How Do You Make a Sitemap? Boost Your SEO Today

Do not index

Creating a sitemap is all about generating a file that lists your website’s most important pages and then handing that file over to search engines like Google.

The easiest way to get this done? If you're on WordPress, an SEO plugin is your best bet. For any other type of website, a free online generator tool will do the trick. This file, which is usually an XML sitemap, is your way of helping search engines discover and index your content way more efficiently.

Why a Sitemap Is Your First Step to Better SEO

Think of a sitemap as a direct line of communication with search engines. Instead of just hoping they stumble across your content, you’re giving them a clean, organized map of your entire website. In today's crowded digital world, that's a huge advantage.

The web has exploded, and this kind of guidance is no longer optional. With an estimated 202.9 million active websites online as of 2023, sitemaps have become an essential tool for helping search engine crawlers make sense of it all. It’s a simple, structured approach that dramatically improves your site’s indexing—the absolute foundation of good SEO.

XML vs HTML Sitemap Key Differences

When people talk about making a sitemap, they're usually referring to one of two types. Each one serves a completely different audience and purpose, but both are valuable. Here's a quick breakdown of what makes them different.

Feature	XML Sitemap	HTML Sitemap
Primary Audience	Search engine crawlers (bots)	Human visitors
Core Function	To help search engines find, crawl, and index all of your important URLs.	To help users easily navigate your site and find the content they need.
Format	A machine-readable XML file, not typically visible on the site's front end.	A standard web page with a list of links, designed to be user-friendly.
SEO Impact	Direct. Improves indexing efficiency and coverage.	Indirect. Improves user experience, reduces bounce rates, and helps spread link equity.

Ultimately, a complete SEO strategy needs both. The XML sitemap is for the machines, and the HTML sitemap is for the people.

The Two Core Types of Sitemaps

Let's dig a little deeper into the two main types of sitemaps. Each plays a distinct role, and knowing the difference is key.

XML Sitemaps: These are built specifically for search engine crawlers. Written in XML (eXtensible Markup Language), this file is invisible to your human visitors. It gives crawlers a straightforward list of your URLs and some useful metadata, like when a page was last updated. It's purely technical.

HTML Sitemaps: In contrast, these are designed for actual people. An HTML sitemap is a visible page on your site that links out to all of your important pages, usually organized by category. It acts like a table of contents, helping visitors find exactly what they're looking for and improving their experience.

A well-organized HTML sitemap can also give your SEO a nice boost. By creating clear pathways for users, it helps distribute "link equity" throughout your site. This is a big reason why internal linking is so important for SEO, as it builds a logical site architecture that both users and search engines can easily understand.

Why Your Website Needs Both

While an XML sitemap is a non-negotiable for technical SEO, an HTML sitemap is all about the user journey.

The XML file makes sure Google can find and crawl every important page, especially ones that might be "orphaned" or buried deep within your site's structure. It's your official submission to the search index.

Meanwhile, the HTML sitemap helps reduce bounce rates and increase the time people spend on your site by making navigation intuitive. For example, a massive e-commerce site can use an HTML sitemap to help a shopper quickly jump to a specific product category without having to click through layers of menus.

Key Takeaway: A complete strategy uses both. The XML sitemap guarantees technical visibility for search engines, while the HTML sitemap creates a better, more accessible experience for your human audience.

Choosing the Right Sitemap Generation Method

Picking how you'll generate a sitemap isn't a one-size-fits-all deal. The best path for you really boils down to your website's platform, how complex it is, and honestly, your comfort level with getting your hands dirty on the technical side.

Let's break down the practical options so you can find the right fit for your site. For most people, the simplest approach is the best one.

Let Your CMS Do the Heavy Lifting

If you're using a popular Content Management System (CMS), chances are the solution is already built-in. Modern platforms are designed with SEO in mind, and they know sitemaps are non-negotiable.

Most of them will generate and update your sitemap for you, automatically. It’s the ideal "set it and forget it" scenario.

WordPress: For anyone running on WordPress, an SEO plugin like Yoast SEO or Rank Math is your best friend. The moment you activate one of these, it automatically creates a dynamic XML sitemap. Every time you publish a new post or page, it’s updated instantly—zero manual work required.

Shopify: E-commerce giants like Shopify handle this for you out of the box. A sitemap.xml file is automatically generated for your store, including links to all your products, collections, blog posts, and pages. You don’t have to lift a finger.

Wix and Squarespace: Much like Shopify, popular website builders like Wix and Squarespace create and maintain an updated sitemap for you behind the scenes. This ensures search engines can always find your latest content without any extra work from you.

This hands-off approach is perfect for most businesses, bloggers, and online stores. It completely removes the risk of human error and guarantees your sitemap is always up-to-date.

Use an Online Sitemap Generator

What if your site isn't on a CMS that automates this for you? Maybe you have a custom-coded site or you're using a less common platform. This is where online sitemap generators come into play.

These are simple web-based tools where you just plug in your website’s URL. The tool then crawls your site and spits out an XML file for you to download. They're fantastic for smaller websites—typically under 500 pages—that don't change all that often. Think of a small business "brochure" site; it's a perfect candidate for this method.

The big catch, however, is that the process is 100% manual. Every single time you add new pages or make significant changes to your site structure, you have to remember to run the generator again and re-upload the file.

Pro Tip: If you go with an online generator, do yourself a favor and set a recurring calendar reminder—maybe quarterly—to create and upload a fresh sitemap. This simple habit keeps it from getting stale and hurting your site's discoverability.

The Manual Creation Method (For the Pros)

For the technical SEOs and developers who need absolute, granular control, there's always the option of creating a sitemap by hand. This means firing up a text editor and manually writing the XML file yourself. You'd list out every single URL and include important tags for the last modification date, change frequency, and priority.

Honestly, this method is really only suited for technical experts working on very specific or extremely small websites. While it gives you complete control, it’s incredibly time-consuming and dangerously prone to typos and formatting errors. For almost everyone else, an automated solution is far more reliable and practical.

Sitemap Generation Methods Compared

Choosing the right method comes down to balancing convenience, control, and your site's technical setup. Here’s a quick comparison to help you decide.

Method	Best For	Pros	Cons
CMS Plugins/Features	Most websites (WordPress, Shopify, Wix, etc.)	Fully automated, always up-to-date, no technical skill needed.	Less control over specific URL inclusions/exclusions.
Online Generators	Small, static websites (<500 pages), custom-coded sites.	Easy to use, no software required, good for quick one-time use.	Manual process, must be re-run after site updates, can be slow.
Manual Creation	Technical SEOs, developers, very small or unique sites.	Complete control over every detail in the sitemap file.	Highly time-consuming, prone to human error, requires technical expertise.

For the vast majority of website owners, letting your CMS or an SEO plugin handle it is the smartest and safest bet. It frees you up to focus on what really matters—creating great content.

Nailing down your sitemap is a fundamental step in your SEO journey. To build on this, a great next step is learning how to do search engine optimization yourself, which provides a broader framework for all these technical tasks.

A Practical Walkthrough of Creating Your Sitemap

Alright, theory's great, but let's get our hands dirty. Actually creating a sitemap is pretty straightforward, whether you're using a slick online tool or a plugin that’s already baked into your CMS. I'll walk you through both paths so you can see just how simple it is.

The end goal is always the same: generate a clean, machine-readable file that hands search engines a perfect roadmap to all your important content.

If your website isn't built on a popular CMS like WordPress—maybe it's a custom build—an online sitemap generator is your fastest route to success. These tools act like an external crawler, mimicking how a search engine bot would explore your site.

Using an Online Sitemap Generator

Let's say you're running a small local business with a slick, custom-coded website. You just launched a few new service pages and you want Google to notice them yesterday.

This is where a free online generator comes in handy. The process is usually dead simple:

Drop in Your URL: First thing you'll see is a field to paste your website's homepage address.

Tweak the Settings (or Don't): Most generators let you adjust things like crawl speed, but honestly, the default settings are perfect for 99% of sites. No need to overcomplicate it.

Kick Off the Crawl: Hit "start," and the tool’s bot will begin navigating your site, following every internal link it can find to map out your site structure.

Download Your File: Once it’s finished, you’ll get a link to download your shiny new sitemap.xml file.

This graphic really shows how these tools slot into your workflow, creating a bridge between your live site and the XML file you need.

The real magic here is that these tools completely automate the discovery process. They build an organized list of your URLs without you needing to know a single line of code.

Generating a Sitemap in WordPress

For the millions of us using WordPress, this process is even easier—borderline effortless, actually—thanks to fantastic SEO plugins. If you have a plugin like Yoast SEO or Rank Math installed, guess what? You probably already have a sitemap.

These plugins generate a dynamic sitemap for you. That means no manual crawls, no file uploads, nothing. It just works.

For example, in Yoast SEO, you can find the setting under SEO > General > Features. Just make sure the "XML sitemaps" toggle is on, and you're done. The plugin handles the rest, automatically updating the sitemap every time you publish, update, or delete content. Your sitemap will live at a URL like yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml.

Key Takeaway: For any CMS-based site, using a plugin is the way to go. It's a "set it and forget it" solution that guarantees your sitemap is always an accurate, up-to-date reflection of your website.

Demystifying the XML File Structure

So, what’s actually inside that .xml file you just made? It might look a little intimidating at first glance, but the structure is surprisingly logical. At its core, it's just a list of your URLs, with each one wrapped in a <url> tag that holds a bit of extra info for search engines.

You'll mainly see three important tags:

<loc>: This is the big one. It stands for "location" and holds the complete, absolute URL of the page. Every single entry needs this tag.

<lastmod>: This tells search engines the last time the page was modified. It’s incredibly useful because it helps crawlers decide whether they need to re-crawl a page that's been recently updated.

<priority>: This tag gives a hint about a page's importance relative to other pages on your site, on a scale from 0.0 to 1.0. Your homepage would naturally get a 1.0, while a less critical page might get a 0.5.

Understanding these tags helps you see what's really going on. Your sitemap isn't just a boring list of links; it’s a smart, detailed guide that helps search engines crawl your site more efficiently. Getting this technical foundation right is a crucial first step, and if you want to go deeper, you can learn more about how to write SEO content that ranks and builds on these principles.

How to Submit Your Sitemap to Search Engines

Alright, you've built the sitemap. That's a huge step, but it doesn’t do you any good if search engines don't know where to find it. Now it's time to hand over your map.

Think of it as a direct and powerful way to tell Google and Bing, "Hey, here's a complete guide to my website." This process is thankfully straightforward and gives you a direct line of communication with the crawlers, making sure they always have the most current blueprint of your site's structure.

It’s really the final piece of the puzzle for getting your content discovered quickly.

Submitting to Google Search Console

Google Search Console is an absolutely essential, free tool for any website owner. It’s your dashboard for understanding how Google sees your site, so submitting your sitemap here is a non-negotiable.

Once your website is verified with Google Search Console, the rest is easy:

Head over to the "Sitemaps" report. You'll find it in the left-hand menu under the "Indexing" section.

You'll see an "Add a new sitemap" field where your domain is already pre-filled.

Just type in the location of your sitemap file. For most sites, this will simply be sitemap.xml or sitemap_index.xml.

Hit the "Submit" button.

Here’s exactly what that submission interface looks like in GSC—super simple.

After you submit it, Google will get to work processing it. You should eventually see a "Success" status, which is the confirmation you're looking for. It means Google has received your file and can read it without any issues.

Submitting to Bing Webmaster Tools

While Google is obviously the giant in the room, don't sleep on Bing. It still drives a significant amount of search traffic, and submitting your sitemap there is just as easy.

The steps are nearly identical. Once you're logged into Bing Webmaster Tools, find the "Sitemaps" section in the navigation menu. From there, you just click "Submit sitemap" and paste the full URL of your file (e.g., https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml).

Pro Tip: If you're already verified with Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools has a slick feature that lets you import your sites directly. This can save you a ton of time and often brings your sitemap info over automatically, so you might not even have to do this step manually.

The Robots.txt File Method

There’s another powerful way to tell search engines where to find your sitemap: your robots.txt file. This is a simple text file that lives in your site's root directory and gives instructions to web crawlers.

It's a widely recognized best practice to add a line to this file. All you have to do is add the following line anywhere in your robots.txt:

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

Just be sure to replace yourdomain.com with your actual domain and point to the correct sitemap URL. This provides an automated, persistent signal to any crawler visiting your site, not just Google and Bing. It helps ensure that your sitemap is always discoverable.

Speaking of discoverability, understanding how different parts of your site connect is crucial for SEO. That's why it's also a great idea to learn how to find internal links to a page to strengthen your site's overall architecture.

Keeping Your Sitemap Healthy and Effective

Think of your sitemap as a living document, not a one-and-done task. Just creating one and walking away is a rookie mistake. An outdated or messy sitemap can actually do more harm than good, sending search engines confusing signals and wasting precious crawl budget.

The real magic happens with ongoing maintenance. You want your sitemap to be a clean, accurate, and powerful asset that guides crawlers to your best content.

A healthy sitemap is a dynamic one. It needs to update automatically whenever you publish a new blog post, add a product, or remove an old page. If you delete an outdated service page, it should disappear from the sitemap just as quickly. This guarantees crawlers always have the most current blueprint of your website.

Only Include Clean Canonical URLs

One of the most common pitfalls I see is a sitemap cluttered with URLs that have no business being there. Your sitemap should be a curated list of your most important, indexable pages—your A-team content.

To keep it pristine, stick to these rules:

Include only canonical URLs. This is non-negotiable. It prevents duplicate content issues by clearly telling search engines which version of a page is the definitive one.

Make sure every URL returns a 200 OK status code. This confirms the page is live, healthy, and ready for visitors.

Exclude any redirects (301s) or error pages (404s). Including these is like sending Google on a wild goose chase. It wastes your crawl budget and signals that your site isn't well-maintained.

This focus on quality over quantity is a core principle of good technical SEO. For a deeper dive into these kinds of optimizations, check out our guide on technical SEO best practices.

Break Up Large Sitemaps

What if you run a massive e-commerce store or a content-heavy blog with thousands of URLs? Your sitemap can get bloated, fast.

Search engines have limits. A single sitemap file can't contain more than 50,000 URLs or be larger than 50MB. Hitting these limits can cause processing errors.

The solution is simple: don't use one massive file. Split it into smaller, more manageable sitemaps. For instance, you could create separate sitemaps for your blog posts, product pages, and core static pages. Then, you just link to all of these smaller sitemaps from a single sitemap index file. This approach not only makes it easier for search engines to process your content but also helps you isolate and troubleshoot errors much more effectively.

By treating your sitemap as a living part of your SEO strategy, you ensure it remains a powerful tool that helps search engines understand and prioritize what matters most on your site. Regular check-ups are essential for long-term SEO health.

Common Sitemap Questions Answered

Even with a perfect sitemap generator, a few questions always seem to pop up. I get it. Sitemaps can feel a bit technical, but a few key clarifications can make all the difference. Let’s tackle the most common ones I hear from clients and colleagues.

How Many Sitemaps Do I Really Need?

Honestly, for most websites, one XML sitemap is all you need. The real issue isn't the number of files, but the number of URLs packed inside.

Search engines like a neat and tidy roadmap, and they set a limit of 50,000 URLs per sitemap file. If your site is well under that limit, a single file is perfect.

But what if you're running a massive e-commerce store or a huge publisher site? That's when you get strategic. Splitting your URLs into multiple, organized sitemaps is the way to go. You could create separate sitemaps for your products, blog posts, and main service pages. Then, you link them all together in one central sitemap index file. This keeps things clean and makes it much easier for search engines to crawl and process your content efficiently.

Uh Oh, My Sitemap Has Errors. Now What?

First off, don't panic. This is completely normal, especially when you submit a new sitemap. Google Search Console is your best friend here—it will immediately flag any issues it finds, like broken links (404 errors) or pages that are redirecting (301s).

Your job is to use the report in GSC to pinpoint exactly which URLs are causing the problem. Once you have your list of culprits, the fix is simple: just remove those URLs from your sitemap file. The goal is to present Google with a clean, error-free list of your best, live, and indexable pages.

Should I Bother Including Images and Videos?

While it’s not strictly required, including images and videos in a sitemap is a seriously smart move. In fact, you can create separate video or image sitemaps to give search engines extra context about all your rich media.

Why bother? Because it helps your visual content show up in Google Images and video search results. This opens up an entirely new channel for driving organic traffic to your site. If visuals are a big part of your content strategy—and they should be—taking this extra step is absolutely worth the effort.

Ready to stop manually creating content and start dominating the search results? With Outrank, you can generate high-quality, SEO-optimized articles and images with just a few clicks. Take the guesswork out of content creation and see how our AI-powered platform can grow your organic traffic. Learn more about Outrank and start your journey today!