How to generate a sitemap
Creating a sitemap only takes a few steps.
1. Enter your website URL
Add the domain or page URL you want to scan.
2. Generate your sitemap
The sitemap generator crawls your website and collects indexable URLs that should be included in your XML sitemap.
3. Review the sitemap
Check which pages were found and make sure your important URLs are included.
4. Download and upload your sitemap
Download the XML sitemap and upload it to your website, usually at:
https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml
5. Submit it to search engines
Submit your sitemap in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools to help search engines discover your pages.
What is a Sitemap Generator?
A sitemap generator is a tool that creates a structured file listing the important URLs on your website.
Search engines use this file to discover pages, understand your site structure, and find recently updated content. A sitemap does not guarantee indexing, but it helps search engines crawl your website more efficiently.
The most common format is an XML sitemap. It is created mainly for search engines, not human visitors.
A sitemap can include:
- page URLs;
- last modified dates;
- image URLs;
- video URLs;
- news URLs;
- alternate language versions;
- information about recently updated pages.
For many websites, an XML sitemap is one of the basic technical SEO files that should be created, checked, and kept up to date.
Why your website needs a sitemap
Search engines can discover many pages through internal links, but a sitemap gives them a cleaner list of URLs you want them to know about.
A sitemap is especially useful if your website:
- has many pages;
- has a complex structure;
- is new and has few backlinks;
- has pages that are not well linked internally;
- uses JavaScript navigation;
- has ecommerce categories and product pages;
- publishes fresh content regularly;
- has images, videos, or news content;
- uses multiple language versions.
A sitemap helps search engines find important pages faster and reduces the chance that valuable URLs are missed during crawling.
What should be included in a sitemap?
A good sitemap should include pages that are valuable, indexable, and intended to appear in search results.
Include:
- important landing pages;
- blog posts;
- product pages;
- category pages;
- service pages;
- location pages;
- resource pages;
- canonical URLs;
- pages returning a 200 status code.
Avoid adding:
- redirected URLs;
- broken pages;
- blocked pages;
- duplicate pages;
- noindex pages;
- internal search results;
- thin or low-value pages;
- temporary campaign pages;
- URLs blocked in robots.txt.
A sitemap should not be a full dump of every URL your website has. It should be a clean list of pages you actually want search engines to crawl and consider for indexing.
XML sitemap vs HTML sitemap
There are two common sitemap types: XML sitemaps and HTML sitemaps.
An XML sitemap is mainly a technical SEO file. It is usually submitted to search engines through Google Search Console or Bing Webmaster Tools.
An HTML sitemap is a normal webpage with links to important sections of your website. It can help users and search engines understand your site structure, but it does not replace an XML sitemap.
For SEO, XML sitemap generation is the priority.
Sitemap best practices
A sitemap works best when it is clean, accurate, and updated regularly.
Follow these best practices:
Include only indexable URLs
Do not include URLs that are blocked, redirected, broken, canonicalized to another page, or marked as noindex.
Use canonical versions of pages
If your website has duplicate or similar URLs, include only the canonical version.
Keep your sitemap updated
Update your sitemap when you publish, delete, redirect, or significantly change pages.
Submit your sitemap to Google
After uploading your sitemap, submit it in Google Search Console so Google can find it faster.
Keep large sitemaps organized
If your website has many URLs, split them into separate sitemap files and use a sitemap index file.
Check your sitemap for errors
A sitemap with broken, blocked, or non-indexable URLs can send mixed signals to search engines.
What you get from the Sitemap Generator
SEO PowerSuite’s sitemap generator helps you create a search-engine-ready sitemap for your website.
Depending on the website and crawl results, your report may include:
XML sitemap file
A structured sitemap file that can be uploaded to your website and submitted to search engines.
List of discovered URLs
A list of pages found during the crawl.
Indexable page checks
A clearer view of which pages are suitable for sitemap inclusion.
Status code checks
See whether sitemap URLs return valid responses or need attention.
Crawl and site structure signals
Understand whether important pages are easy for search engines to discover.
Next SEO steps
Use the sitemap as a starting point for a deeper site audit, crawlability review, and technical SEO cleanup.
How SEO PowerSuite generates your sitemap
SEO PowerSuite checks your website and collects URLs that can be used to build an XML sitemap.
The process can include:
- crawling internal links;
- collecting indexable URLs;
- checking page availability;
- identifying problematic URLs;
- excluding pages that should not appear in a sitemap;
- helping prepare a clean XML sitemap for search engines.
This helps prevent common sitemap issues, such as including broken pages, redirected URLs, duplicate URLs, or pages that should not be indexed.
A sitemap is most useful when it reflects the real SEO structure of your website.
Common sitemap mistakes
Many websites have a sitemap, but not all sitemaps are useful.
Common issues include:
Adding every URL automatically
Not every URL belongs in a sitemap. Low-value, duplicate, or non-indexable pages should usually be excluded.
Including redirected pages
A sitemap should point to final destination URLs, not URLs that redirect elsewhere.
Including broken pages
404 and server error pages should not appear in your sitemap.
Including noindex pages
If a page is marked as noindex, adding it to the sitemap creates a mixed signal.
Forgetting to update the sitemap
Old or outdated sitemaps may contain deleted pages and miss newly published content.
Not submitting the sitemap
Uploading a sitemap is useful, but submitting it in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools helps search engines find it faster.
Sitemap Generator for different website types
Different websites need different sitemap setups.
Small business websites
A simple XML sitemap with main service pages, location pages, and key content is usually enough.
Blogs and publishers
Sitemaps should stay updated as new articles are published. Older or low-value archive pages may need to be reviewed.
Ecommerce websites
Product, category, and filter pages need careful handling. Only valuable and indexable URLs should be included.
International websites
If your website uses multiple languages or regions, hreflang annotations may need to be handled correctly.
Image and video websites
Websites with rich media may benefit from image and video sitemaps to give search engines more information about visual content.
What to do after you generate a sitemap
Generating a sitemap is the first step. The next step is making sure search engines can actually use it.
1. Upload the sitemap to your website
The common location is:
https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml
2. Add the sitemap to robots.txt
You can add a sitemap reference to your robots.txt file:
Sitemap: https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml
3. Submit it to Google Search Console
Go to the Sitemaps section in Google Search Console and submit your sitemap URL.
4. Check for sitemap errors
Review warnings, excluded URLs, and submitted pages that were not indexed.
5. Audit your website
If your sitemap contains broken, redirected, duplicate, or non-indexable pages, run a full site audit to fix the underlying issues.
Why use SEO PowerSuite to generate a sitemap?
SEO PowerSuite helps you go beyond basic sitemap generation.
You can create a sitemap, then continue with a deeper technical SEO workflow:
- crawl your website;
- find broken pages;
- detect redirect chains;
- check indexability;
- review robots.txt issues;
- identify duplicate content;
- improve internal linking;
- audit technical SEO errors;
- track how your pages perform in search.
A sitemap is not just a file. It is part of your website’s crawlability and indexing strategy.
SEO PowerSuite helps you create the file and understand what may be preventing search engines from crawling your website properly.
FAQ
What is a sitemap?
A sitemap is a file that lists important URLs on your website. Search engines use it to discover pages and understand which URLs should be crawled.
What is a sitemap generator?
A sitemap generator is a tool that crawls your website and creates a sitemap file automatically. The most common format is XML.
Do I need a sitemap for SEO?
Most websites should have an XML sitemap. It helps search engines discover important pages, especially on large, new, complex, or frequently updated websites.
Does a sitemap guarantee indexing?
No. A sitemap helps search engines discover URLs, but it does not guarantee that every submitted page will be indexed. Page quality, crawlability, internal linking, canonical tags, and indexability still matter.
Where should I upload my sitemap?
The common location is https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml. You can also reference it in your robots.txt file and submit it in Google Search Console.
How do I submit a sitemap to Google?
Open Google Search Console, select your property, go to Sitemaps, enter your sitemap URL, and submit it.
What pages should be included in a sitemap?
Include important, canonical, indexable pages that return a 200 status code. Avoid broken, redirected, blocked, duplicate, or noindex pages.
What is the difference between XML and HTML sitemaps?
An XML sitemap is mainly for search engines. An HTML sitemap is a webpage designed to help users navigate your website.
How often should I update my sitemap?
Update your sitemap whenever you add, remove, redirect, or significantly change pages. Websites that publish often should update their sitemap automatically.
Can a sitemap include images and videos?
Yes. Some websites use image and video sitemaps to give search engines more information about media content.
What is the sitemap URL limit?
A single XML sitemap can contain up to 50,000 URLs and must be no larger than 50 MB uncompressed. Larger websites should use multiple sitemap files and a sitemap index.
Can I generate a sitemap for a large website?
Yes, but large websites usually need a more careful setup. It is better to split URLs into multiple sitemaps by type, such as products, categories, blog posts, images, or videos.