This guide will help you find and create an XML sitemap for your website. This guide will help you find and create an XML sitemap for your website.
Before reading a book, our first aim is to look at the index, content page numbers, and relevant chapters. In this context, XML sitemaps are like an index in your site, where readers are the search engine crawlers. When you create an XML sitemap on your site, you increase the performance of crawling on your site.
Search engines are also efficient for crawling and indexing your site without needing a sitemap, still websites with sitemaps perform better on web browsers.
XML is an eXtensible Mark-up language that search engine crawlers look at easily. Sitemap example XML aims to provide information to crawlers only. In contrast, HTML sitemaps are human-readable. Usually, large sites provide Google with XML sitemaps for it to not miss any content from crawling and indexing. In HTML sitemaps, users can easily find the topic and click it to read and watch.
Types of sitemaps
There are mainly two types of sitemaps; both are equally essential for search engine optimization: XML and HTML sitemaps. This article section will help you understand and distinguish between the two.
XML Sitemaps
In technical SEO, XML sitemaps are written in coded language for the robotic crawlers. While navigating through XML sitemaps, crawlers understand the coded language and index your site accordingly. In XML sitemaps, we write instructions for the crawlers to navigate them easily through pages and the content on the site.
By placing the XML sitemaps on your server, you allow the search engine to investigate the newly added or refreshed pages and identify the URL for each page. Either you run an ecommerce vs retail store online, easy crawling boosts up your site optimization.
HTML sitemaps
HTML sitemaps are human-friendly files that help visitors navigate your website easily. When you place an HTML file on your site, you allow users to find the relevant information and help them reach there. It will not be illogical to relate the index in this article to an HTML file on your site.
The HTML file includes the bulleted points of each section on your website in a sequential form with the page numbers. Clicking on any URL will lead the users to that attached page.
How to find and view XML sitemap
There are numerous ways to find and view your sitemap. However, sometimes finding a sitemap becomes a hassle if we do not follow the legit ways. Here are some specific ways to help you find your sitemap if you have submitted them to google in advance.
Check them manually
This method is dead simple to find your sitemap on your site. However, it does not guarantee that your sitemap will be accessible to you with this end, so have patience and keep trying other methods.
What you need to do is to enter your URL in the URL and add some extensions.
Here is how – www.yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml
You can try these extensions if you do not find your sitemap following the above method.
- /sitemap
- /sitemap_index.xml
- /sitemap.txt
- sitemap/index.xml
- Sitemap1.xml
Find Using robot.txt file
Robot.txt file is another way to look for your sitemap. As the robot.txt file finds derivatives for the search engine crawlers, they also help us find the place where our sitemaps are hidden if you have failed to access your sitemaps.
This is how you can use robot.txt files.
https://yourdomain.com/robot.txt
Robot.txt files sometimes get your result. However, we may also fail to use this method.
The next we can do is with using the google search engine console.
Find with google search engine console
It is not guaranteed that the robot.txt file will help you for sure. If you still have not arrived at your destination, try using the google search engine console.
Google search engine is one of the easiest ways to find sitemaps. Hope this works in your case too.
For this, log in to search the engine console and look for ‘sitemaps’ on the left. You will find your sitemap if you have already submitted them to Google.
Use the Google search operator
As we all know, the google search operator is always there to find the best results. In this case, we can use it to find our sitemap. No matter if you are a SEO specialist or run an online business, you always google search to deal with ambiguity.
For that type,
Site: yourdomain.com filetype: XML
Checking the CMS of the website
You can also perform the same task by checking the website’s content management system. First, you need to find the content management system your website is built on. You may have constructed the website with CMS such as WordPress, Wix, Shopify, or Magento.
If your website has a WordPress foundation, try this method to dive into the realm. WordPress usually uses plugins to establish an XML sitemap.
- /sitemap_index/xml
- /sitemap.xml
With an online tool
Online finding tools are also among the easiest to find on the site map. You only need to paste the link to your website and click the search button. In a while, your result will be ready.
How to create a sitemap
Creating an XML sitemap is not a hassle. You can do that manually or with a sitemap generator. Ensure the sitemap generated does not exceed the size limit of 50 MB and 50,000 URLs. Or if they exceed, you can split them into pieces.
Google suggests creating a sitemap manually for less than a few dozen URLs or handover the task to a sitemap generator if it contains over a few dozen URLs.
Google will check when you create a sitemap or update it. It is usually a one-time job. Google sends the crawlers only when you suggest it.
Create a sitemap in Wix
If your website mounts on Wix, you do not need to create a sitemap for your site. Every website in Wix launches with its sitemap. If you want google to crawl your Wix site, you need to connect your site to Wix SEO WIz.
Whenever you publish and update your website, Wix automatically updates the sitemap and submits it to google.
To view your sitemap in Wix, you can add an extension sitemap.xml to your website domain.
Create a sitemap in Squarespace
All the sites on Squarespace come with an attached sitemap. Like Wix, Squarespace also updates and submits to google after you add or renew something on your website. Squarespace extracts the non-profitable URLs from your sitemap and the information that applies to crawling. Finding the sitemap on Squarespace is not a daunting task. You can find your sitemap easily by adding extension /sitemap.xml to your domain name.
Create a sitemap in Shopify
Worry less if you are in Shopify. Shopify updates or reset your sitemap with any change on the website and quickly sends it to the search engine for crawling to not miss out on the search engine result pages.
To find and view the XML sitemap on Shopify, add sitemap.xml to your website domain names.
Create a video sitemap
Video sitemaps differ from regular sitemaps as they include additional information about the video content and suggest the videos’ metadata on the webpage. Setting videos and video sitemaps on the sites is an excellent way to boost the ranking in the google search engine results. Google only supports sitemaps with less than 50,000 video URLs. If video quantity exceeds this limit, google suggests breaking down the sitemaps into multiple sitemaps.
You can create video sitemaps manually or outsource this task to any sitemaps generator. Manually, you can make the sitemap by writing the metadata of videos present on the web pages.
Create a sitemap without a CMS
Google suggests creating a sitemap manually only when the URLs are less than your preferable quantity. You can create a sitemap in a windows notepad or Nano if you’re a Linux operator. Creating an XML sitemap for more than a few dozen URLs is daunting. You can use the sitemap generators, which are also equally preferable.
Why do I need a sitemap?
As we said in the beginning, sitemaps are not a benchmark for google to rank your site. However, content quality and SEO optimization help google rank your site. Sitemaps, though, are not overly hyped, still they are an essential element in this digitally evolving world for google to crawl and index your site for graded ranking.
Crawlers can only oversight the content if the files are too large. On the other hand, Sitemaps suggest Google investigate and navigate the Sitemap URLs.
TO potentially boost your website ranking on search pages, reach out to a local SEO company near me.
Fixing common sitemap’s website errors
Errors in sitemaps are the biggest obstacle while your website is ranking. Here are some notable errors that can block the crawlers’ paths to proceed on your site.
With the rising peak of technology, economics, and gaming, errors and technical glitches are quite frequent. In such a scenario, SEO for gaming and technical sites become a hassle for the developers.
The size is too large.
As we know, Google does not allow crawling on sitemaps exceeding the required size.
Solution
Split your sitemaps into pieces until the proper crawling takes place.
An Empty sitemap
Yet, if you have not submitted the sitemap to your site, the crawlers will not revert to your site.
Solution
URLs are the building blocks in the formation of sitemaps. If you have not submitted the sitemap to google, it will rarely crawl your site.
Boosting SEO with XML sitemaps
Sitemaps are a crucial part of technical SEO. The XML site is not human readable; however, they are meant for google crawlers.
These are the practices you can consider for boosting your website’s ranking.
- Submit your sitemap to Google
- Keep the size of sitemaps below 50 MB
- Use only canonical URLs to your site.
- Create a video with metadata.
- Add dynamic sitemaps.
Click here if you want to know what people saying to boost your sitemap.
Final thoughts
Now that we have a clear picture of sitemaps, their types, and how you can find and view them using the above-explained methods, you can effortlessly find and create your XML and HTML sitemaps. With this clear understanding, if you want to rank your website on the google search engine results, consider SEOF1ST SEO agency to grow and rank your website. With our best google Analytics services, google ad services, social media advertisement, content writing services, and search engine optimization, explore your business to a large audience and rank your website at the top in search engines. Our cases and client’s feedbacks clearly evidence our services and protocols.
