About sitemaps and the generator
Overview
XML sitemaps help search engines discover and prioritize your pages. They list URLs along with optional lastmod, changefreq, and priority so crawlers can work more efficiently. This tool builds a valid sitemap.xml from a list of URLs you paste, or a sitemap index file that references multiple sitemaps. An optional crawler mode discovers same-host URLs by following links from a start URL, respecting robots.txt and safety limits.
Submitting a sitemap in Google Search Console or Bing Webmaster Tools helps search engines find new or updated pages faster. Combine the sitemap with a proper Robots.txt that points to the sitemap URL, and use the SEO Analyzer to verify that your key pages are indexable and well-formed.
When to use it
Use the URL list tab when you already have a list of pages (e.g. from a CMS export, spreadsheet, or internal tool). Use the sitemap index tab when you have multiple sitemap files (e.g. more than 50,000 URLs or separate sitemaps per section). Use the crawler tab for smaller sites or when you want to discover URLs from a single start URL on the same host. After generating, add the sitemap URL to your Robots.txt and submit it in Search Console; then run the SEO Analyzer on important URLs to confirm they are crawlable and have no critical issues.
How to use it
In the Sitemap XML tab: paste one URL per line, choose changefreq and priority defaults, enable options (e.g. auto HTTPS, remove duplicates, trim UTM, include lastmod), and click Generate. Review the output and stats (valid URLs, duplicates removed). Copy the XML or download the file. In the Sitemap Index tab: paste sitemap URLs (one per line), set options, and generate the index file. In the Crawler tab: enter a start URL, set max pages and depth, then start the crawl; the tool fetches same-host pages and builds a sitemap from the discovered URLs. Download the result and host it on your server.
Tips & best practices
Keep each sitemap under 50,000 URLs and 50 MB uncompressed; use a sitemap index when you exceed that. Set changefreq and priority only if they reflect reality—search engines may ignore or downweight misleading values. Use lastmod when you actually change content so crawlers can prioritize recrawls. List only canonical URLs and avoid duplicate or redirecting URLs. Submit the sitemap URL in Search Console and ensure your Robots.txt includes a Sitemap directive. Run the SEO Analyzer on a sample of URLs to catch blocking or indexing issues.
Common mistakes
Including non-canonical or duplicate URLs in the sitemap can confuse crawlers. Listing URLs that return 404 or redirect to another URL wastes crawl budget. Setting changefreq to "hourly" or priority to "1.0" for every URL when it is not true can reduce trust. Forgetting to add the sitemap to Robots.txt or Search Console means engines may discover it only via links. Using the crawler on a very large site without limits can hit time or resource caps; prefer the URL list or index for big sites. Always use HTTPS in sitemap URLs if your site is served over HTTPS.