I just noticed that I have not received an email notification from WA since Sunday. I don't think I've gone 3 days without a WA notification email since I became a Premium mem
I had this problem several times last summer and early autumn. I still don't know why. Every week there were 2-3 days I didn't receive any notifications, but I did receive other emails.
Well, since then it has been working all right. It could be some temporary server issues. I was suggested to change to Gmail but I haven't done that as it, in the end, works well with the one I usually use.
:-)
I contacted Comcast Customer Service and a very helpful lady sent me to Settings and there we found the Forward Email box checked to an email address that does not exist. Is that weird?
We unchecked it, and I'm hoping there is a way to have my WA notifications since last Sunday resent to my comcast email address.
Does anyone know if this can be done?
Dennis, that sounds weird, indeed.
Hope this issue is solved now.
I can't answer your question.
Perhaps you should write another question if you need more help.
Who seek, will find!
;-)
Thank you for your response Pernilla. The good news is my email inbox is shrinking. The bad news I sort of feel out of the WA loop.
I didn't get the normal email notification for your comment. I had to dig it out of my Notification List (the bell in the upper right). I think I will ask another question.
I'd like to know if these unreceived can be recovered? But I can't find a place on the platform to do that.
Hello again Dennis,
I think you should find them in the Notification List (the bell).
Choose "View All" and
choose the option you wish to be shown "Change Option".
Hope you'll see the "unreceived" emails there.
Good luck!
:-)
I'm sure you've checked your SPAM folder. You can also check your notification settings under your Account Settings (Profile Picture>Account Settings>Email Notification Settings. Also verify your e-mail address is correct.
I had this problem with a Yahoo email account. I was getting emails from WA just fine for over a year and then they suddenly stopped completely. Even the important ones about domain renewals and stuff! I'm positive Yahoo was blocking them for some reason. Maybe because of the volume? I even whitelisted the WA domain and couldn't get them to go through to Yahoo again, so I updated my account to go to a gmail address and havent had any issues since.
If you use a different email account. Remember towhitelist the WA domain so that email provider doesnt mark them as spam :)
See more comments
Why have my wa notification emails stopped?
I just noticed that I have not received an email notification from WA since Sunday. I don't think I've gone 3 days without a WA notification email since I became a Premium mem
Here is an update on my troubleshooting so far:
> I changed my notification email address to a gmail account that I had and indeed it is receiving my WA notifications.
> I spent 2 lengthy sessions with Comcast Email Customer Service and Comcast Security. Still no explanation on how the Auto Forward setting got checked including a bogus forwarding email address. Has my Comcast email been hacked?
> Comcast security sent me away to find out if infact our WA email notification system was sending to my Comcast email address. Haven't figured out how to do that, but it is sending to my gmail account?
> Comcast is my preferred email account, mostly because it is most like Outlook which I used for many years before I retired.
> Is there a way to recover my notification emails that had not been received from essentially Monday till today?
I wish I could. The format of Site Support requires that you answer the question ... Is this question related to your website"? It is not ... it is a question about the WA Platform, in particular the Email Notification System. When you answer NO ... it turns into a question for the community, which I completed last Monday and resulted in this thread here.
I had this problem several times last summer and early autumn. I still don't know why. Every week there were 2-3 days I didn't receive any notifications, but I did receive other emails.
Well, since then it has been working all right. It could be some temporary server issues. I was suggested to change to Gmail but I haven't done that as it, in the end, works well with the one I usually use.
:-)
I contacted Comcast Customer Service and a very helpful lady sent me to Settings and there we found the Forward Email box checked to an email address that does not exist. Is that weird?
We unchecked it, and I'm hoping there is a way to have my WA notifications since last Sunday resent to my comcast email address.
Does anyone know if this can be done?
Dennis, that sounds weird, indeed.
Hope this issue is solved now.
I can't answer your question.
Perhaps you should write another question if you need more help.
Who seek, will find!
;-)
Thank you for your response Pernilla. The good news is my email inbox is shrinking. The bad news I sort of feel out of the WA loop.
I didn't get the normal email notification for your comment. I had to dig it out of my Notification List (the bell in the upper right). I think I will ask another question.
I'd like to know if these unreceived can be recovered? But I can't find a place on the platform to do that.
Hello again Dennis,
I think you should find them in the Notification List (the bell).
Choose "View All" and
choose the option you wish to be shown "Change Option".
Hope you'll see the "unreceived" emails there.
Good luck!
:-)
I'm sure you've checked your SPAM folder. You can also check your notification settings under your Account Settings (Profile Picture>Account Settings>Email Notification Settings. Also verify your e-mail address is correct.
I had this problem with a Yahoo email account. I was getting emails from WA just fine for over a year and then they suddenly stopped completely. Even the important ones about domain renewals and stuff! I'm positive Yahoo was blocking them for some reason. Maybe because of the volume? I even whitelisted the WA domain and couldn't get them to go through to Yahoo again, so I updated my account to go to a gmail address and havent had any issues since.
If you use a different email account. Remember towhitelist the WA domain so that email provider doesnt mark them as spam :)
See more comments
I have received a comment on one of my WA Blog posts that I want to delete because it totally violates our Spam criteria in Kyle's "Spam is a No No". The guy seems like a nice
Hi Dennis,
There is a small icon to the right of the comment that brings up a drop down. From there, you should be able to delete.
If not, let me know and I can take care of it for you.
Thanks Jay ... and yep Ray is the guy who needs to read Kyle's Spam is a No No. I saw a comment in Chat about a week ago about the same problem. So I imagine Ray has sprinkled his promotion around a bit.
I plan to send him a PM and introduce him to Kyle's document. I will wait to see how he responds before I hit the Spam button.
Glad you asked this question. I didn't know how to delete one either. This has really helped me, too.
All the best to you,
Wendi :)
Hey Dennis,
Having had comments duplicated caused by a glitch at the time that member was commenting, I was able to simply delete the duplicate, so I would think you can delete any comment that has been made on your own blog, question, or training.
Hope you find this helpful.
Yep ... same function that we had on our old back office platform. I was thinking that it had changed with our new platform. It's still the tiny, gray downward arrow in upper right of comment box. Kind of washes out if you have any screen glare.
Any way I've deleted the comment. As I expected, the commenter had never seen Page 6 of Kyle's document, Wealthy Affiliate - The Open Education Project. So Report Spam was not necessary.
It's all good. Thank you Trish.
Dennis,
You have the ability to approve or delete the comment. Since you are the administrator of your website, you are the one that approves or deletes the comments.
Lisa
Thank you Lisa, but the issue is not on my website. It's a comment on one of my WA Blog posts. Brianne pointed me to the little grayed out downward arrow in upper right corner of comment box. That will work.
See more comments
How can I delete a comment on my wa blog?
I have received a comment on one of my WA Blog posts that I want to delete because it totally violates our Spam criteria in Kyle's "Spam is a No No". The guy seems like a nice
Hi Dennis,
There is a small icon to the right of the comment that brings up a drop down. From there, you should be able to delete.
If not, let me know and I can take care of it for you.
Thanks Jay ... and yep Ray is the guy who needs to read Kyle's Spam is a No No. I saw a comment in Chat about a week ago about the same problem. So I imagine Ray has sprinkled his promotion around a bit.
I plan to send him a PM and introduce him to Kyle's document. I will wait to see how he responds before I hit the Spam button.
Glad you asked this question. I didn't know how to delete one either. This has really helped me, too.
All the best to you,
Wendi :)
Hey Dennis,
Having had comments duplicated caused by a glitch at the time that member was commenting, I was able to simply delete the duplicate, so I would think you can delete any comment that has been made on your own blog, question, or training.
Hope you find this helpful.
Yep ... same function that we had on our old back office platform. I was thinking that it had changed with our new platform. It's still the tiny, gray downward arrow in upper right of comment box. Kind of washes out if you have any screen glare.
Any way I've deleted the comment. As I expected, the commenter had never seen Page 6 of Kyle's document, Wealthy Affiliate - The Open Education Project. So Report Spam was not necessary.
It's all good. Thank you Trish.
Dennis,
You have the ability to approve or delete the comment. Since you are the administrator of your website, you are the one that approves or deletes the comments.
Lisa
Thank you Lisa, but the issue is not on my website. It's a comment on one of my WA Blog posts. Brianne pointed me to the little grayed out downward arrow in upper right corner of comment box. That will work.
See more comments
I've recently changed my theme to a fully mobile responsive child theme, but it still does not show the right side bar. Mobile visitors must scroll all the way to the bottom (
If it is mobile responsive, you should be able to see whatever you can see on your pc, on your smartphone. If it is not showing, you can go to your settings in the sidebar and click on customise. You just have to experiment with your new theme.
Ed
I just changed my theme to make sure I had one that was totally mobile friendly and was a child theme. My old theme was no longer being updated. You could not see the right sidebar (widget area) on mobile unless you scrolled all the way to the bottom (after Comments). Who going to do that?
Well the new theme does the same, so mobile friendly does not mean full view. But I haven't actually tested to see how it (content and sidebar) would look so I'll try that out. I'm also searching for a plugin that provides a toggle like button (<< content) (sidebar >>) that would allow full mobile screen view for each with just a click.
Thanks for the input Ed
Mobile friendly means many things. Does your theme have a side bar and if it does do you get the full landscape view (content and side bar) on a mobile device? If you do is it fairly easy to read?
Yes it has a sidebar. Yes, you get a full screen on a variety of screen sizes. It was specifically designed to fit all screen sizes and for clarity.
Ed
Thanks Tim ... I've been investigating that option. I'm coming around to the notion that the mobile phone screen in landscape view is still not enough screen for showing the same site view as a desktop visitor. So I'm looking for a plugin that will make mobile access to the right side bar a quick and easy step ... like a toggle that would go back and forth from content to right side bar.
I appreciate you taking the time to respond ... all the best.
Dennis you can check this plugin out it gives you the option of having your site appear as it does on your desktop.
https://wordpress.org/plugins/wptouch/
Hi NWTDennis,
I think that you are going to find that banners are not the best way to promote products. You will get much more engagement by using text links in your content.
This works perfectly for mobile as it shows the main content first.
Hope this helps!
Best,
JV
See more comments
What is the best way to design affiliate offers for mobile?
I've recently changed my theme to a fully mobile responsive child theme, but it still does not show the right side bar. Mobile visitors must scroll all the way to the bottom (
If it is mobile responsive, you should be able to see whatever you can see on your pc, on your smartphone. If it is not showing, you can go to your settings in the sidebar and click on customise. You just have to experiment with your new theme.
Ed
I just changed my theme to make sure I had one that was totally mobile friendly and was a child theme. My old theme was no longer being updated. You could not see the right sidebar (widget area) on mobile unless you scrolled all the way to the bottom (after Comments). Who going to do that?
Well the new theme does the same, so mobile friendly does not mean full view. But I haven't actually tested to see how it (content and sidebar) would look so I'll try that out. I'm also searching for a plugin that provides a toggle like button (<< content) (sidebar >>) that would allow full mobile screen view for each with just a click.
Thanks for the input Ed
Mobile friendly means many things. Does your theme have a side bar and if it does do you get the full landscape view (content and side bar) on a mobile device? If you do is it fairly easy to read?
Yes it has a sidebar. Yes, you get a full screen on a variety of screen sizes. It was specifically designed to fit all screen sizes and for clarity.
Ed
Thanks Tim ... I've been investigating that option. I'm coming around to the notion that the mobile phone screen in landscape view is still not enough screen for showing the same site view as a desktop visitor. So I'm looking for a plugin that will make mobile access to the right side bar a quick and easy step ... like a toggle that would go back and forth from content to right side bar.
I appreciate you taking the time to respond ... all the best.
Dennis you can check this plugin out it gives you the option of having your site appear as it does on your desktop.
https://wordpress.org/plugins/wptouch/
Hi NWTDennis,
I think that you are going to find that banners are not the best way to promote products. You will get much more engagement by using text links in your content.
This works perfectly for mobile as it shows the main content first.
Hope this helps!
Best,
JV
See more comments
I just realized that my site is not mobile friendly as a result of finally getting a smart phone. Even though It passes the WMT mobile friendly test, full screen content (that
Hi Dennis,
there are several options you can do.
First, if you pass the mobile friendly test, then your theme is responsive.
The reason why your current theme shows the sidebar below the content on mobile devices is because it has been coded that way. For a better fit on the smaller screen. Not to everybody's liking (mine not either) but it's done for quicker side speed and better content reading.
You have a couple of option to change that.
1) Change the code of your current theme to a wider layout on mobile devices. It's a column setting.
2) Use a responsive plugin. I don't recommend this as it can slow down your website significantly and since your theme is responsive, it wouldn't work properly and may conflict with your theme. Also, it wouldn't fix the issue with the sidebar as it's a coded layout.
3) Update the theme (if available).
4) Back up your website and install a new theme.
=> Back up Your Website
Hi Nicole ... hope you're doing well :-). It's a great feeling for me to actually understand pretty much every thing you've suggested. Once again I'm in awe of your technical knowledge of site development and operation. Thank you so much for your detailed response ... once again.
I'm going to change my theme for the reasons I stated above. My old theme (Tiny Forge) has been superceded by the same developer (from the Catch Themes group) and is now called Tiny Framework. It is featured as being completely mobile responsive.
If it turns out that the side bar view is still coded to appear at the bottom of the content, I may need some help to change the column setting. Not sure why they do that, since at the EOD we want visitors to have easy access to our affiliate banners in the side bar.
I do the content export function all the time before I update any plugins, and have leaned on the daily site backup feature of our SiteRubix portal since I host here at WA. Would you still recommend the plugin backup step?
Dennis
Hi Dennis,
I'm doing fine here. I hope you're doing well, too! :)
Happy to hear you're enjoying to learn new things. That's one of the fun parts. Soon you'll be able to understand and do things you never knew you were capable of. It's all a learning curve and there's more waiting for ya. ;)
Many theme developers put the sidebar on the bottom on mobile devices simply to give more room for the main content. It's common to do and when you think a small smart phone display, it does make sense to put it underneath the content.
So, in the end it's a personal preference and done in the code. The possibilities are endless. You can code a theme responsive and have no sidebar at all on mobile devices. Or you put the sidebar underneath the content on smart phones but have it there on tablets. Maybe the sidebar is there in landscape display (rotate widescreen) and disappears in portrait display mode, etc.
The code can be in one file or in several files. If you have a copy of the theme, you can send it to me and I'll check it out for ya, change it and send it right back to you.
As for the website backup plugin. WA does a fantastic job of keeping your website backed up and you never lose more than a days work if anything were to happen. You can leave your setup as is and do the export feature and rely on the backup here at WA.
Due to bad experience, it's has become a habit that I always take the extra minute and do a back up with that plugin. It has become quite the habit but has never let me down if needed.
I do recommend doing a database backup with the website. It's not needed as we have WA taking care of. However, if things break and you need to have it back the way it was, you never know how old your backup is that WA has done for you.
Yes, I know they're never older than a day, but let's say, you've written an article and published it between the last WA backup and the next.
Now your website breaks and everything is gone. Going back with the WA backup can mean that your new article is not included YET. Taking an extra minute to create a backup when YOU feel like it can and will make a difference. :)
As I said, due to personal experience, I always go the extra step. It's better to have it and not need it than not have it when you need it.
Talk to you soon!
Nicole
Hi Nicole,
Yikes ... things must be a little tense on the political/financial market front in Europe. The little guy has spoken in England.
I hate to keep leaning on you. You've been so helpful on many fronts. But before I make the big plunge I would like your opinion of the wp theme I'd like to switch to:
http://mtomas.com/389/tiny-forge-framework-child-themes-comprehensive-guide
This will give me a chance to check out your recommended wp back up plugin. I've got several posts in progress as well as a couple old post updates (in Word Docs) waiting to complete my theme change. So the WA backup feature is probably adequate crash protection for now.
When I check the mobile view of my site on my phone, I think the rotational (wide view) could easily include the right side bar which is my preference.
Thank you ... you still get my vote.
Dennis
Hi Dennis,
been away on a little family trip and didn't get to reply sooner.
I agree. Backing up your website is a must when you want to change anything major on your website. This should be before installing new plugins, before a theme change and other times. Also, once a week just to be safe is recommended, too.
I've had a brief look at the link. I don't think you're going to have much of a problem if you follow their guide to immigrate your current theme to the new framework. Since they're both from the same team.
However, I will go back to their website and read more on that before I can give you an opinion. So far, I like framework built websites. Themes for frameworks usually are child themes.
Child themes are bulletproof to 99% (always 1% for the doubt) when it comes to code changes and other customization besides the ones you can do within WordPress.
The changes are in the child themes and while you see them on your website, they're not hard coded into the main parent theme. Thus, the theme can be updated without losing any customization.
Anyway, I'll let you know shortly. :)
Nicole
I would advise on getting a responsive theme so that your website automatically sizes itself and the widgets according to what device the site is viewed in.
Thank you for the input Pearl. I've interpreted this statement ..."Elegant, readable and fully responsive theme built on HTML5 and mobile-first layout" found in the description of my theme of choice satisfying your input. This is the primary reason I am choosing this theme (Tiny Framework).
See more comments
I just realized that my site is not mobile friendly as a result of finally getting a smart phone. Even though It passes the WMT mobile friendly test, full screen content (that
Hi Dennis,
there are several options you can do.
First, if you pass the mobile friendly test, then your theme is responsive.
The reason why your current theme shows the sidebar below the content on mobile devices is because it has been coded that way. For a better fit on the smaller screen. Not to everybody's liking (mine not either) but it's done for quicker side speed and better content reading.
You have a couple of option to change that.
1) Change the code of your current theme to a wider layout on mobile devices. It's a column setting.
2) Use a responsive plugin. I don't recommend this as it can slow down your website significantly and since your theme is responsive, it wouldn't work properly and may conflict with your theme. Also, it wouldn't fix the issue with the sidebar as it's a coded layout.
3) Update the theme (if available).
4) Back up your website and install a new theme.
=> Back up Your Website
Hi Nicole ... hope you're doing well :-). It's a great feeling for me to actually understand pretty much every thing you've suggested. Once again I'm in awe of your technical knowledge of site development and operation. Thank you so much for your detailed response ... once again.
I'm going to change my theme for the reasons I stated above. My old theme (Tiny Forge) has been superceded by the same developer (from the Catch Themes group) and is now called Tiny Framework. It is featured as being completely mobile responsive.
If it turns out that the side bar view is still coded to appear at the bottom of the content, I may need some help to change the column setting. Not sure why they do that, since at the EOD we want visitors to have easy access to our affiliate banners in the side bar.
I do the content export function all the time before I update any plugins, and have leaned on the daily site backup feature of our SiteRubix portal since I host here at WA. Would you still recommend the plugin backup step?
Dennis
Hi Dennis,
I'm doing fine here. I hope you're doing well, too! :)
Happy to hear you're enjoying to learn new things. That's one of the fun parts. Soon you'll be able to understand and do things you never knew you were capable of. It's all a learning curve and there's more waiting for ya. ;)
Many theme developers put the sidebar on the bottom on mobile devices simply to give more room for the main content. It's common to do and when you think a small smart phone display, it does make sense to put it underneath the content.
So, in the end it's a personal preference and done in the code. The possibilities are endless. You can code a theme responsive and have no sidebar at all on mobile devices. Or you put the sidebar underneath the content on smart phones but have it there on tablets. Maybe the sidebar is there in landscape display (rotate widescreen) and disappears in portrait display mode, etc.
The code can be in one file or in several files. If you have a copy of the theme, you can send it to me and I'll check it out for ya, change it and send it right back to you.
As for the website backup plugin. WA does a fantastic job of keeping your website backed up and you never lose more than a days work if anything were to happen. You can leave your setup as is and do the export feature and rely on the backup here at WA.
Due to bad experience, it's has become a habit that I always take the extra minute and do a back up with that plugin. It has become quite the habit but has never let me down if needed.
I do recommend doing a database backup with the website. It's not needed as we have WA taking care of. However, if things break and you need to have it back the way it was, you never know how old your backup is that WA has done for you.
Yes, I know they're never older than a day, but let's say, you've written an article and published it between the last WA backup and the next.
Now your website breaks and everything is gone. Going back with the WA backup can mean that your new article is not included YET. Taking an extra minute to create a backup when YOU feel like it can and will make a difference. :)
As I said, due to personal experience, I always go the extra step. It's better to have it and not need it than not have it when you need it.
Talk to you soon!
Nicole
Hi Nicole,
Yikes ... things must be a little tense on the political/financial market front in Europe. The little guy has spoken in England.
I hate to keep leaning on you. You've been so helpful on many fronts. But before I make the big plunge I would like your opinion of the wp theme I'd like to switch to:
http://mtomas.com/389/tiny-forge-framework-child-themes-comprehensive-guide
This will give me a chance to check out your recommended wp back up plugin. I've got several posts in progress as well as a couple old post updates (in Word Docs) waiting to complete my theme change. So the WA backup feature is probably adequate crash protection for now.
When I check the mobile view of my site on my phone, I think the rotational (wide view) could easily include the right side bar which is my preference.
Thank you ... you still get my vote.
Dennis
Hi Dennis,
been away on a little family trip and didn't get to reply sooner.
I agree. Backing up your website is a must when you want to change anything major on your website. This should be before installing new plugins, before a theme change and other times. Also, once a week just to be safe is recommended, too.
I've had a brief look at the link. I don't think you're going to have much of a problem if you follow their guide to immigrate your current theme to the new framework. Since they're both from the same team.
However, I will go back to their website and read more on that before I can give you an opinion. So far, I like framework built websites. Themes for frameworks usually are child themes.
Child themes are bulletproof to 99% (always 1% for the doubt) when it comes to code changes and other customization besides the ones you can do within WordPress.
The changes are in the child themes and while you see them on your website, they're not hard coded into the main parent theme. Thus, the theme can be updated without losing any customization.
Anyway, I'll let you know shortly. :)
Nicole
I would advise on getting a responsive theme so that your website automatically sizes itself and the widgets according to what device the site is viewed in.
Thank you for the input Pearl. I've interpreted this statement ..."Elegant, readable and fully responsive theme built on HTML5 and mobile-first layout" found in the description of my theme of choice satisfying your input. This is the primary reason I am choosing this theme (Tiny Framework).
See more comments
He's back! Yea ... it's me again and I'm a little embarrassed to be back again so soon. I recently asked a question about HTML skills and thanks to everyone's response and su
Well that was a tough one, but thanks to Nicole sticking with me on it I now have successfully completed the GWT Site map submission process. I avoided going to a FTP service like FileZilla to fix my site map XML Parsing Error. Couldn't find a Download button on that site that my Avast Security & Malware Blocker software would accept.
For anyone who has this problem with their AIO SEO Site map, I recommend switching to the Yoast SEO Plugin where there is a "Fix It" option that cleans up the XML Parsing Error. This was Nicole's recommended solution and it worked. You need to deactivate your AIO SEO Plugin before you download and activate Yoast.
Now I was ready to start the Google WMT Sitemap submission process. The WMT's platform takes a lot of getting use to. As a newbie on it I've found it very cryptic and hard to navigate. I guess that is because it's intended for trained Webmasters ... not a WM in training like many of us are here at WA.
Somewhere I missed the instruction on how to properly submit a sitemap request using the GWT ADD/TEST SITEMAP functions. What goes in the little window is very specific text (sitemap_index.xml). Over the course of about a week, Nicole stayed with me on it via PM and I finally was able to make it work. I don't think I would have figured it out without Nicole's continued patience and support.
This is just another reason why in my mind NicoleJNB gets my nomination for WA Member of the Year. I appreciate everyone's input here. I love many, many things about being a WA member and at the top of that list is this incredibly supportive community. Hopefully I'll continue up the learning curve and be able to return the favor down the road.
Hi Dennis,
there can be several reasons for this error. One could be, and that was in my case, that a Sitemap.xml already exists and conflicts with All in One SEO. Needless to say, I tried to submit it to Google Webmaster Tools anyway and got the same error.
Since around that time I switched to Yoast for other SEO reasons and enabled their Sitemap feature. It showed me a red box alert that Yoast can't generate a Sitemap, because it already exists. So, I had two options. Delete manually using FileZilla or click the button in that alert box called "Fix it". Clicking "Fix it" did the trick.
You can try using FTP to delete the Sitemap.xml manually or try using Yoast SEO if All in One doesn't work. The problem with FileZilla is that they pack the installer full of other crap and you'll have to decline everything until you get to the point where you can choose the install location for FileZilla. Around 3-4 declines.
I've been using FileZilla ever since I started with websites and don't have a problem. The alert is because of all the other third party crap that comes with FileZilla, not for FileZilla itself.
If you use Firefox browser, you can use their addon called "FireFTP". This works, too and you can find it here:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/fireftp/
Now, if you decide to go with Yoast, make sure that you disable All in One SEO as it can conflict with Yoast, not just for SEO. Yoast has written an article on how to switch from All in One SEO to Yoast.
https://yoast.com/all-in-one-seo-pack-migration/
=> Once Yoast SEO is installed, here's how to activate it:
Hi Nicole ... nice to hear from you again. I do use Firefox as my browser so I'm going to check out their built in FTP function you have mentioned. I assume that if I'm able to rid my site of the XML Parsing Error: no element found using the FTP procedure the AIO Site Map function will work. Then the AIO SEO automatic site map updating feature would be the most practical site map choice.
Thank you for your response.
Hi Dennis,
yes, you can try the AIO Sitemap function again and it may work. I don't see why it shouldn't after you've made sure there isn't one already.
Once AIO works, make sure you submit the newly generated Sitemap XML to Google Webmaster Tools.
As always, let me know if both ways don't work and I'll get you sorted out.
And you're welcome. :)
Well I went to Firefox Add-ons and was able to activate FireFTP, but I now see this requires that one have a clue how to use FTP ... which I do not.
I'm following gmegs blog AIO Sitemap HELP - XML Parsing Error: no element found which says:
1) Deactivated AIO Sitemap
2) Made connection with FTP to my files
3) Deleted xml file in httpdocs
4) Enabled AIO sitemap again
5) Make new sitemap
I did 1) & 2), but there's a whole lot going in 3). I kind of get the idea. Get my site files listed on the left. Find the xml file in httpdocs and Upload to the section on the right. Delete the xml file and download httpdocs back to my site files on the left.
Yikes ... I'm afraid I might do something that corrupts my site. I think this is way above my pay grade to execute.
So now I'm wondering. Do you think the Yoast SEO plug in is a more user friendly approach for a newbie?
Hi Dennis,
I just checked for a Sitemap on your website. I used the website about golfing (the one for your page jumps).
I've tried http://yourwebsite.com/sitemap.xml and http://yourwebsite.com/sitemap_index.xml
You have to put your domain in to try it out yourself as I don't know if you want to post it here.
The default sitemap.xml file is successfully deleted as it doesn't show one using http://yourwebsite.com/sitemap.xml.
When I try http://yourwebsite.com/sitemap_index.xml, it shows the sitemap with zero entries. Using right click and then "View page source" (Chrome browser) to get a look at the code, it shows a blank space between line 1 and 3. This can be one of many reasons why it doesn't work with AIO.
Somewhere in your theme files is a blank space and that prevents AIO to create a sitemap. It's like that blank space is a line break and AIO can't create a proper sitemap because it lost contact to your website content. In other words, that line break prevents AIO to "read" your content.
However, when you look at Image 1 below, you can see that, even your sitemap appears empty, AIO has tried to create one.
I do recommend that you check for any alerts with Yoast as I have suggested before. If any, you can simply fix it by clicking the button "Fix it".
You may go back to AIO if you've checked with Yoast, but you can simply keep Yoast and work with it in the same way as with AIO. You may even like it better because it's more included and less of a headache to get everything to work. And yes, I do think Yoast is beginner friendly enough. :)
Back to the blank space, as a comparison, I have attached an image about the sitemap on my website and there is no blank space. This is how it should look like.
As I said, try Yoast as I showed you above and see if that fixes it. If you still have the problem, I get into the code and search for the blank space problem. :)
Nicole
P.S.: Yes, you can create some chaos when you manually delete core files through FTP. However, there is no need to download whole folders or other files if you just want to delete the sitemap. You can do this from within the files on your website. Simply right click and delete. Less work, less trouble and works the same. :)
Hi Nicole ... Hope you're having a great week.
I ended up going with the Yoast SEO plugin. The Fix It options apparently worked, because I now can see my site map on Yoast XML Site Maps. But Google Search Console still says sitemap submission is "Pending" because of the same issue "General HTTP error: 404 not found". I even waited several days to go back and check Google Search Console thinking it takes some time for Google to recrawl my site, but today the results are the same.
I'm fighting back major discouragement here thinking the code anomaly you describe above must be (and has always been) the root problem. I wonder if the FTP procedure is my only option?
I hate to keep leaning on you, but I definitely have hit a wall on this one.
Hi Dennis,
this is good news that Yoast fixed the problem.
Being in "Pending" mode is normal. Google does that when you submit a sitemap. It took them 48 hours for mine and then it started to report and index.
Did you delete the old Sitemap on Google Webmaster Tools and resubmitted the working one? Another question. Can you take a screenshot of the error status in Google Webmaster Tools and the URL you've submitted? You can send me that via PM and I'll check it this way.
Also, clearing your browser cache can help you with the error.
Meanwhile, I'm going to check out some stuff in the code of your website. Don't worry, I just read through "View Page Source". :)
We'll get it to work and since Yoast successfully created the Sitemap, there's no need to use FTP as on this part everything is working.
My best guess is that it's either a browser cache issue or on Google Webmaster Tools end as the error is still present and may has to be marked as "fixed" within GWT. Nothing we can get fixed. :)
Nicole
P.S.: You have to delete the old sitemap at Google Webmaster Tools. Resubmitting won't work.
Lots of replies, sorry.
Also, go into your website and under Settings ==> Permalinks, make sure it's set to "Post name". Click "Save Changes". See image below.
In the case it's already set to "Post name", click "Save Changes" anyway. This kind of resets without actually changing.
Before you go looking for a plugin why not try regenerating the sitemap in All in One. If you fixed the broken links it should be OK.
All in One SEO -> XML Site map -> Update Sitemap -> Verify Sitemap. If all good then upload it to Search Console again.
If you do still have errors they would be in a sitemap you generate from a different plugin too.
Tom
Thanks Tom ... I tried all the options you have suggested using the AIO SEO after fixing some broken links found using
http://www.brokenlinkcheck.com/#
and the XML Parsing Error: no element found was still there. I'm going to try Nicole's suggestions. I've worked with her before and she is one sharp lady.
Thanks Rich ... the AIO SEO site mapping is a great feature. But it doesn't work for my site. I get a XML Parsing Error: no element found message.
In one of Jay's live training sessions he said that a fix for the empty sitemaps in AIO is to go into the XMlL Sitemap setting and turn off Dynamically Generate Sitemaps.
Maybe that will fix your problem.
Tom
Thanks Tom I'll look into that.
I had delayed the site map task because I ran into the XML Parsing Error: no element found on my site months ago. Pj's training on the AIO SEO Site Maps function
How to produce a SiteMap and submit it to Google got me back into it. The automatic updating feature was the hook.
See more comments
What is the best wp plugin for xml site maps?
He's back! Yea ... it's me again and I'm a little embarrassed to be back again so soon. I recently asked a question about HTML skills and thanks to everyone's response and su
Well that was a tough one, but thanks to Nicole sticking with me on it I now have successfully completed the GWT Site map submission process. I avoided going to a FTP service like FileZilla to fix my site map XML Parsing Error. Couldn't find a Download button on that site that my Avast Security & Malware Blocker software would accept.
For anyone who has this problem with their AIO SEO Site map, I recommend switching to the Yoast SEO Plugin where there is a "Fix It" option that cleans up the XML Parsing Error. This was Nicole's recommended solution and it worked. You need to deactivate your AIO SEO Plugin before you download and activate Yoast.
Now I was ready to start the Google WMT Sitemap submission process. The WMT's platform takes a lot of getting use to. As a newbie on it I've found it very cryptic and hard to navigate. I guess that is because it's intended for trained Webmasters ... not a WM in training like many of us are here at WA.
Somewhere I missed the instruction on how to properly submit a sitemap request using the GWT ADD/TEST SITEMAP functions. What goes in the little window is very specific text (sitemap_index.xml). Over the course of about a week, Nicole stayed with me on it via PM and I finally was able to make it work. I don't think I would have figured it out without Nicole's continued patience and support.
This is just another reason why in my mind NicoleJNB gets my nomination for WA Member of the Year. I appreciate everyone's input here. I love many, many things about being a WA member and at the top of that list is this incredibly supportive community. Hopefully I'll continue up the learning curve and be able to return the favor down the road.
Hi Dennis,
there can be several reasons for this error. One could be, and that was in my case, that a Sitemap.xml already exists and conflicts with All in One SEO. Needless to say, I tried to submit it to Google Webmaster Tools anyway and got the same error.
Since around that time I switched to Yoast for other SEO reasons and enabled their Sitemap feature. It showed me a red box alert that Yoast can't generate a Sitemap, because it already exists. So, I had two options. Delete manually using FileZilla or click the button in that alert box called "Fix it". Clicking "Fix it" did the trick.
You can try using FTP to delete the Sitemap.xml manually or try using Yoast SEO if All in One doesn't work. The problem with FileZilla is that they pack the installer full of other crap and you'll have to decline everything until you get to the point where you can choose the install location for FileZilla. Around 3-4 declines.
I've been using FileZilla ever since I started with websites and don't have a problem. The alert is because of all the other third party crap that comes with FileZilla, not for FileZilla itself.
If you use Firefox browser, you can use their addon called "FireFTP". This works, too and you can find it here:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/fireftp/
Now, if you decide to go with Yoast, make sure that you disable All in One SEO as it can conflict with Yoast, not just for SEO. Yoast has written an article on how to switch from All in One SEO to Yoast.
https://yoast.com/all-in-one-seo-pack-migration/
=> Once Yoast SEO is installed, here's how to activate it:
Hi Nicole ... nice to hear from you again. I do use Firefox as my browser so I'm going to check out their built in FTP function you have mentioned. I assume that if I'm able to rid my site of the XML Parsing Error: no element found using the FTP procedure the AIO Site Map function will work. Then the AIO SEO automatic site map updating feature would be the most practical site map choice.
Thank you for your response.
Hi Dennis,
yes, you can try the AIO Sitemap function again and it may work. I don't see why it shouldn't after you've made sure there isn't one already.
Once AIO works, make sure you submit the newly generated Sitemap XML to Google Webmaster Tools.
As always, let me know if both ways don't work and I'll get you sorted out.
And you're welcome. :)
Well I went to Firefox Add-ons and was able to activate FireFTP, but I now see this requires that one have a clue how to use FTP ... which I do not.
I'm following gmegs blog AIO Sitemap HELP - XML Parsing Error: no element found which says:
1) Deactivated AIO Sitemap
2) Made connection with FTP to my files
3) Deleted xml file in httpdocs
4) Enabled AIO sitemap again
5) Make new sitemap
I did 1) & 2), but there's a whole lot going in 3). I kind of get the idea. Get my site files listed on the left. Find the xml file in httpdocs and Upload to the section on the right. Delete the xml file and download httpdocs back to my site files on the left.
Yikes ... I'm afraid I might do something that corrupts my site. I think this is way above my pay grade to execute.
So now I'm wondering. Do you think the Yoast SEO plug in is a more user friendly approach for a newbie?
Hi Dennis,
I just checked for a Sitemap on your website. I used the website about golfing (the one for your page jumps).
I've tried http://yourwebsite.com/sitemap.xml and http://yourwebsite.com/sitemap_index.xml
You have to put your domain in to try it out yourself as I don't know if you want to post it here.
The default sitemap.xml file is successfully deleted as it doesn't show one using http://yourwebsite.com/sitemap.xml.
When I try http://yourwebsite.com/sitemap_index.xml, it shows the sitemap with zero entries. Using right click and then "View page source" (Chrome browser) to get a look at the code, it shows a blank space between line 1 and 3. This can be one of many reasons why it doesn't work with AIO.
Somewhere in your theme files is a blank space and that prevents AIO to create a sitemap. It's like that blank space is a line break and AIO can't create a proper sitemap because it lost contact to your website content. In other words, that line break prevents AIO to "read" your content.
However, when you look at Image 1 below, you can see that, even your sitemap appears empty, AIO has tried to create one.
I do recommend that you check for any alerts with Yoast as I have suggested before. If any, you can simply fix it by clicking the button "Fix it".
You may go back to AIO if you've checked with Yoast, but you can simply keep Yoast and work with it in the same way as with AIO. You may even like it better because it's more included and less of a headache to get everything to work. And yes, I do think Yoast is beginner friendly enough. :)
Back to the blank space, as a comparison, I have attached an image about the sitemap on my website and there is no blank space. This is how it should look like.
As I said, try Yoast as I showed you above and see if that fixes it. If you still have the problem, I get into the code and search for the blank space problem. :)
Nicole
P.S.: Yes, you can create some chaos when you manually delete core files through FTP. However, there is no need to download whole folders or other files if you just want to delete the sitemap. You can do this from within the files on your website. Simply right click and delete. Less work, less trouble and works the same. :)
Hi Nicole ... Hope you're having a great week.
I ended up going with the Yoast SEO plugin. The Fix It options apparently worked, because I now can see my site map on Yoast XML Site Maps. But Google Search Console still says sitemap submission is "Pending" because of the same issue "General HTTP error: 404 not found". I even waited several days to go back and check Google Search Console thinking it takes some time for Google to recrawl my site, but today the results are the same.
I'm fighting back major discouragement here thinking the code anomaly you describe above must be (and has always been) the root problem. I wonder if the FTP procedure is my only option?
I hate to keep leaning on you, but I definitely have hit a wall on this one.
Hi Dennis,
this is good news that Yoast fixed the problem.
Being in "Pending" mode is normal. Google does that when you submit a sitemap. It took them 48 hours for mine and then it started to report and index.
Did you delete the old Sitemap on Google Webmaster Tools and resubmitted the working one? Another question. Can you take a screenshot of the error status in Google Webmaster Tools and the URL you've submitted? You can send me that via PM and I'll check it this way.
Also, clearing your browser cache can help you with the error.
Meanwhile, I'm going to check out some stuff in the code of your website. Don't worry, I just read through "View Page Source". :)
We'll get it to work and since Yoast successfully created the Sitemap, there's no need to use FTP as on this part everything is working.
My best guess is that it's either a browser cache issue or on Google Webmaster Tools end as the error is still present and may has to be marked as "fixed" within GWT. Nothing we can get fixed. :)
Nicole
P.S.: You have to delete the old sitemap at Google Webmaster Tools. Resubmitting won't work.
Lots of replies, sorry.
Also, go into your website and under Settings ==> Permalinks, make sure it's set to "Post name". Click "Save Changes". See image below.
In the case it's already set to "Post name", click "Save Changes" anyway. This kind of resets without actually changing.
Before you go looking for a plugin why not try regenerating the sitemap in All in One. If you fixed the broken links it should be OK.
All in One SEO -> XML Site map -> Update Sitemap -> Verify Sitemap. If all good then upload it to Search Console again.
If you do still have errors they would be in a sitemap you generate from a different plugin too.
Tom
Thanks Tom ... I tried all the options you have suggested using the AIO SEO after fixing some broken links found using
http://www.brokenlinkcheck.com/#
and the XML Parsing Error: no element found was still there. I'm going to try Nicole's suggestions. I've worked with her before and she is one sharp lady.
Thanks Rich ... the AIO SEO site mapping is a great feature. But it doesn't work for my site. I get a XML Parsing Error: no element found message.
In one of Jay's live training sessions he said that a fix for the empty sitemaps in AIO is to go into the XMlL Sitemap setting and turn off Dynamically Generate Sitemaps.
Maybe that will fix your problem.
Tom
Thanks Tom I'll look into that.
I had delayed the site map task because I ran into the XML Parsing Error: no element found on my site months ago. Pj's training on the AIO SEO Site Maps function
How to produce a SiteMap and submit it to Google got me back into it. The automatic updating feature was the hook.
See more comments
Here is an update on my troubleshooting so far:
> I changed my notification email address to a gmail account that I had and indeed it is receiving my WA notifications.
> I spent 2 lengthy sessions with Comcast Email Customer Service and Comcast Security. Still no explanation on how the Auto Forward setting got checked including a bogus forwarding email address. Has my Comcast email been hacked?
> Comcast security sent me away to find out if infact our WA email notification system was sending to my Comcast email address. Haven't figured out how to do that, but it is sending to my gmail account?
> Comcast is my preferred email account, mostly because it is most like Outlook which I used for many years before I retired.
> Is there a way to recover my notification emails that had not been received from essentially Monday till today?
That is a question for support.
Dave
I wish I could. The format of Site Support requires that you answer the question ... Is this question related to your website"? It is not ... it is a question about the WA Platform, in particular the Email Notification System. When you answer NO ... it turns into a question for the community, which I completed last Monday and resulted in this thread here.