.
Submit It to Google and Bing
In Google Search Console, go to Indexing → Sitemaps, paste the path of your OSMap XML sitemap and click Submit. In Bing Webmaster Tools, submit the same full URL under Sitemaps. Also add it to the robots.txt file in your site’s root folder so every crawler can find it:
Sitemap: https://yoursite.com/index.php?option=com_osmap&view=xml&id=1
Common Joomla Sitemap Problems
The sitemap URL returns a 404 or an error
Check that OSMap is installed and enabled and that the id in the URL matches your sitemap. If you turned on URL rewriting, make sure your .htaccess file is in place. After a Joomla upgrade, open the XML URL in a browser; a PHP error or a blank page usually means OSMap needs updating to match the new Joomla version.
Articles are missing
They are not reachable from an included menu. Add a category menu item (in a hidden menu if needed) and include that menu.
The same article appears twice
It is reachable through two menu paths. Remove one of the menu items from the sitemap, or leave one menu out.
URLs look like index.php?option=com_content&...
Search Engine Friendly URLs are off. Turn them on in Global Configuration and reload the sitemap.
Moving from Joomla 3 or 4 to 5 or 6
Joomla 3 reached end of life in August 2023 and Joomla 5 came out in October 2023. After a major upgrade, install the OSMap version built for your new Joomla release, check that your sitemaps and plugins are still set up, and confirm the XML URL loads before you resubmit.
Check the Result
Open your OSMap XML URL and scan the list of <loc> entries. For an outside check, the free sitemap finder reads your robots.txt, loads the sitemap it points to, and tests 30 of its URLs for 404s, redirects, noindex tags and canonical problems.