WordPress
SEO plugins such as Yoast and Rank Math generate a sitemap for you. For a manual file, upload it to the root folder through your host’s file manager or FTP.
Paste your URLs, set lastmod, changefreq and priority, and copy a valid XML sitemap. Upload it to your site root and submit it in Google Search Console. Free, no sign-up, and nothing leaves your browser.
Add URLs above to set priority, changefreq and lastmod for each one.
A sitemap.xml file is an XML list of the URLs on your website that you want search engines to find. Each entry can carry a last-modified date, a change frequency and a priority. It follows the sitemaps.org protocol and usually lives at /sitemap.xml.
Search engines find most pages by following links. A sitemap helps with the pages that links might miss: new pages, deep pages, and pages on large sites or sites with few inbound links.
A sitemap does not guarantee a page is crawled or indexed. It is a hint, and it works best when it lists only the canonical, indexable URLs you want to appear in search.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
<url>
<loc>https://www.example.com/</loc>
<lastmod>2026-10-20</lastmod>
<changefreq>weekly</changefreq>
<priority>1.0</priority>
</url>
<url>
<loc>https://www.example.com/about/</loc>
<lastmod>2026-09-02</lastmod>
</url>
</urlset>Only loc is required. Google has said it ignores priority and changefreq, and uses lastmod only when it is consistently accurate. Other search engines may read all three.
| Tag | What it describes | Priority |
|---|---|---|
loc | The full, absolute URL of the page, including https:// | Required |
lastmod | The date the page last changed in a meaningful way, as YYYY-MM-DD | Recommended, if accurate |
changefreq | A hint for how often the page changes, from always to never | Optional |
priority | The page’s importance relative to your other URLs, from 0.0 to 1.0 | Optional |
List the pages you want people to find in search. Leave out everything that would waste crawl attention.
Canonical, indexable pages
Pages you do not want in search
The generator above does the writing. These four steps take you from a list of URLs to a submitted sitemap.
Add one full URL per line. Duplicates are removed for you.
Choose defaults, then adjust any URL that needs its own lastmod.
Copy the XML or download it as sitemap.xml.
Upload to your site root, then submit it in Search Console.
Many platforms create a sitemap automatically, and a plugin may already serve /sitemap.xml. Open that address first. Replace or edit an existing sitemap rather than adding a second one that competes with it.
The file goes in your site’s root, so it opens at yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml. Here is how that works on common platforms.
SEO plugins such as Yoast and Rank Math generate a sitemap for you. For a manual file, upload it to the root folder through your host’s file manager or FTP.
Shopify generates /sitemap.xml automatically and does not let you replace it. Submit that address to Search Console instead.
Wix creates and updates the sitemap for you. Check the SEO settings, then submit the address it gives you.
Upload the file to the web root next to your index page, then add a Sitemap: line to your robots.txt.
Short answers on tags, limits and submitting.
A sitemap.xml file lists the URLs you want search engines to discover, with optional details such as last-modified date. It helps crawlers find new, deep or poorly linked pages, but it does not guarantee crawling or indexing.
Yes. It is completely free, with no sign-up. Everything runs in your browser, so the URLs you paste are never uploaded to a server.
A single sitemap file can hold up to 50,000 URLs and be up to 50 MB uncompressed. This generator accepts up to 500 URLs. For larger sites, split your URLs across several sitemaps and list them in a sitemap index file.
Google has said it ignores both. It uses lastmod only when the dates are consistently accurate. You can still include priority and changefreq because other search engines and tools may read them, or skip them for a leaner file.
Upload it to the root of your site so it opens at yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml. A sitemap can only list URLs on the same host it is served from.
Open Google Search Console, choose your property, go to Sitemaps, enter the sitemap address and select Submit. You can also add a Sitemap line to your robots.txt file.
Use the date the page’s content last changed in a meaningful way, in YYYY-MM-DD format. Do not set it to today’s date for every URL, because search engines learn to ignore inaccurate dates.
Not always. A small site with good internal links is usually crawled well without one. A sitemap still helps for new sites, sites with few backlinks, and pages that are several clicks deep.
No. List only canonical pages you want indexed. Leave out redirected, noindex, duplicate and parameter URLs, as well as login, cart and thank-you pages.
A sitemap helps crawlers find your pages. Structured data helps them understand those pages.
Search Savvy’s technical SEO team audits your sitemap, fixes crawl issues and monitors indexing across your whole site.