Title: Sitemap error
Last modified: April 21, 2021

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# Sitemap error

 *  Resolved [joyfuln](https://wordpress.org/support/users/joyfuln/)
 * (@joyfuln)
 * [5 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/sitemap-error-88/)
 * Our sitemap is giving this error. We’ve tried to see if it’s a compatibility 
   issue, but it still doesn’t work. What can we do about this?
 * The page I need help with: _[[log in](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fwordpress.org%2Fsupport%2Ftopic%2Fsitemap-error-88%2F%3Foutput_format%3Dmd&locale=en_US)
   to see the link]_

Viewing 2 replies - 1 through 2 (of 2 total)

 *  Plugin Support [Maybellyne](https://wordpress.org/support/users/maybellyne/)
 * (@maybellyne)
 * [5 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/sitemap-error-88/#post-14347069)
 * Hello,
 * On visiting [https://botanopia.com/sitemap_index.xml](https://botanopia.com/sitemap_index.xml),
   we can confirm the following error:
 * _error on line 3 at column 6: XML declaration allowed only at the start of the
   document_
 * This is usually caused when an empty whitespace or a blank line appears due to
   a conflict with another plugin or your theme. Usually, there is an empty space
   or a blank line before or after the closing PHP opening or closing tag, which
   shouldn’t be there.
 * You can narrow down the exact source of conflict by performing a conflict check.
   Once you have identified whether your theme or a plugin causes the issue, please
   contact the developers of that theme or plugin for assistance in finding and 
   removing the whitespace.
 * As we can imagine that you’re unfamiliar with checking for conflicts, we’d like
   to point you to a step-by-step guide that will walk you through the process: 
   [How to check for plugin conflicts](https://kb.yoast.com/kb/how-to-check-for-plugin-conflicts/).
 * If you do not feel comfortable to do this yourself or if this does not solve 
   your issue, our [Yoast SEO Premium plugin](https://yoast.com/wordpress/plugins/seo/)
   comes with one year of (technical) support.
 *  [devnihil](https://wordpress.org/support/users/devnihil/)
 * (@devnihil)
 * [5 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/sitemap-error-88/#post-14375570)
 * We are going ahead and marking this issue as resolved due to inactivity. If you
   require any further assistance please create a new issue.

Viewing 2 replies - 1 through 2 (of 2 total)

The topic ‘Sitemap error’ is closed to new replies.

 * ![](https://ps.w.org/wordpress-seo/assets/icon-256x256.gif?rev=3419908)
 * [Yoast SEO - Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI](https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-seo/)
 * [Frequently Asked Questions](https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-seo/#faq)
 * [Support Threads](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/wordpress-seo/)
 * [Active Topics](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/wordpress-seo/active/)
 * [Unresolved Topics](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/wordpress-seo/unresolved/)
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 * 2 replies
 * 3 participants
 * Last reply from: [devnihil](https://wordpress.org/support/users/devnihil/)
 * Last activity: [5 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/sitemap-error-88/#post-14375570)
 * Status: resolved