Sitemap Issue

Hi all. I just reported an error to SS with sitemaps. It wasn't clear how they will handle regenerations after the fix, so I'm letting everyone know in case you're impacted. It looks like the issue started around mid-May 2021. New images have been added as <image:title>Image Name - Make it stand out</image:title> and if no caption was specified <image:caption>Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.</image:caption>. 

This is on 7.0 and 7.1 sites. After the fix, I hope they automatically regenerate a sitemap for all impacted sites. But if not, and you (or clients) don't update often, then you'd need to keep an eye out for the fix and request a regen. If you update frequently, then it is a nonissue. Good luck! 

For clarification, this is happening because SS's recently added "demo text" on image blocks isn't visible when adding a standard inline image block. 

Edited to add: if a client wants to handle it before SS fixes it (assuming they will), just scan sitemap to find affected image/s, remove the demo text from the image block/s, and ask SS for a regen. 

Hi, I have just noticed this, too. It also affects portfolio thumbnails. Do you know how to erase / overwrite the image title and caption on these? 

Also, what is a "regen" and how do you ask Squarespace for one? 

Thanks

Hi,

A few days ago I replaced the images on my home page with renamed versions of the same files - deleted the old ones, and uploaded the newly named ones.

My sitemap has updated and shows the "new" images that I uploaded, but it is also still listing the old file names.

Is this something that I should be concerned about, and could it affect my SEO ?  Any ideas on how I correct this ?

Hi matthewevas,

I noticed the same thing when I looked at the site map. Some images retain default captions on the sitemap like "make it stand out" from the base theme. Or a mix of my titles and the theme titles. 

I noticed the update frequency on the sitemap is set as daily on the section but my changes were made a few days prior. 

Changes usually appear within an hour, although they can take up to 24 hours to appear in normal conditions. If you have concerns, I recommend that you get in touch with Squarespace Customer Care as they are the only ones that can help you to troubleshoot this. You can reach out to them here.

@MechanizedMitch

I also had the "make it stand out" issue.  After digging around previous posts I discovered this is a known issue, so I've managed to fix that one.
Here's the solution: -   

@paul2009

I made some further changes to the images on the page, and the sitemap date stamp for the page has updated.
Now the problem is that the sitemap does not show any images for that page at all !
I'll take your advice, wait another 24hrs, and then contact support.  
Thank you !

@matthewevas

Thank you, thats it. Going to manually change them.  

Hi there. When the image issue was first noted, there was another issue in that sitemaps also were not automatically updating as expected. When/if that happens, just reach out to SS customer support and ask them to regenerate your sitemap.

Looks like there is an issue with sitemaps at the moment.

Long story short, my sitemap is updating but is missing image URL's and metadata.

SQ support were able to replicate the issue, and it passed to the engineering team just over a week ago.

I Just chased it up, and got the following: -

@ChristineDarby

On 9/6/2021 at 5:37 PM, ChristineDarby said:

Hi there. When the image issue was first noted, there was another issue in that sitemaps also were not automatically updating as expected. When/if that happens, just reach out to SS customer support and ask them to regenerate your sitemap.

I've got an issue where my sitemap is updating, but image URL's and metadata is missing.

SS Customer Support have regenerated my sitemap a few times, and have been able to recreate the problem themselves.  It was passed to the engineering team 10 days ago.

Have you experienced a similar issue ?

I am still having this problem. Have you guys been able to resolve it? Thanks!

3 hours ago, nicc707 said:

I am still having this problem. Have you guys been able to resolve it? Thanks!

My sitemap issue with missing image URL's and missing / incorrect metadata has not been resolved.
My ticket with customer support has been open for 2 months.  I've chased it up a couple of times only to be told they are working on it, and cant commit to a timescale for resolution.

hi @ChristineDarby I've also just discovered this  <image:caption>Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.</image:caption> problem in my sitemap too. I'm OK with manually fixing it but the problem is that I can't even see the placeholder text in any image caption fields in order to delete it. Is there a fix for this? Does anyone know if turning captions off will fix this?

Hi @ColinB see steps here: 

It's crazy really, that this hasn't been fixed. You have to manually go to every single image with this problem, and change from inline to another image style under the design tab, remove the demo text, then go back to inline. Then save!

On 11/23/2021 at 6:29 PM, dmarquez said:

It's crazy really, that this hasn't been fixed. You have to manually go to every single image with this problem, and change from inline to another image style under the design tab, remove the demo text, then go back to inline. Then save!

Thanks @dmarquez that solution did the trick.