Parse XML sitemaps, check all URLs, and surface broken or stale entries.
Validate any XML sitemap for errors, URL limits, and Google compliance — paste a URL or your sitemap URL directly.
If you enter a domain with no path, we'll check /sitemap.xml automatically.
An XML sitemap is a file that lists the URLs on your site you want search engines to crawl and index. It acts as a map for crawlers, ensuring important pages are discovered even when they are not well-linked internally. The file sits at a predictable URL, usually /sitemap.xml, and follows a standard XML schema Google and Bing both understand.
Sitemaps matter most for large sites, new sites with few external links, and sites that publish content frequently. For a five-page website with strong internal linking, a sitemap is less critical. For a blog publishing daily, it is essential for timely indexing.
| Requirement | Why it matters | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Returns HTTP 200 | A 404 or 500 sitemap is ignored entirely | Moved sitemap without updating robots.txt |
| Valid XML structure | Malformed XML stops parsers reading the file | Unclosed tags from template errors |
| Canonical URLs only | Redirect or noindex URLs confuse crawlers | Including redirect chains in the sitemap |
| Under 50,000 URLs | Google ignores entries past this limit | Single sitemap file for the entire site |
| Accurate lastmod dates | Signals freshness for recrawl priority | Hardcoded date that is never updated |
| Declared in robots.txt | Crawlers use the Sitemap: directive for discovery | Sitemap URL not listed in robots.txt |
A sitemap is not a substitute for internal linking. Crawlers discover pages by following links. A page in your sitemap with no internal links pointing to it will be crawled, but Google will treat it as less important than pages with strong internal link signals. Use your sitemap to ensure discovery, not to replace the link structure of your site.
For sites with hundreds of pages, a sitemap index file is the correct approach. A sitemap index references multiple child sitemaps, each covering a subset of your content. This keeps individual files under the 50,000 URL limit and makes it easier to update specific sections of your site without regenerating a single massive file.
The tool fetches your XML sitemap and checks whether it is accessible, whether the XML is well-formed, how many URLs it contains, whether lastmod dates are valid, and whether the file structure matches what Google and Bing expect. For sitemap index files, it checks the linked child sitemaps as well.
Free, with no account required. Enter any sitemap URL to validate it. No limits on how many sitemaps you can check.
It depends on the type of error. Google is forgiving about minor formatting issues. A sitemap that returns a 500 error or is completely malformed will be ignored entirely. Google Search Console will report most errors it encounters, but it does not always flag them quickly. Running validation before submission saves time.
Any time you publish new pages or delete old ones, update your sitemap. Most CMS platforms generate sitemaps automatically and update them on publish. If you are managing your sitemap manually, update it at least monthly. The lastmod date in each URL entry tells Google how recently that page was updated, which affects how often it is recrawled.
AI search tools like Perplexity and ChatGPT rely on crawlers to discover and index pages. A sitemap that is inaccessible or poorly structured slows down crawler discovery of new content. Pages that are not discovered cannot be cited. Keeping your sitemap valid and up to date helps any crawler, not just Google's, find your content faster.