A Shopify store owner encountered a “General HTTP error” when submitting their sitemap to Google Search Console, despite the sitemap being accessible and not password-protected. They also experienced issues with individual nested sitemaps.
Troubleshooting suggestions included:
Resolution:
The issue resolved itself automatically after approximately one day, with the sitemap showing as successfully submitted without any manual changes. This “couldn’t fetch” error is noted as common in Google Search Console.
Key takeaway: Google typically updates sitemap status within a few days, and immediate action is often unnecessary. One participant resolved a similar issue by renewing their SSL certificate through cPanel/hosting provider (IONOS).
Hi, I have an issue submitting my Shopify store sitemap to the Google Search console. It discovers the pages but then throws a “General HTTP error”. My sitemap is readable (not password protected).
https://shop.nenadpantic.art/sitemap.xml
I also tried submitting individual nested sitemaps, but they have issues as well.
Thanks for clues
Do you have any apps on your store that filter bots / proxies / countries etc?
No, at least not intentionally, but a good suggestion.
I noticed that after a day now, it started to show as success, without me changing anything.
Hi @nenad_pantic ,
It’s very common to encounter the “couldn’t fetch” error when submitting your sitemap in the Google Search Console. I’ve taken a look at your sitemap, and there don’t seem to be any issues with it. The good news is that you don’t need to take any immediate action to fix this issue. Google will typically update the status in the next few days, and it should reflect correctly in the Google Search Console.
If you have any more questions or run into any other issues, feel free to ask.
I encountered the ‘General HTTP Error’ issue with the search console sitemap for my website, https://namegeneratorz.com/, despite having a valid SSL from my hosting provider, ION1. I resolved the problem by renewing the SSL certificate through Cpanel. Give it a try; it might work for you too.
