What an XML sitemap is
An XML sitemap is a file that lists URLs on your site so search engines can discover them. It follows the sitemaps.org protocol: a <urlset> wrapper containing one <url> entry per page, each with a <loc> element holding the full address. Optional fields include <lastmod>, <changefreq> and <priority>.
A sitemap helps discovery. It is useful for new sites with few inbound links, large sites, and pages that are hard to reach by following links. It does not guarantee that a URL will be crawled, indexed or ranked, and it does not replace good internal linking.
The optional fields deserve realism. Search engines treat changefreq and priority as hints at most, and some ignore them entirely. An accurate lastmod date tends to be more useful, but this tool does not add one.
When a hand-made sitemap makes sense
If your site is built with a platform or framework, it may generate a sitemap automatically, and you should use that. A manual tool fits small static sites, a short list of landing pages, or a quick file for a project where no generator exists.
It is also handy for checking the format. If you are unsure how a valid file should look, generating a three-line sample shows the structure, including the XML declaration and the namespace on the root element.
Only include URLs you actually want in search results: pages that return a normal successful response, use your preferred domain version, and are not blocked or marked noindex. Mixing in redirected or blocked pages sends contradictory signals.
How to use the Sitemap Generator
- Paste your addresses into the text area, one URL per line. Blank lines are ignored.
- Choose a Change frequency from the dropdown: always, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly or never. The chosen value is applied to every URL.
- Watch the sitemap.xml box update as you type.
- Click Copy to put the markup on your clipboard, or Download to save a file named sitemap.xml.
- Upload it to your site's root and reference it in your robots.txt file.
The Robots.txt Generator has a Sitemap URL field for that last step.
Limits and common mistakes
This tool writes only <loc> and <changefreq> for each URL. It has no per-URL frequency, no lastmod, no priority, and no sitemap index for very large sites. The protocol limits a single sitemap file to 50,000 URLs and 50 MB uncompressed, so larger sites need several files.
The tool does not validate your addresses or fetch them. Use full URLs including https and your exact domain. Special characters need care: an ampersand inside a URL must be written as & in XML, and this tool does not convert it for you, so edit those entries by hand or the file may be invalid.
Setting every page to "always" does not make crawlers visit more often, and an inaccurate hint can reduce how much they trust the field. Pick a realistic value. After uploading, submit the file through the search engine tools you use and fix any errors they report. Everything is generated in your browser.