What Is an XML Sitemap?
An XML sitemap is a file that lists all the important URLs on your website, helping search engines like Google and Bing discover, crawl, and index your content efficiently. It acts as a roadmap for crawlers, especially useful for large sites, new sites without many external links, or sites with deep page hierarchies. The file follows the Sitemap Protocol format and can include metadata such as last modification date, change frequency, and priority for each URL.
How to Use This Generator
- Enter your URLs in the text area, one per line.
- Select the change frequency that best describes how often your pages update.
- Set a priority value between 0.0 and 1.0 (0.8 is recommended for important pages).
- Click "Generate XML Sitemap" to produce the XML output.
- Copy or download the file and upload it to your website's root directory.
Frequently Asked Questions
How large can a sitemap be?
A single sitemap file can contain up to 50,000 URLs and must not exceed 50 MB when uncompressed. For larger sites, use a sitemap index file that references multiple sitemap files.
Do I need to submit my sitemap to Google?
While Google can discover sitemaps automatically through robots.txt, submitting your sitemap via Google Search Console ensures faster indexing and gives you visibility into any crawling issues.