How to create and submit an XML sitemap in Drupal?

@clarabelle 

Creating and submitting an XML sitemap in Drupal involves a few steps, and there are different ways to accomplish it depending on the version of Drupal you're using. Below are steps for both Drupal 7 and Drupal 8/9/10:

For Drupal 8/9/10:

1. Install the XML Sitemap Module: Go to Drupal's sitemap module page and download the latest version of the Simple XML Sitemap module. You can install it via Composer: composer require drupal/simple_sitemap Enable the module by navigating to /admin/modules in your Drupal admin dashboard and checking the "Simple XML Sitemap" module, then clicking "Install."
2. Configure the XML Sitemap: Once the module is installed, go to /admin/config/search/simple_sitemap to configure the module. Here, you can select which content types should be included in the sitemap and configure various other settings such as multilingual sitemaps, inclusion of taxonomy terms, and more.
3. Generate the Sitemap: Navigate to /admin/config/search/simple_sitemap/generate to manually generate your sitemap. You can set up cron jobs to automatically regenerate your sitemap at predetermined intervals to keep it updated.
4. Access the Sitemap: The default URL for the sitemap will usually be something like https://yourwebsite.com/sitemap.xml.
5. Submit the Sitemap to Search Engines: Submit your sitemap to search engines like Google through the respective webmaster tools. For Google, this involves: Going to Google Search Console. Selecting your website property. Navigating to "Sitemaps" in the sidebar. Enter the path to your sitemap (e.g., sitemap.xml) in the "Add a new sitemap" section, then click "Submit."

For Drupal 7:

1. Install the XML Sitemap Module: Download the XML Sitemap module for Drupal 7. Enable the module by visiting /admin/modules.
2. Configure the XML Sitemap: Go to /admin/config/search/xmlsitemap. Adjust the settings to choose which content types, taxonomy terms, and other entities should be included in the sitemap. Ensure you have set the correct priorities and update frequencies.
3. Build the Sitemap: Go to /admin/config/search/xmlsitemap/rebuild to manually generate the sitemap. Set up cron jobs to ensure the sitemap is updated automatically.
4. Access and Submit the Sitemap: The sitemap is usually accessible at https://yourwebsite.com/sitemap.xml. Submit it to search engines as described for Drupal 8/9/10.

These steps will help you create and submit an XML sitemap to ensure search engines can index your site effectively. Always remember to keep your sitemap updated as you add new content by using cron jobs or by regenerating it periodically.