Sitemap XML Validator
Validate your website's sitemap.xml file
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a sitemap.xml?
A sitemap.xml is an XML file that lists all important URLs on your website. It helps search engines like Google and Bing discover and crawl your pages efficiently, especially new or recently updated pages.
Why validate sitemap.xml?
A sitemap with XML errors, invalid or duplicate URLs can confuse search engines and hurt your site's indexing. Validation ensures the sitemap follows the sitemaps.org protocol and all URLs are correct.
What's the difference between urlset and sitemapindex?
A urlset contains a list of individual site URLs. A sitemapindex is an index that points to other sitemaps, used when the site has many URLs. Google recommends using sitemapindex when the sitemap exceeds 50,000 URLs or 50MB.
What are lastmod, changefreq and priority?
lastmod indicates when the page was last modified (ISO 8601 format). changefreq suggests how often the page changes (daily, weekly, etc.). priority indicates the relative importance of the URL (0.0 to 1.0). Google primarily uses lastmod; changefreq and priority are less relevant.
What is hreflang in sitemap?
Hreflang tags in the sitemap indicate alternate versions of each page in different languages or regions. They use the xhtml:link tag with rel="alternate" and help Google show the correct version of the page for each user based on language and location.