XML sitemaps explained (and when they matter)

An XML sitemap is a file that lists the URLs you want search engines to know about. It is not required to rank, but it accelerates discovery of new and updated pages, especially on large or heavily interlinked sites.

What to include

Canonical URLs only — never include a URL that redirects or is a duplicate
Pages you want indexed — not cart, checkout, thank-you or admin pages
A realistic lastmod that changes when the page actually changes

The size limits

Up to 50,000 URLs and 50MB uncompressed per file
Beyond that, use a sitemap index that references multiple sitemap files

A minimal sitemap

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
  <url>
    <loc>https://example.com/</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-09-30</lastmod>
  </url>
</urlset>

How to submit

Reference the sitemap from robots.txt and submit the URL in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. Most frameworks can generate a sitemap automatically — for example Next.js, WordPress and Shopify.

Common mistakes

Listing non-canonical or 404 URLs
Never updating lastmod
Including thousands of low-value parameter URLs
Assuming a sitemap fixes an indexing problem — it does not override noindex, robots.txt blocks, or thin content

Generate one

Paste your URLs into the free sitemap generator and copy a valid XML file, or use the API to build sitemaps in bulk.