Why do you need a sitemap, how to create it manually

26.08.18 IT / SEO 2119

Sitemap Sitemap is an important element of any modern resource, thanks to which search engines and other services can quickly receive a list of all pages on the site. Without such a map, it would be difficult to find all the pages of the site, as a result of which they will not be included in the search.

There are many services that offer online sitemap creation . Usually, such services are paid and they can create incorrect or incomplete maps, since they create a map by analyzing the site from the outside. Therefore, it is best to create a map yourself, or rather write a code that will do it for you. And for various CMS you can use ready-made modules that must be configured correctly beforehand. If this is not done, the map will contain various technical, unnecessary or prohibited addresses.

You can use special free services to check Sitemap for errors and correctness of compilation. The most popular services are Webmaster from Google or Yandex . They allow you to check the map and get hints for correcting errors.

The sitemap is usually in XML format. It is a document that has the extension .xml and contains a special structure. Here's a example sitemap.xml below:

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

A simple example of the content of a Sitemap is given, in which the first line is used to determine the version and encoding of the map, the second contains a link to the used specification. Next are the addresses themselves.

As you can see from the article, a sitemap is very important for any modern resource. You can do it yourself, or you can use ready-made modules. It is important to periodically check the card in special services. A complete and correct Sitemap is one of the criteria for a successful site.