To create an XML sitemap, list the canonical, indexable URLs on your site in the sitemaps.org XML format, upload the file to your site, and submit it in Google Search Console. A sitemap generator does the formatting for you: the QCK XML Sitemap Generator crawls a small site of up to 300 pages or takes a pasted URL list and outputs a valid sitemap.xml to download.
What an XML sitemap is and when you need to build one
An XML sitemap is a machine-readable list of URLs you want search engines to find. Each URL sits in a <url> element with a required <loc> and an optional <lastmod> date.
Many platforms generate sitemaps automatically:
- Shopify creates
/sitemap.xmlas an index of product, collection, page and blog sitemaps. - WordPress has generated a core sitemap at
/wp-sitemap.xmlsince version 5.5, and SEO plugins often replace it with their own. - Most modern site builders and frameworks offer a built-in option or plugin.
You need to build one yourself when you run a static or custom-built site, a landing page microsite, a headless front end without a sitemap module, or when the auto-generated sitemap includes URLs it should not and you cannot configure it.
Why sitemaps matter for SEO and AI search
Search engines find most pages by following links. A sitemap adds a direct list, which helps with new sites that have few backlinks, large sites where some pages sit deep in the structure, and pages that change often. Google treats the sitemap as a hint: it still decides what to crawl and index. AI search crawlers that maintain their own indexes can also use sitemaps for discovery.
A sitemap is also a diagnostic tool. Once submitted, Search Console reports how many of its URLs are indexed, which gives you a clean view of indexing for the pages you care about most.
What to include and leave out
| Include | Leave out |
|---|---|
| Canonical URLs that return 200 | Redirected URLs |
| Pages you want in search results | Pages with noindex |
| Products, categories, articles, key landing pages | Cart, checkout, account and internal search pages |
| One consistent protocol and host (for example https and www) | Parameter, filter and tracking URLs |
| Accurate lastmod dates where you have them | Duplicate or thin pages you would not want ranked |
Respect the limits: up to 50,000 URLs and 50MB uncompressed per sitemap. Beyond that, split into multiple files and list them in a sitemap index.
A sitemap index is a short XML file whose <sitemap> entries each point to a child sitemap with a <loc> URL. Even sites well under the limits often use one, with separate child sitemaps for products, categories and articles, because it makes indexing problems easier to isolate by page type in Search Console.
How to use the QCK sitemap generator
Option 1: crawl a small site
- Open the XML Sitemap Generator.
- Enter your homepage URL and start the crawl. The tool follows internal links to discover pages, up to 300.
- Review the discovered URLs and remove any that should not be indexed, such as thank-you pages or test pages.
- Generate and download the
sitemap.xmlfile.
Option 2: paste a URL list
- Export your URLs from your CMS, a crawler or a spreadsheet.
- Paste them into the generator, one per line.
- Generate the file and download it.
The URL list option works for sites of any structure, including pages that are not linked internally. Note that orphan pages are a problem in their own right, so link to them too. See the internal linking guide.
How to publish and submit your sitemap
- Upload
sitemap.xmlto the root of your site so it loads athttps://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml. A sitemap generally covers URLs within its own directory and host, so the root is the safest location. - Open it in a browser and confirm it loads and returns a 200 status.
- Add a line to robots.txt:
Sitemap: https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml. - Submit the sitemap URL in Google Search Console's Sitemaps report, and in Bing Webmaster Tools.
- Validate it with the sitemap checker to confirm every URL resolves cleanly.
Sitemap tips and mistakes to avoid
- Regenerate when the site changes. A static file goes stale as you add and remove pages. Rebuild it after launches and set a reminder for regular updates, or automate generation in your build process.
- Do not fake lastmod. Only include it when it reflects real content changes.
- Skip priority and changefreq. Google ignores them, so they add size without value.
- Do not list blocked URLs. If robots.txt disallows a URL, listing it in the sitemap sends a contradictory signal.
- Remember images and video. Sitemap extensions exist for images and video if those assets are important to your search visibility.
For sites larger than a quick crawl can cover, or headless and custom stacks, automated sitemap generation belongs in the build pipeline. Our technical SEO team sets this up and monitors indexing over time.