Sitemap.xml displays incorrectly in browser

[philb31362038]

I've exported my Muse site to HTML and then uploaded the sitemap.xml file it generated to my hosting provider. When I go to the sitemap in my browser it displays in plain text format - see www.workplacemediationeast.com/sitemap.xml - whereas the sitemap I uploaded was in Ascii UTF-8 and looks like a proper html sitemap. I've tried in 3 different browsers on several different devices and I get the plain text version every time. The plain text version is incomplete and shows the desktop pages, only one of the tablet pages and none of the phone pages. The xml file that's sitting on my host's server shows all of the files.

Bizarrely, if I check the source code for the text format version in my browser (for example, by using show source in Firefox developer tools) it shows the original (correct) xml file with all the desktop, tablet and phone files. Is there an instruction in the opening lines of the xml file generated by Muse that tells browsers to display it as plain text?

[Nancy OShea · Accepted solution]

XML is unstyled text.  Your sitemap.xml is for the sole purpose of being crawled by search engine robots and is never used by humans.

I use this online sitemap generator to create 3 versions -- xml, txt and html

Create your Google Sitemap Online - XML Sitemaps Generator

[philb31362038]

Hi Nancy, thanks for that. I used the XML sitemap generator you suggested and it listed all my desktop and tablet files, but none of the mobile phone files.

I want to point Google to my site with a sitemap that includes phone files, to make sure that Google knows there’s a separate version of the site specifically designed for mobiles.

Do you have any further thoughts on this?

Many thanks

Phil

[Nancy OShea]

IMO, maintaining a separate mobile site is counterproductive.  You should have 1 site built responsively to fit  all devices (xs, sm, md, lg, xlg). 

Mobile-Friendly Test - Google Search Console