Description
Lightweight Newscast XML Sitemap For Google News is a lightweight WordPress plugin that generates a Google News compatible XML sitemap for your website. This sitemap helps Google discover and index your news content more efficiently, potentially improving your visibility in Google News search results.
Key Features:
- Google News Compatible: Generates XML sitemaps in the exact format required by Google News
- SEO Plugin Compatible: Works seamlessly with Yoast SEO, Rank Math, and All in One SEO
- Automatic Updates: Sitemap updates automatically when you publish new content
- Customizable Settings: Configure post types, categories, publication details, and more
- Dual URL Access: Available via pretty permalinks and query parameters
- Performance Optimized: Lightweight code that doesn’t slow down your site
- Translation Ready: Fully internationalized and ready for translation
Perfect for:
* News websites and blogs
* Magazine and publication sites
* Content creators who want better Google News visibility
* SEO professionals managing news content
This plugin is compatible with:
- Yoast SEO: Works alongside Yoast’s XML sitemaps
- Rank Math: Compatible with Rank Math’s SEO features
- All in One SEO: Works with AIOSEO sitemaps
- Other SEO plugins: Designed to avoid conflicts
Support
For support, feature requests, or bug reports, please visit the plugin’s GitHub repository.
Author
This plugin is developed and maintained by Gunjan Jaswaal.
If this plugin has been helpful, consider buying me a coffee to support development!
Installation
- Upload the
lightweight-newscast-xml-sitemap-for-google-newsfolder to the/wp-content/plugins/directory, or install the plugin through the WordPress plugins screen directly. - Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ screen in WordPress
- Go to Settings > Lightweight Newscast XML Sitemap For Google News to configure the plugin
- Your sitemap will be automatically available at
/lightweight-newscast-xml-sitemap-for-google-news.xml
FAQ
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How do I submit my sitemap to Google News?
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- Go to Google Search Console
- Add your website property and verify ownership
- Navigate to Sitemaps section in the left menu
- Submit your sitemap URL (
http://yoursite.com/lightweight-newscast-xml-sitemap-for-google-news.xml) - Wait for Google to crawl and index your content
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Does this work with SEO plugins?
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Yes! This plugin is specifically designed to work alongside popular SEO plugins like Yoast SEO, Rank Math, and All in One SEO without conflicts.
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What if the pretty permalink doesn’t work?
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If you encounter issues with the pretty permalink (
/lightweight-newscast-xml-sitemap-for-google-news.xml), you can use the alternative query parameter URL (/?news_sitemap_google_news=1). -
Can I customize which posts are included?
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Yes! You can configure post types, maximum age of posts, categories, and the maximum number of posts to include in the sitemap.
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Is this compatible with Google News requirements?
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Yes! The plugin generates XML sitemaps in the exact format required by Google News, including proper publication name and language tags with fallback values.
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What timezone is used for publication dates?
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The plugin uses the timezone configured in your WordPress General Settings (Settings > General > Timezone).
Reviews
Contributors & Developers
“Lightweight Newscast XML Sitemap For Google News” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
Translate “Lightweight Newscast XML Sitemap For Google News” into your language.
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
1.1.1
- Fixed WordPress coding standards: Added proper prefixes to all global functions and variables
- Function names now use ‘lnxsfgn_’ prefix for compliance
- Improved code quality and WordPress.org plugin check compatibility
1.1.0
- Updated for WordPress 6.9 compatibility
- Updated minimum PHP requirement to 7.4
- Added proper plugin headers (Plugin URI, Domain Path, Requires at least, Requires PHP, Tested up to)
- Enhanced WordPress coding standards compliance
- Verified compatibility with WordPress 6.9 UTF-8 improvements
- Confirmed compatibility with WordPress 6.9 frontend performance enhancements
1.0.0
- Initial release with core functionality
- Added XML sitemap generation for Google News
- Implemented settings page with customization options
- Added support for pretty permalinks
- Added direct URL interception for SEO plugin compatibility
- Improved admin interface with better instructions
- Added Google News submission guidelines
- Fixed compatibility issues with Yoast SEO and All in One SEO
- Fixed empty publication name and language fields
- Added fallback values for required fields
- Improved error handling and validation
- Improved WordPress.org compliance with unique prefixes
- Enhanced Google News compatibility descriptions
- Added Buy Me Coffee donation support