Feed, Sitemap and Robots

What Are Feed, Sitemap, and Robots.txt?

WordPress Feed (RSS or Atom) is a format for delivering regularly updated content to users. Visitors and subscribers can stay updated with your website’s posts and updates without directly visiting it.

The default WordPress feed URL is https://domain.com/feed.

Sitemap is an XML file that lists all the pages and resources on your site to help search engines like Google understand its structure and index it efficiently.

The default WordPress Sitemap URL is https://domain.com/sitemap.xml.

The Robots.txt file instructs search engine crawlers which pages or paths to access and which to avoid during crawling and indexing.

The default WordPress robots.txt URL is https://domain.com/robots.txt.

Why Is It Important to Change the Paths?

• Enhanced Security: Default paths in feeds, sitemaps, and robots.txt can reveal details about your WordPress setup, such as themes, plugins, and structure, which hackers and theme detectors can exploit.
• Improved SEO: By showing the new image URLs, you ensure proper search engine optimization and indexing of the new paths.
• Anti-Detection Measures: These prevent tools from detecting your website’s WordPress CMS, making it harder for attackers to target vulnerabilities.
• Cleaner Sitemap: Removing unnecessary author information and styles reduces clutter and improves the readability and professionalism of your sitemap.

Activate Feed, Sitemap and Robots Security in WP Ghost

Hide Feed and Sitemap Link Tags

Hide default paths to feeds and sitemaps that can reveal WordPress-specific structures.

1. Go to WP Ghost > Tweaks > Feed & Sitemap.
2. Switch on the Hide Feed & Sitemap Link Tags option to hide Feed and Sitemap Link Tags in the frontend.
3. Click the Save button to apply the changes.

Change Paths in RSS Feed

Replace image paths in the RSS feed with custom paths to hide identifiable structures (the RSS feed can be accessed at: https://yoursitename/feed/).

1. Go to WP Ghost > Tweaks > Feed & Sitemap.
2. Switch on the Change Paths in RSS Feed option to change the image paths in RSS feed.
3. Click the Save button to apply the changes.

Change Paths in Sitemap XML

For better Search Engine Optimization, we recommend using this feature to replace all the image paths in sitemap.xml with custom ones. The sitemap will be shown as required by Google and other search engines.

1. Go to WP Ghost > Tweaks > Feed & Sitemap.
2. Switch on the Change Paths in Sitemap XML option to change the image paths in Sitemap XML.
3. Optional: Activate Remove Plugin Authors & Style from Sitemap XML to eliminate author and style information added by SEO plugins. Read more: Remove Authors & Style in Sitemap XML.
4. Click the Save button to apply the changes.

Change Paths in Robots.txt

This option will remove any trail to WordPress common paths that show that you’re using WordPress as your Content Management System (CMS).

Robots.txt will have the minimum requirements for Google Search Engine to index the website and not affect rankings.

1. Go to WP Ghost > Tweaks > Feed & Sitemap.
2. Switch on the Change Paths in Robots.txt option to change and hide WordPress common paths in Robots.txt file.
3. Click the Save button to apply the changes.

Recommendations

• Regularly test your feed, sitemap, and robots.txt settings using tools like Google Search Console and browser inspectors.
• After applying changes, clear caches and check for broken links to avoid indexing issues.

By customizing these paths and configurations, WP Ghost enhances your website’s security and privacy while preserving SEO performance.