XML Sitemap Generator

Generate XML sitemaps to improve search engine crawling and indexing

Crawling Website
0%
Pages Scanned
0
Pages Added
0
Pages Queued
0
Time Elapsed
0:00
Last Added URL
-

Sitemap Details

Website Information

Starting URL: -
Updated on: -
Pages indexed: 0
File size: 0 KB

Download Options

Next Steps:
  1. Upload the sitemap to your website's root directory
  2. Add the sitemap URL to your robots.txt file
  3. Submit the sitemap to search engines

Sitemap Preview

URL Last Modified Priority

Implementation Instructions

1
Download the generated XML sitemap

Click the "Download XML Sitemap" button above to save the sitemap file to your computer.

2
Save it as sitemap.xml in your website's root directory

Upload the file to your web server's root directory (same level as your index.html or index.php file).

The sitemap should be accessible at https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml
3
Add the sitemap to your robots.txt file

Add the following line to your robots.txt file:

Sitemap: https://example.com/sitemap.xml

Replace example.com with your actual domain name.

4
Submit your sitemap to search engines

Submit your sitemap to major search engines through their webmaster tools:

Google Search Console
Submit
Bing Webmaster Tools
Submit
5
Validate your sitemap

Use online tools to validate your sitemap and ensure it's properly formatted:

Validate XML Sitemap

About XML Sitemaps

An XML sitemap is a structured list of URLs you want crawlers to discover. It improves discovery—especially on large, new, or weakly linked sites—but it does not by itself improve rankings. Quality, relevance, indexability, and technical health still decide how URLs perform once found.

Deep guide: building sitemaps that help discovery instead of wasting crawl budget

What this generator produces

You add the canonical HTTPS URLs that deserve discovery, optionally with lastmod / changefreq / priority hints, then export well-formed XML. Host the file at a stable path (often /sitemap.xml), reference it from robots.txt, and submit it in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. When you exceed common size limits (50,000 URLs or 50MB uncompressed is the widely cited ceiling), split into multiple sitemaps and use a sitemap index.

When to use a sitemap

  • New sites with few external links need an explicit discovery map.
  • Large catalogs or publishers where internal linking cannot surface every important URL quickly.
  • Sites with orphan or lightly linked landing pages that still should be eligible for indexing.
  • After migrations, to help crawlers find the new URL inventory faster (alongside redirects).
  • When you maintain separate image/news/video sitemaps for specialized content types.

When not to lean on sitemaps alone

  • Do not expect a sitemap entry to overcome thin, duplicate, or noindexed pages.
  • Do not list every parameterized sort/filter URL “just in case.”
  • Do not use priority decimals as a ranking lever—engines may ignore them.
  • A tiny brochure site with strong internal links still benefits from a sitemap, but the sitemap will not fix weak content.
  • Do not update lastmod on every deploy if the content did not meaningfully change.

Worked example

A 200-URL local services site rebuilds on a new CMS. The team exports only indexable service, location, and guide URLs—excluding thank-you pages, login, and faceted duplicates. They set realistic lastmod dates from the CMS “updated_at” field, host https://www.example.com/sitemap.xml, add a Sitemap line in robots.txt, submit in Search Console, and monitor Coverage / Pages reports for spikes in excluded or errored URLs. Two weeks later they remove three soft-404 URLs that slipped into the export. That cleanup matters more than tweaking priority from 0.7 to 0.8.

For include/exclude judgment calls, see XML sitemaps: what to include and exclude.

Interpretation guide

  • <loc>: Must be the final canonical URL users and bots should prefer after redirects.
  • <lastmod>: Best when it reflects real content or meaningful metadata changes; identical sitewide timestamps add little trust.
  • <changefreq>: Soft hint only—useful as documentation for your team, not a crawl-rate guarantee.
  • <priority>: Relative hint within your own sitemap; do not obsess over two-decimal precision.

After publishing, spot-check a sample of listed URLs for 200 OK, indexable robots state, and matching canonical. Validate XML well-formedness. In Search Console, watch for submitted vs indexed gaps.

Common mistakes

  • Mixing http and https, www and non-www, or trailing-slash variants.
  • Including noindex, 404, or login-walled URLs.
  • Shipping a sitemap that lists staging hostnames after go-live.
  • Never regenerating after large content pruning—old URLs linger as discovery targets.
  • Relying on the sitemap while internal linking still orphans key pages.

Related reading

See the SEO guide, sitemap include/exclude, robots / noindex / canonical, and technical hygiene checklist. Related tools: robots.txt generator, canonical URL generator, SEO audit checker.

Build and ship checklist

  1. Export only indexable, canonical HTTPS URLs that return 200 OK.
  2. Exclude thank-you pages, carts, internal search, and infinite facet combinations.
  3. Set lastmod from real update timestamps when your CMS provides them.
  4. Split files before hitting common size ceilings; add a sitemap index if needed.
  5. Host at a stable path, reference from robots.txt, and submit in Search Console / Bing.
  6. Spot-check random URLs monthly for soft 404s and accidental noindex.
  7. After migrations, verify the sitemap host matches production—not staging.

How to judge “submitted but not indexed”

A URL can appear in a sitemap and still be excluded for quality, duplication, or crawl issues. Treat the sitemap as a discovery request, then diagnose with URL inspection, canonical tags, internal links, and content quality. Inflating the sitemap with low-value URLs often widens the submitted-vs-indexed gap without helping users.

Sitemap Elements

Element Description Example
loc URL of the page <loc>https://example.com/page</loc>
lastmod Last modification date <lastmod>2024-03-21</lastmod>
changefreq How often the page changes <changefreq>weekly</changefreq>
priority Importance relative to other pages <priority>0.8</priority>

Best Practices

  • Include all important pages in your sitemap
  • Use absolute URLs with https://
  • Keep sitemap size under 50MB/50,000 URLs
  • Update sitemaps regularly
  • Use appropriate change frequencies
  • Set realistic priorities
  • Include only canonical URLs

Frequently Asked Questions

Most sites benefit from an XML sitemap, but it is especially valuable when the site is large, new, frequently updated, or has URLs that are weakly linked internally. A sitemap helps discovery; it does not replace quality content, indexability, or strong internal linking. Even small sites can keep a simple sitemap as a clean inventory of preferred URLs.

Regenerate when you add, remove, or meaningfully change indexable URLs—not on a meaningless daily schedule. News and large catalogs often automate updates from the CMS. Static brochure sites can update when the URL inventory changes. Always keep lastmod honest when you include it, and remove dead or noindexed URLs promptly.

XML Sitemap

Designed for search engines and provides structured data about your pages.

Primary use: SEO and search engine crawling

HTML Sitemap

Designed for users and provides a navigable list of pages.

Primary use: User navigation and accessibility

While both are useful, XML sitemaps are more important for SEO purposes.

Further Information

Search Engine Guidelines
Related Tools
Learning Resources
Pro Tips
Advanced Sitemap Techniques
  • Use sitemap index files for large sites
  • Create specialized sitemaps for images and videos
  • Implement hreflang tags for multilingual sites
  • Use lastmod dates accurately for better crawling
Performance Optimization
  • Compress your sitemap files
  • Host sitemaps on a fast server
  • Use CDN for large sitemaps
  • Monitor sitemap errors in search console