Sitemap Generator
Generate valid XML sitemaps for your website. Add URLs manually or paste in bulk, set priority, change frequency, and last modified dates. Preview with syntax highlighting and download a ready-to-upload sitemap.xml file. Supports sitemap index mode for large sites.
How to Use This Tool
- Add URLs individually by clicking "+ Add URL" in Single Add mode. Enter the full URL including https:// for each page you want in your sitemap.
- Paste URLs in bulk by switching to the Bulk Add tab. Paste one URL per line and click "Add All URLs" to create rows for each URL with default settings.
- Set last modified dates for each URL. This tells search engines when the page was last updated, helping them prioritize crawling recently changed pages.
- Choose change frequency to indicate how often each page changes. Options range from "always" to "never", with "weekly" as the default for most pages.
- Set priority values from 0.0 to 1.0 to indicate relative importance. Your homepage might be 1.0, main sections 0.8, and individual pages 0.5.
- Download or copy the generated XML. Review the syntax-highlighted preview, check warnings, then click Download to save as sitemap.xml or Copy to clipboard.
About the Sitemap Generator
An XML sitemap is one of the most important files for search engine optimization. It provides search engines with a structured list of all the URLs on your website that you want indexed, along with metadata about each page including when it was last modified, how often it changes, and its relative priority compared to other pages on your site. The sitemap protocol was jointly developed by Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft in 2006 and is now the universal standard for helping search engines discover and crawl web pages efficiently.
The sitemaps.org protocol defines strict formatting requirements. Each sitemap must be a valid XML file with a UTF-8 encoding declaration. The root element is <urlset> with the namespace xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9". Each URL entry is wrapped in a <url> element containing a required <loc> tag with the full URL, and optional <lastmod>, <changefreq>, and <priority> tags. A single sitemap file can contain up to 50,000 URLs and must not exceed 50MB when uncompressed.
For large websites with more than 50,000 pages, the sitemap index format allows you to reference multiple sitemap files from a single index file. The root element changes to <sitemapindex> and each child sitemap is listed with <sitemap> containing <loc> and optional <lastmod> tags. A sitemap index can reference up to 50,000 individual sitemaps, supporting a theoretical maximum of 2.5 billion URLs. This tool supports both standard sitemap and sitemap index generation with a simple toggle.
While Google has publicly stated they primarily use the <lastmod> tag and largely ignore <changefreq> and <priority>, other search engines like Bing, Yandex, and Baidu may still consider these values. The lastmod date is particularly valuable because it helps search engines identify pages that have been recently updated, allowing them to prioritize recrawling fresh content. For best results, only update lastmod when the page content has meaningfully changed, not on every request or minor edit.
This sitemap generator runs entirely in your browser with no data sent to any server. Your work is automatically saved to localStorage so you can return and continue editing. The tool validates URLs in real time, warns about common issues like missing trailing slashes and duplicate URLs, and generates properly formatted XML that complies with the sitemaps.org specification. Use it alongside our Robots.txt Generator to create a complete crawl management strategy for your website.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an XML sitemap?
An XML sitemap is a file that lists all the important URLs on your website in a structured format that search engines can easily read. It helps search engine crawlers like Googlebot discover and index your pages more efficiently. The file follows the sitemaps.org protocol and includes metadata like last modified date, change frequency, and priority for each URL.
Why do sitemaps matter for SEO?
Sitemaps help search engines discover all the pages on your website, especially new pages, deep pages, or pages with few internal links. They improve crawl efficiency by telling search engines which pages have been updated recently, helping fresh content get indexed faster. For large websites, sitemaps are essential for ensuring complete coverage in search engine indexes.
What are priority values in a sitemap?
Priority is a value from 0.0 to 1.0 that indicates the relative importance of a page compared to other pages on your site. A value of 1.0 is the highest priority, and 0.0 is the lowest. The default is 0.5. Note that priority is a hint to search engines, not a directive. Google has stated they do not use the priority value, but other search engines may consider it.
What are changefreq values in a sitemap?
Changefreq (change frequency) tells search engines how often a page is likely to change. Valid values are: always, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, and never. This is a hint, not a command. Search engines may crawl pages more or less frequently regardless of this value. Google has confirmed they do not use changefreq, but it remains part of the sitemap protocol and other search engines may use it.
What is a sitemap index?
A sitemap index is an XML file that references multiple sitemap files. It is used when your website has more than 50,000 URLs or your sitemap file exceeds 50MB. The sitemap index file lists the locations and last modified dates of each child sitemap. This allows you to organize URLs into logical groups like pages, products, and blog posts while staying within size limits.
What is the 50,000 URL limit for sitemaps?
The sitemaps.org protocol specifies that a single sitemap file can contain a maximum of 50,000 URLs and must not exceed 50MB uncompressed. If your site has more URLs, you need to split them across multiple sitemap files and reference them using a sitemap index file. You can have up to 50,000 sitemap files in a sitemap index, giving a theoretical maximum of 2.5 billion URLs.
How do I submit a sitemap to Google?
There are three ways to submit a sitemap to Google: 1) Add it to Google Search Console under Sitemaps in the left menu, enter the URL and click Submit. 2) Add a Sitemap directive to your robots.txt file: Sitemap: https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml. 3) Use the Search Console API to programmatically submit sitemaps. Google will automatically discover sitemaps referenced in robots.txt during crawling.
What is the difference between a sitemap and robots.txt?
A sitemap tells search engines which pages you want them to find and index, while robots.txt tells them which pages they should not access. They serve complementary purposes: robots.txt controls crawler access, and sitemaps guide crawler discovery. A well-optimized website uses both. You should reference your sitemap URL inside your robots.txt file so crawlers can easily find it.