django/djangoproject.com

Remove non-canonical docs versions from sitemap.xml

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#878 opened on Mar 2, 2019

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 (9 comments) (1 reaction) (0 assignees)Python (2,001 stars) (1,100 forks)user submission
good first issue

Description

Acceptance criteria

  • Board meeting minutes are accessible only on the www subdomain, not on the docs subdomain
  • Community pages such as /community/desktops/ and /community/logos/ are available only on the www subdomain, not the docs subdomain
  • If needed, links are updated or redirects are added to avoid 404s for these pages (investigation needed)

Original report

It looks like we may be sending confusing signals to Google by putting old docs versions in sitemap-<lang>.xml, but then telling it only one of those versions is canonical:

Google's commentary on this error: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7440203#submitted_url_not_selected_as_canonical

Contributor guide

Tech stack
pythondjango
Domain
backendsearch
Issue type
feature
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-3 hours
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
stale
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
mostly clear
Prerequisites
understanding of Django sitemapsbasic SEO knowledge
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
40
Research direction
Investigate which non canonical versions are being included in the sitemap. Look at the sitemap generation logic in the Django project, likely in a management command or view. Determine if redirects are needed for moved pages. Check the current sitemap output to see the specific URLs causing the issue. The issue mentions old docs versions and community pages; verify the current behavior and update the generation code to exclude non canonical URLs.
Remove non-canonical docs versions from sitemap.xml · django/djangoproject.com#878 | Good First Issue