A sitemap is a file that lists every page on your website so search engines can find, crawl, and index them. For website owners, it is one of the simplest ways to make sure Google knows about all your pages.

Most business websites have dozens or hundreds of pages, and not all of them are easy for Google to discover through links alone. A sitemap fills that gap by giving search engines a direct list of URLs to check.

This guide covers the different types of sitemaps, how they work, how to create and submit one, and what to leave out. Whether you manage your own web design or work with a professional website design service, understanding sitemaps will help your site get found.

What is a Sitemap?

A sitemap is a structured file (usually XML) that lists the URLs on your website along with metadata about each page. If you are still getting your head around what a website actually is and how it works, that is worth reading first. That metadata can include when the page was last modified and how to verify it, how frequently it changes, and its relationship to other pages on the site.

Search engines like Google use sitemaps as a discovery tool. When Googlebot crawls your site, it follows links between pages, but some pages may be orphaned or buried deep in your site structure. A sitemap ensures those pages are still found.

Sitemaps were originally designed as HTML pages to help visitors navigate large websites. The XML version, introduced by Google in 2005, shifted the focus to search engine crawling. Both types still exist and serve different purposes.

Types of Sitemaps

There are several sitemap formats, each built for a different audience or content type.

XML Sitemaps

XML sitemaps are the standard for search engines. They are machine-readable files that list your URLs inside a structured tag format. The required tags are <urlset>, <url>, and <loc> (the page URL).

Optional tags include <lastmod> (last modified date), <changefreq>, and <priority>.

Google has confirmed it ignores <changefreq> and <priority> entirely. The only optional tag worth maintaining is <lastmod>, and only when the date reflects a genuine content change rather than an automated timestamp that updates on every page load.

XML sitemaps are most useful when:

  • Your website has hundreds of pages or more
  • Your site structure is complex with deep page hierarchies
  • You have weak internal linking and some pages are hard to reach
  • You publish new content frequently and want it indexed quickly

Sitemap Index Files

When a single sitemap grows past 50,000 URLs or 50MB, you split it into multiple sitemap files and reference them from a sitemap index. The index file uses a <sitemapindex> wrapper instead of <urlset>, and each child sitemap gets its own <sitemap> entry with a <loc> pointing to the file.

WordPress SEO plugins handle this automatically. Rank Math, for example, creates separate sitemaps for posts, pages, and custom post types, all linked from a single /sitemap_index.xml. You do not need to manage the split yourself unless you are building sitemaps for a non-CMS site.

HTML Sitemaps

HTML sitemaps are regular web pages designed for human visitors. They display your site structure as a clickable list of links, grouped by category or section. Think of them as a table of contents for your website.

You will often find HTML sitemaps linked from a site’s footer. They are particularly helpful for large or content-heavy websites where visitors might struggle to find specific pages through the main navigation alone.

Visual Sitemaps

Visual sitemaps are planning documents used during the web design process. They map out page hierarchy, navigation flow, and content relationships using flowchart-style diagrams before any code is written.

These are not files you submit to Google. They are internal tools that help designers and clients agree on site structure before building starts.

Image and Video Sitemaps

If your site relies heavily on images or video, specialised sitemap extensions can help Google discover that media. Image sitemap entries are added within your existing XML sitemap using the <image:image> tag. Video sitemaps use a similar approach with <video:video> tags.

For most small business websites, a standard XML sitemap is enough. Image and video sitemaps become worthwhile when visual content is a core part of your offering, such as a photography portfolio or a video production company.

Why Sitemaps Matter for SEO

Search engines have a limited crawl budget for each website. That means Googlebot will only visit a certain number of pages in any given crawl session. A sitemap helps search engines spend that budget on the pages that matter, rather than wasting it on low-value URLs they happened to find first.

Crawl budget matters more as a site grows. A 10-page brochure site will be fully crawled regardless. A 500-page site with blog posts, location pages, and service pages has URLs competing for attention. For businesses running SEO campaigns across multiple service areas, a clean sitemap that only contains indexable pages helps Google prioritise the right content.

Without a sitemap, Google relies entirely on following links between your pages. If a page has no internal links pointing to it, Google may never find it.

Submitting a sitemap to Google Search Console also gives you reporting data. You can see how many of your submitted URLs have been indexed, spot coverage errors, and identify pages that Google has decided not to index along with the reason why.

The <lastmod> tag signals when a page was last changed. If Google sees a recent and accurate modification date, it may prioritise re-crawling that page sooner. This is particularly useful for businesses that serve specific regions, where keeping local SEO content current is part of the strategy.

When You Specifically Need a Sitemap

Not every website needs a sitemap, but most benefit from one. According to Google’s own documentation, sitemaps are especially important when:

  • Your site has 500 or more pages
  • Pages are not well linked internally
  • Your site is new and has few external backlinks
  • You use rich media (images, video) that you want indexed

Small sites with strong internal linking may be crawled thoroughly without a sitemap. But even then, submitting one does no harm and gives you the Search Console reporting benefits.

How to Create a Sitemap

The method you use depends on your platform and technical comfort level.

Using WordPress Plugins

If your site runs on WordPress or another content management system, SEO plugins generate XML sitemaps automatically. Rank Math creates a sitemap index at /sitemap_index.xml that links to separate sitemaps for posts, pages, and any custom post types you have registered.

No manual file creation is needed. The plugin updates the sitemap whenever you publish, update, or delete a page. It also respects your noindex settings, so pages you have marked as noindex are excluded from the sitemap automatically.

Online Sitemap Generators

For non-WordPress sites, online generators like XML-Sitemaps.com or Screaming Frog can crawl your site and produce a sitemap file. You then upload that file to your site’s root directory.

The downside of generators is that the sitemap does not update automatically. You need to re-run the generator and re-upload the file whenever your site changes.

Manual Creation

For very small sites (under 20 pages), you can write an XML sitemap by hand in a text editor. The structure is straightforward:

  • Open with <urlset>
  • Wrap each page URL in <url> and <loc> tags
  • Optionally add <lastmod> dates
  • Close with </urlset>

This approach does not scale. Once your site grows beyond a handful of pages, switch to an automated solution.

How to Submit Your Sitemap to Google

Creating a sitemap is only half the job. You also need to tell Google where to find it.

Google Search Console

The most direct method is through Google Search Console. Log in, select your property, click “Sitemaps” in the left sidebar, and enter the URL of your sitemap (usually /sitemap_index.xml or /sitemap.xml). Click Submit.

Google will begin processing it and report back on any errors. You can check the status any time under the Sitemaps section.

Adding Your Sitemap to robots.txt

You can also reference your sitemap in your site’s robots.txt file by adding a single line:

Sitemap: https://yoursite.com.au/sitemap_index.xml

This tells any search engine that reads your robots.txt file where to find the sitemap, without needing to submit it manually through each search engine’s console.

How to Check if Your Sitemap Works

Submitting a sitemap and forgetting about it is a common mistake. After submission, there are a few things worth checking.

First, visit the sitemap URL directly in your browser (e.g. yoursite.com.au/sitemap_index.xml). You should see structured XML, not an error page or a blank screen. If it returns a 404, the file either does not exist or is not at the path you submitted.

In Google Search Console, the Sitemaps report shows the submission status, the number of URLs discovered, and any errors. The most common issues are:

  • Could not fetch: Google cannot access the file. Check that your robots.txt is not blocking the sitemap URL and that the file is publicly accessible.
  • URLs not indexed: the sitemap was read, but some URLs were skipped. Click through to the Pages report for the specific reasons (noindex, redirect, duplicate, crawled but not indexed).
  • Sitemap contains errors: usually a formatting issue in the XML. Common causes are missing closing tags, URLs with unencoded ampersands, or byte-order marks in the file.

If you are using Rank Math, you can also check the sitemap settings under Rank Math > Sitemap Settings to confirm which post types and taxonomies are included.

What to Exclude from Your Sitemap

A sitemap should only contain URLs you want search engines to index. Including low-value or duplicate pages wastes crawl budget and can dilute your site’s authority.

Pages to leave out of your sitemap:

  • Pages with a noindex tag (these contradict being in a sitemap)
  • Redirected URLs (include only the final destination URL)
  • 404 error pages
  • Duplicate content or non-canonical URLs
  • Tag and author archive pages with thin content
  • Admin, login, and cart pages

If you are using Rank Math or Yoast SEO on WordPress, both plugins automatically exclude noindex pages from the generated sitemap.

Common Sitemap Mistakes

Most sitemap problems are not about the file itself but about what goes into it and how it is maintained.

Including noindex URLs in the Sitemap

If a page has a noindex meta tag or x-robots header, it should not appear in the sitemap. Sending Google a URL in the sitemap that also tells it not to index is a mixed signal. Google has said it treats the noindex directive as authoritative, but you are wasting a slot in your sitemap and muddying your Search Console data.

Stale or Fake lastmod Dates

Some plugins and themes update <lastmod> on every page load rather than on genuine content changes. Google has stated that it stops trusting <lastmod> if the dates are not accurate. An unreliable date is worse than no date at all, because it teaches Google to ignore the signal for your entire site.

Never Checking After the Initial Setup

Sitemaps are not a set-and-forget feature. Sites change: pages get deleted, URLs get restructured, new sections get added. If your sitemap still references URLs that 404 or redirect, it degrades the quality signal for the rest of the file. Check the Sitemaps report in Search Console every few months.

Listing Every URL on the Site

Including every URL, including paginated archives, filter pages, and utility pages, bloats the sitemap without helping. A sitemap that contains 5,000 URLs when only 200 are worth indexing tells Google nothing useful about which pages matter. Be selective.

Sitemap Best Practices

A few rules will keep your sitemap working properly over time.

  • Keep each sitemap file under 50,000 URLs and 50MB uncompressed. If you exceed either limit, split into multiple sitemaps linked from a sitemap index file.
  • Use fully qualified, absolute URLs (e.g. https://yoursite.com.au/page/, not /page/).
  • Only include canonical URLs. If two URLs serve the same content, include the canonical version only.
  • Set accurate <lastmod> dates. Do not update the date unless the page content has genuinely changed.
  • Check your sitemap in Google Search Console regularly for coverage errors.

Your sitemap reflects your site structure. If the sitemap is messy, with broken links, redirected URLs, or pages you do not want indexed, it is worth auditing your overall website structure first.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does every website need a sitemap?

Not technically, but most websites benefit from one. Small sites with strong internal linking can be crawled without a sitemap. For business websites with more than a handful of pages, it is worth setting up.

How do I find a website’s sitemap?

Add /sitemap.xml or /sitemap_index.xml to the end of any website URL. Most sites that have a sitemap will serve it from one of those paths. You can also check the site’s robots.txt file, which often includes a Sitemap: line pointing to the file.

Will a sitemap fix my SEO problems?

No. A sitemap helps search engines find your pages, but it does not improve the quality of your content or fix technical issues. It is one part of a broader SEO strategy, not a fix on its own.

How often should I update my sitemap?

If you use a WordPress SEO plugin like Rank Math, the sitemap updates automatically whenever you publish or edit a page. If you manage your sitemap manually, regenerate it each time you add, remove, or substantially change pages.

What is the difference between an XML sitemap and an HTML sitemap?

An XML sitemap is a machine-readable file for search engines. An HTML sitemap is a visible web page for human visitors that lists your site’s pages as clickable links. Most websites only need an XML sitemap for SEO purposes.

Can a sitemap hurt my rankings?

A properly maintained sitemap will not hurt your rankings. Problems only arise if you include URLs you do not want indexed (like noindex pages or duplicate content), which can confuse search engines about what matters on your site.

What is a sitemap index file?

A sitemap index is a file that points to multiple individual sitemaps. It is used when a site has more URLs than a single sitemap can hold (the limit is 50,000 URLs or 50MB per file). WordPress SEO plugins create sitemap indexes automatically, grouping URLs by post type into separate child sitemaps.

Do I need both an XML sitemap and an HTML sitemap?

For most business websites, an XML sitemap is enough. An HTML sitemap adds value on very large sites where visitors might not find specific pages through navigation alone. There is no SEO penalty for having both, but the XML sitemap is the one that matters for search engine crawling.

What happens if my sitemap has errors?

Google will still try to process a sitemap with errors, but it may skip URLs it cannot parse. Common errors include broken XML formatting, URLs that return 404s, and noindex pages listed in the sitemap. Google Search Console flags these in the Sitemaps report so you can fix them.

Can I have more than one sitemap?

Yes. You can submit multiple sitemaps to Google Search Console, and you can use a sitemap index file to group them. This is standard practice for larger sites. Rank Math and other WordPress plugins already do this by creating separate sitemaps for posts, pages, and other content types.

Conclusion

A sitemap connects your content to search engines. Without one, pages that are poorly linked or recently published may sit unindexed for weeks.

For WordPress sites, setting up a sitemap takes minutes with a plugin like Rank Math. Submit it to Google Search Console, keep it clean by excluding low-value pages, and check it periodically for errors.

If you are not sure whether your sitemap is set up correctly, or if your site has broader SEO issues that need attention, get in touch with KC Web Design for a website audit. A well-maintained sitemap is a small step that supports everything else in your ongoing website management.