Websites · Glossary
What is a sitemap?
A sitemap is a file, usually at /sitemap.xml, that lists the pages of a website a search engine should know about, often with the date each changed. It helps crawlers discover pages, especially new ones or ones with few links pointing to them. It does not guarantee a page will be indexed or ranked; it simply makes sure it is found.
Search engines find most pages by following links. A sitemap is a second route: a direct list of addresses, so nothing important is missed.
Nuwan Madhusanka · Co-founder
3 min read · Published
What is in a sitemap
An XML file with one entry per page: its full address and, optionally, the date it last changed. Large sites split sitemaps into several files listed in a sitemap index. Image and video details can be added for media heavy sites. Only pages you want in search results belong in it.
How search engines use it
Crawlers read the sitemap to discover addresses and to notice changes from the last modified dates. They still decide for themselves what to crawl and index. A page in the sitemap that is thin, duplicated or blocked will not be listed just because it is in the file.
Do small sites need one
A small site with good internal links is usually found without a sitemap, but one costs nothing and helps new sites, pages with few links and sites that change often. Most website platforms generate it automatically, so the only work is submitting it once in the search engine tools.
Common mistakes
Listing pages that are noindexed, redirected or broken, which wastes crawler attention and muddies reports. Leaving a sitemap stale after removing pages. And forgetting to point robots.txt at the sitemap or submit it, so search engines only find it by chance.
Where it shows up in OneCraft
Every published site gets a sitemap.xml listing each published page, with the publish date as its last modified date, and a robots.txt. Turning on Hide from search engines for the whole site empties the sitemap. On a custom domain, the sitemap addresses use the primary domain, matching the canonical tags on each page.
Questions people ask
Where do I find my sitemap?
Most sites publish it at /sitemap.xml on their main address, such as yourbusiness.com/sitemap.xml. Some platforms use a sitemap index that links several files. The robots.txt file usually names the sitemap location on a line starting with Sitemap, which is also how search engines find it on their own.
How do I submit a sitemap to Google?
Add your site as a property in Google Search Console, open the Sitemaps report, enter the sitemap address and submit. Google then reports how many pages it found and indexed, and any problems. Bing Webmaster Tools offers the same for Bing.
Does a sitemap improve rankings?
No. It helps discovery, not ranking. Pages still rank on their content, usefulness and reputation. A sitemap makes sure search engines know a page exists, which matters most for new pages and pages that few other pages link to, such as a new service page.
How often should a sitemap update?
Whenever pages are added, removed or changed. Generated sitemaps update on each publish, which is ideal. Accurate last modified dates help crawlers prioritise; dates that change every day without real changes teach crawlers to ignore them, which removes the benefit of having them at all.
Is an HTML sitemap the same thing?
No. An HTML sitemap is a page for people listing links to every section, while an XML sitemap is a file for search engines. Small sites rarely need an HTML sitemap if the menu and footer already lead to every important page.
Make one with websites
The button opens the generator with this use case already described. Change the wording to match your own.
Create a website with OneCraftRelated questions
- What is noindex?What is noindex? A tag that asks search engines not to show a page in results while it stays online. When to use it, how it differs from robots.txt, and risks.
- What is a meta description?What is a meta description? The short summary of a page in its HTML that search engines may show under the title. How long to make it and how to write one.
- What are Core Web Vitals?What are Core Web Vitals? Three measures of loading, responsiveness and visual stability, LCP, INP and CLS, with the thresholds Google uses and what moves them.
Written and checked by the OneCraft team. Last checked .