WordPress Sitemap: Functions, Types, and How to Create One

To improve website performance, producing high-quality content is essential. However, have you made sure that search engines can actually find the content?

In fact, even great content can be “hidden” from search engines if the website’s structure is unclear and the WordPress sitemap is not optimized. This situation certainly contradicts the goals of your business’s digital marketing, doesn’t it?

In this article, you will gain a deep understanding of WordPress sitemaps, covering everything from their definition, functions, and types to how to create them. Let’s dive into the explanation!

What Is a WordPress Sitemap?

A WordPress sitemap is a file containing a list of all public URLs (pages) on a WordPress website.

SEO experts consider sitemaps to be an important technical component, especially for new websites, websites with many pages, and websites with weak internal linking structures.

Functions of a Sitemap

Broadly speaking, a sitemap serves several functions in running a website. Here is the explanation:

1. Facilitates Navigation

The first function of a sitemap is to simplify navigation by clearly displaying the website’s structure. A sitemap also shows the website’s hierarchy or the relationships between pages.

With clear navigation, users can understand the path to the information they’re looking for on a website. This prevents confusion and makes users feel comfortable spending more time on the site.

2. Supports SEO

In addition to helping users, a sitemap also helps search engines find pages on your website more easily. These pages include new content, important pages that need to be indexed, as well as orphaned content and deep content.

Orphaned content refers to pages that lack internal links, making them difficult to find. Deep content, on the other hand, refers to pages that require multiple clicks to access.

With a sitemap, these pages can potentially be indexed immediately and subsequently appear on the SERP (Search Engine Results Page).

Additionally, when a sitemap is submitted to Google Search Console, you can monitor indexing performance based on data. If there are errors or technical SEO issues, you can immediately analyze and fix them. Ultimately, the entire process above significantly impacts the success of SEO practices.

Types of Sitemaps

Based on their format, sitemaps are divided into several types, including XML, HTML, and video sitemaps. Here is a breakdown of each:

1. XML Sitemap

It is called an XML sitemap because it is created using the XML (Extensible Markup Language) programming language. 

The function of an XML sitemap is to help search engines better understand a website. The way it does this is by displaying structured information, ranging from a list of website pages, content types, page priority levels, to the last modification date.

XML sitemaps are known to be the most widely used by search engines. Their structure is easy for crawlers to process, which helps search engines identify important pages and speeds up the indexing process, especially for new content.

2. HTML Sitemap

While an XML sitemap is easy for search engines to understand, an HTML sitemap is easy for humans to understand. An HTML sitemap is a dedicated page on a website that contains a list of links to all pages and can be clicked directly by users. As the name suggests, this sitemap is created using HTML (Hypertext Markup Language).

The function of an HTML sitemap is to assist in designing and developing a website while enhancing the user experience. This sitemap effectively illustrates the website’s structure, ensuring it remains organized and maintains a clear hierarchy.

Over time, the number of pages on a website typically increases. This is where the HTML sitemap serves as a website directory, helping users quickly find pages even when there are a relatively large number of them. With these features, the website becomes more user-friendly.

3. Video Sitemap

The next type of sitemap is the video sitemap, specifically designed to present videos on a website to search engines. This sitemap is considered important for the following reasons:

• It helps videos appear in both standard search results and video-specific results. This, in turn, potentially increases traffic and CTR (Click-Through Rate).
• Helps search engines understand video content through metadata such as titles, descriptions, thumbnails, duration, and publication dates.
• If a single video appears on multiple pages, a video sitemap can help identify the video’s main page.

Given that current internet trends lean more toward video or visual content, a video sitemap has become a crucial asset in digital strategies. Through video performance reports, you can analyze results and make improvements or optimizations. As a result, SEO performs more effectively because it is based on valid data.

Read also: 9 Tips to Create a Mobile-Friendly Website to Improve SEO

How to Create a Sitemap in WordPress

Creating a WordPress sitemap can be done with or without a plugin. Here are the steps:

1. How to Create a WordPress Sitemap with a Plugin

If you want to use a plugin, you can choose Yoast SEO or Google XML. Both can help generate sitemaps automatically. Yoast SEO offers a relatively quick setup with minimal configuration. Meanwhile, Google XML allows you to control the sitemap in greater detail.

To create a sitemap using the Yoast SEO plugin, follow these steps:

• Log in to the WordPress admin dashboard.
• Click the Plugins menu, select Add New, then search for the Yoast SEO plugin in the Keyword box.
• Once it appears, click Install Now.
• When the installation is complete, click Activate.
• On the dashboard, click the SEO menu, then select General.
• Click the Features tab, then click ON for the sitemap feature.
• Click Save Changes to save the changes.

Next, here are the steps to create a WordPress sitemap using the Google XML plugin:

• Log in to the WordPress admin dashboard.
• Click the Plugins menu, select Add New, then search for the Google XML plugin in the Keyword field.
• Click Install Now, then Activate.
• Open the configuration page by clicking the Settings menu on the dashboard. You will find the sitemap URL in the XML Sitemap URL field.

2. How to Create a WordPress Sitemap Without a Plugin

Creating a WordPress sitemap without a plugin gives you full control over the sitemap’s content. You are free to direct crawlers to the content that is truly important to include. However, this method usually takes quite a bit of time. Here are the steps:

Step 1: Open a text editor on your device, such as Notepad.

Step 2: Copy the following code into the text editor:

< ?xml version= “1.0” encoding= “UTF-8” ? >

< urlset xmlns= “http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9” >

< url >

< loc > http://www.example.com/ </loc>

<lastmod>2021-07-18</lastmod>

<changefreq>monthly</changefreq>

<priority>0.5</priority>

</url>

</urlset>

Step 3: Save it as sitemap.xml.

Step 4: Upload it to the WordPress root folder.

Step 5: Access the sitemap URL to ensure the sitemap is working properly.

Step 6: If the sitemap is working properly, use a validator to check its validity. Open the Validator, enter the sitemap URL, then click Validate Sitemap.

How to Submit a Sitemap to GSC (Google Search Console)

Once your sitemap has been successfully created, time to submit it to GSC so that your website can be easily found in SERPs. To submit a sitemap to GSC, follow these steps:

• Go to https://search.google.com/search-console, then sign in using your Google account.
• From the list of websites linked to GSC, select your website.
• Select the Sitemap menu on the left.
• Enter the sitemap URL, for example, “yourwebsite.com/sitemap.xml”.
• Click Submit. Google will check the sitemap and index your website quickly.

Those are the explanations regarding WordPress sitemaps that can help make your website more user-friendly and search engine-friendly.

Thorough sitemap planning is part of more focused website development. A website developed optimally opens the door to better visibility in search engines and a significant increase in conversions.

If you want to develop your website into a more valuable digital space, take advantage of Web Development services by cmlabs! 

Through this service, our team of experts is ready to assist with measurable and effective strategies, one of which is the creation of a Content Management System (CMS) like WordPress. In fact, we can help build a custom CMS so you can manage daily content more easily.

Want to know more about this service? Contact us for a free consultation and get the best offer tailored to your business needs!

Read also: How to Make SEO-Friendly Website Structure