Sitemap is a web page that displays complete information about all the pages of the site that are needed for search robots. Someone will say that it is not needed, because all sections are already displayed. However, the need for such a page exists if the site contains fifty pages or more. For search engines and for users, it will serve as a guide to help you understand where this or that information is contained.
XML and HTML files
Since the site map is used not only for search robots, but also for users visiting the site, two maps are usually made: in XML and HTML formats.
To create a Sitemap for search robots, use an XML file. Thanks to him, robots enter new indexed pages into their search database. In the absence of a map on a multi-page site, a large number of pages may not be indexed for a sometimes very long time.time.
An HTML file is used to create a sitemap for users. The importance of this map lies in the fact that its convenience directly determines whether the user will find the information of interest to him or not. Therefore, such a map is created for those Internet projects in which all sections and their subsections do not fit in the main menu.
How to create an XML Sitemap
There are three ways to solve this problem:
- Purchasing a sitemap generator.
- Create a Sitemap using online services.
- Hand writing file.
For significant time savings, it is proposed to purchase generators. Therefore, if twenty - thirty dollars to buy a license is a waste of money for a webmaster, then buying it, especially for a large Internet resource, still does not hurt, since then you will not need to create a site manually.
For a site containing several hundred pages, online services are recommended, where in order to create a Sitemap, you only need to specify the address of the Internet resource and download the result.
The most correct option is to manually create a map. To do this, you need to know tags such as url, urlset, loc, lastmod, changefreg and priority. In this case, the first three tags are considered mandatory, and the last three can be dispensed with.
Creating a Sitemap in Joomla
To create a Sitemap, Joomla andWordpress has special add-ons, like most well-known administration systems, thanks to which a sitemap is created manually or automatically. For large Internet projects that constantly update materials, this add-on is very convenient.
In Joomla it's called Xmap, in Wordpress it's called Google XML Sitemaps.
Automatically generate a sitemap
Free online servers help to automatically create a Sitemap if the site has no more than five hundred pages. Here's how easy it is to generate a sitemap:
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Going to one of these Internet resources, you need to find the "Generate Sitemap" item, click on the "Create" button and create a Sitemap file automatically.
- Find the "Site URL" and enter the address of the site for which the map is being created.
- The system may require you to enter a verification code. You must also enter it and press "Start".
- Upload the finished map to the site.
Manual way to create a map
This method is, on the one hand, the most difficult, taking up precious time, but on the other hand, it is the surest method used in cases where other options are not suitable. So, for example, if there are many pages that do not need to be included in the sitemap, but they automatically get there, of course, the manual method will save the map from “overdose” of such pages. Another reason for choosing this method is poorsite navigation.
To implement manual map creation you need:
- Collect pages to include in the map.
- Insert all addresses into the third column in the excel file.
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Insert both url and loc in the 1st and 2nd columns.
- In the 4th and 5th columns, insert closing url and loc.
- Use the "link" function to connect five bars.
- In a text editor make sitemap.xml.
- Add both urlset and /urlset tags to this file.
- Insert a connected column between them.
- Save everything.
The resulting file needs to be checked. You can do this, for example, in Yandex, in the webmaster panel.
How to create a Sitemap for Yandex and Google
After the site is created, it is added to the site. For this purpose, the sitemap file should be named Sitemap.xml and added to the root directory. In order for search robots to quickly find it, Google and Yandex have special tools. They are called Webmaster Tools (in Google) and Yandex Webmaster (in Yandex).
Adding a Sitemap to Google
Google needs to go through the authorization procedure in "Webmaster Tools". Next, after selecting a site, go to optimization/Sitemap files, click the "Load" button and confirm this operation.
Adding a Sitemap to"Yandex"
Also, you must first log in to Yandex Webmaster. Then go to Indexing/Sitemaps, specify the file path there and click the "Add" button.
Tips for creating a sitemap
It is recommended to follow the following tips when creating a sitemap:
- Search robots today will take only those files that contain no more than fifty thousand url.
- If the map exceeds ten megabytes, it is better to split it into several files. Thanks to this, the server will not be overloaded.
- To create a Sitemap xml correctly, with several files, you need to register them all in the index file using the sitemapindex, sitemap, loc and lastmod tags.
- All pages must be written with or without the "www" prefix.
- Required file encoding is UTF8.
- You also need to add the language namespace to the file.
How to create a sitemap for users
Since such a map is created for users, it should be as simple and visual as possible. Despite this, it is necessary to qualitatively convey all the information about the structure of the site used.
HTML maps generally have a familiar custom structure, consisting of sections and subsections that are defined in specific ways, such as CSS styles and graphic elements.
To create a Sitemap for a large Internet project,as with the XML map, splitting is also recommended here. In this case, it is carried out in the form of separate tabs, relieving the map from bulkiness.
Improve the functionality of the page will allow the JavaScript language, which is allowed to be used in this map, since it is created not for search engine robots, but for users.
Order for sitemap file
It is desirable that the created file containing the Sitemap is always clean and tidy, especially if the site has a large number of pages. Since search engine robots scan sitemaps very quickly, it may simply not be enough time to view the entire file of a large Internet resource.
Therefore, if you get used to adding pages to the sitemap not at the bottom, but at the top of it, then, on the one hand, there is no doubt that the search robot will have time to view the addresses of new pages, and on the other hand, it is much easier this way will control all pages.
