What Is sitemap.xml?

🗺️ What Is a Sitemap.xml?

Imagine you built a big LEGO city with lots of buildings, streets, and tiny signs. Now you invite Google — a smart robot — to come look at it.

But there’s a problem: Google has never been here before. It doesn’t know where your buildings are. Some streets don’t even have signs. It might get lost.

So what do you do? You give Google a map.

That map is called sitemap.xml.

🧭 Why Does Google Need a Sitemap?

Google visits websites to understand what’s there. But websites can be confusing — some pages are hidden or unlinked. If Google can’t see a page, it might never know it exists.

A sitemap is your way of helping Google by saying: "Here’s a list of all the pages on my website."

🧾 What’s Inside a Sitemap.xml File?

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="https://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
  <url>
    <loc>https://example.com/</loc>
  </url>
  <url>
    <loc>https://example.com/about</loc>
  </url>
</urlset>

🛠️ How Do You Make a Sitemap?

• Use tools like xml-sitemaps.com
• Let your CMS generate one (e.g. WordPress)
• Write it yourself and upload it as sitemap.xml

🚀 Bonus: Tell Google About Your Sitemap

Submit it in Google Search Console under the Sitemaps section.

✅ Why It Matters

With a sitemap, Google knows what to crawl. Without one, it has to guess.

sitemap.xml = blueprint of your website