Your Sitemap appears to be an HTML page Issue on Google Search Console for my React Website. Tried a lot of things but still the issue exists.

Understanding and Resolving the “Your Sitemap Appears to Be an HTML Page” Error in React-Based Websites Hosted on Netlify

If you’re managing a React.js website hosted on Netlify and have encountered the following error in Google Search Console:

“Your Sitemap appears to be an HTML page. Please use a supported sitemap format instead.” (Line 1 Tag: html)

you’re not alone. Many developers face this issue when trying to submit their sitemap.xml files, especially in single-page applications (SPAs) built with React. This article aims to guide you through the common causes of this error and provide best practices for resolving it effectively.

What Causes the “HTML Page” Sitemap Error?

Google expects your sitemap.xml to be an XML document that conforms to the sitemap protocol. When it encounters an HTML page instead, it indicates that the URL served at your sitemap location isn’t returning a valid XML file. Possible causes include:

Incorrect Content-Type headers: The server may serve the sitemap with a text/html content type instead of application/xml.
Misconfigured redirects or rewrites: Client-side redirection or improper server configuration might cause Netlify to serve the index HTML file instead of your sitemap.xml.
Incorrect placement or naming of the sitemap.xml file: The file should be accessible at the root URL (e.g., https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml) and properly generated.

Diagnosing the Issue

Start by verifying the actual response from your sitemap URL:

Use your browser or a tool like curl or Postman:

bash curl -I https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml

Check the Content-Type header; it should be application/xml. If it shows text/html, Google might be receiving HTML content.
Fetch the URL and view the source code. Ensure it’s valid XML and contains a <urlset> root element, not an HTML document.

Common Solutions and Best Practices

1. Confirm Proper Generation of your sitemap.xml

Ensure your React app correctly produces a sitemap.xml. Since React is a static renderer, you typically generate the sitemap during the build process or use a plugin.

Options include:

Using tools like React Router Sitemap to generate sitemaps during build.
Manually creating a static sitemap.xml file and including it in your build folders.