Free XML Sitemap Generator
An XML sitemap is a structured file that lists the important URLs you want search engines to discover. A sitemap can make URL discovery easier, particularly for large, new or complex websites. It is not a guarantee of crawling or indexing, but it gives search engines a clear list of the URLs you consider important.
What Is an XML Sitemap?
An XML sitemap is a machine-readable list of URLs. The XML format is flexible and can support additional sitemap extensions for content such as images, video, news and alternate language versions. For a normal website, the core sitemap contains a loc value for each URL and may contain optional metadata such as lastmod.
The best sitemap is not necessarily the biggest one. It should focus on canonical, indexable pages that you actually want search engines to discover and potentially show in search. Duplicate URLs, unwanted parameters, redirects and intentionally excluded pages generally do not belong in that preferred URL list.
How to Use This Sitemap Generator
- Enter your website base URL, for example https://example.com.
- Paste one absolute URL or relative path per line.
- Use TXT or CSV import when you already have a large URL list.
- Enable duplicate removal and URL normalization when appropriate.
- Add lastmod only when the date represents a real significant page update.
- Click Generate Sitemap and review the validation report.
- Copy the XML or download sitemap.xml.
- Upload the file to your site and submit it in Google Search Console or reference it from robots.txt.
Key Features
| Feature | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Bulk URL input | Build a sitemap from many URLs at once. |
| TXT/CSV import | Load an existing local URL list quickly. |
| Duplicate removal | Keeps repeated URLs out of the output. |
| URL normalization | Removes common formatting noise such as fragments. |
| Domain check | Helps prevent accidental cross-domain URLs. |
| XML generation | Creates a standard sitemap XML structure. |
| Validation report | Shows invalid entries, duplicates and size warnings. |
| Copy/download | Export the finished sitemap without a server-side API. |
Sitemap SEO Best Practices
Use fully qualified absolute URLs in the final sitemap. For example, use https://example.com/services/ rather than /services/. Keep the sitemap UTF-8 encoded and make sure search engines can access the file. The site root is a practical location for a normal website.
A single sitemap file can contain up to 50,000 URLs or be up to 50 MB uncompressed, whichever limit is reached first. If you exceed either limit, split the URLs across multiple sitemap files and use a sitemap index to reference them.
Lastmod should be accurate. Google says it can use this value when it is consistently verifiable and reflects a significant update. Avoid adding today's date simply because you regenerated the file. Accurate metadata is more useful than invented freshness.
You may see tutorials recommending priority and changefreq. These fields remain recognized by the sitemap ecosystem, but Google states that it ignores them. They should therefore not be treated as ranking controls. The tool leaves them optional.
Which URLs should you include?
- Canonical pages you want in search results.
- Important products, services, categories and articles.
- New or substantially updated pages.
- Important pages that are harder for crawlers to discover through internal links.
Which URLs should you normally exclude?
- Duplicate or non-canonical versions.
- Redirecting URLs when the canonical destination is available.
- Pages intentionally excluded from search.
- Unwanted parameter and internal-search URLs.
Sitemaps for WordPress
WordPress websites often already generate a sitemap through the core platform or an SEO plugin. Before creating a second sitemap, check what your website already publishes. A manually generated file is useful for custom URL lists and testing, but an automated CMS sitemap is usually easier to maintain as pages are added or removed.
If you have a WordPress tools website with many custom landing pages, categories and articles, compare your manually prepared URL inventory with the sitemap already produced by your CMS or SEO plugin. Keep one authoritative sitemap strategy rather than maintaining conflicting lists.
Large Websites and Sitemap Indexes
Large ecommerce stores, publishers and content libraries may need multiple sitemap files. When a sitemap reaches its URL or size limit, split it into smaller files and create a sitemap index containing the locations of those files. The index is itself an XML file and has its own limits and validation requirements.
For very large sites, automated sitemap generation from the CMS database or a dedicated crawler is usually more practical than manually maintaining thousands of URLs. This browser tool is designed for controlled URL-list generation and validation, not for pretending to crawl a website that it cannot access.
Common Sitemap Errors
Relative URLs in the final XML
The final sitemap should contain absolute URLs. Use the base-domain field to turn paths into complete URLs.
Duplicate URLs
Repeated entries add noise and can make maintenance harder. Enable duplicate removal before exporting.
Fake lastmod dates
Do not stamp every URL with the current date unless every listed page really changed. Use reliable modification dates.
Wrong canonical versions
A sitemap should reinforce the canonical URL you prefer. Do not fill it with every alternate URL that points to the same content.
Too many URLs
Remember the 50,000-URL and 50 MB uncompressed limits. Split large files and use an index when necessary.
Expecting guaranteed indexing
A sitemap helps discovery but does not guarantee indexing. Internal links, accessibility, canonical signals, content quality and other technical factors still matter.
Frequently Asked Questions
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