Free Website Sitemap Generator Tools That Do Work
A sitemap is a map of your website that shows the hierarchy of pages and how they are connected. It can be helpful for both visitors and search engines, as it makes it easy to see where everything is on your site and how to get around. In the following article, we will guide you through the most important information about sitemap generators and how and where to create them.
Table of contents:
What's a Sitemap?
A sitemap is a blueprint of your website which contains all the pages, images and data you have on your site. A sitemap is a good resource for web designers, webmasters, SEO professionals and content writers to use as they are creating new pages or updating existing ones. It's also a handy tool for anyone interested in bookmarking and/or sharing your site and its pages
A sitemap helps make sure there is no duplication of information on your site by listing each page that has been created with links to those pages from any other page within the sitemap.
How to Create Sitemap for Website?
There are a few ways to generate website sitemaps. You can use online sitemap generators, or you can create them manually.
Online generator
If you're using an online sitemap generator, all you need to do is enter the website address and the generator will take care of the rest. Some of these generators are free, while others charge a fee. One such free tool is the sitemap generator offered by Octopus.
Manual generator
If you're creating a sitemap manually, you'll need to first create an XML sitemap file. This file contains all the information about your website pages, including the page URL, the last time it was updated, and how important the page is to search engine. You can then submit this file to Google search console and other search engines.
If you're using a content management system (CMS) such as WordPress, Joomla! or Drupal, there are usually plugins or modules available that will automatically create a sitemap for you.
Sitemap Generator Tool Types & Process
There are two types of sitemaps that you can use for your website: XML, HTML
I. XML Sitemap
An XML sitemap generator is an XML file that lists all the URLs on your website and helps engines crawl and index your site pages. The XML sitemap generator is the most popular sitemap format and is used by the majority of SEO engines.
They are easy to create and use and can be generated automatically by many sitemap generators. XML sitemap generator has text files that list URLs along with additional information about each URL, such as when it was last updated, how important it is, and how often it changes.
The process to generate XML sitemaps is relatively simple:
1. Start by gathering all the URLs for your website. You can do this manually or by using a sitemap generator
2. Create an XML file and save it to your computer
3. Add the following information to your XML file for each sitemap page, title, description, and change frequency:
- URL of sitemap page/file
- sitemap name (this will be the filename) "filename.xml"
- sitemap title or index sitemap entry for each sitemap URL
4. Upload the XML sitemaps to your web server or host
5. Add sitemap link tags to the file in the head of your website
6. Submit sitemap
I.I XML Media Sitemap
The XML Media sitemap is an extension that helps in better indexation of non-HTML content: files, video, image, PDF etc. It lists all the pages on your website and includes additional information about each page, such as when it was last updated, how important it is, and how often it changes.
Adding an XML sitemap to your website can help improve your site's visibility in SEO results pages (SERPs) and can also help ensure that your site's content is more accurately indexed by search engine optimization.
I.II Visual Sitemap Builder
A visual sitemap is a sitemap that's displayed as a graphical image on your website. It lists all the pages on your site and includes additional information about each page, such as when it was last updated, how important it is, and how often it changes
A visual sitemap can be very helpful for both visitors and SEO, as it makes it easy to see where everything is on your site and how to get around. You can create a visual sitemap manually or use a sitemap generator to create one automatically.
The process of creating a visual sitemap is relatively simple:
1. Choose the sitemap files type:
- Image sitemap
- Video sitemap
- Audio sitemap
2. Add the following information to your image file for each sitemap page, title, description, and change frequency
- URL of website sitemap page/file
- sitemap name (this will be the filename) "filename.png"
- sitemap title or index sitemap entry for each sitemap URL
3. Upload the image sitemap to your web server or host
4. Add sitemap link tags to the file in the head of your website
5. Test sitemap
6. Submit sitemap to SEO and social media sites like Facebook
I.III RSS Sitemap Creator
An RSS Feed sitemap creator is a sitemap that includes all the RSS feeds for a website. It's a handy tool for web developers, webmasters, SEO professionals, and content writers to use as they are creating new pages or updating existing ones. It's also a handy tool for anyone interested in subscribing to your site's RSS feeds.
The process of creating an RSS Feed sitemap is very simple:
1. Start by generating an XML sitemap for your website
2. In the XML sitemap, include information about the location of the RSS feeds, as well as the URL and title of each feed
3. Upload the XML sitemap to your web server or host
4. Add sitemap link tags to the sitemap file in the head of your website
5. Test your sitemap and site structure
6. Submit your sitemap to SEO
II. HTML Sitemaps
An HTML sitemap is a sitemap that's displayed as an HTML page on your website. It lists all the pages on your site and includes additional information about each page, such as when it was last updated, how important it is, and how often it changes.
An HTML sitemap can be helpful for both visitors and SEO, as it makes it easy to see where everything is on your site and how to get around. You can create HTML sitemaps manually or use a sitemap generator to create one automatically.
The sitemap process generally follows these steps:
1. Choose the sitemap file type
2. Add the sitemap URL to your website
3. Add the sitemap to your robots.txt file
4. Test your site maps and site structure
5. Submit your sitemap to SEO
III. Robots.txt Sitemap
The XML sitemaps are a standard format that is used by all SEO, while the Robots.txt sitemap is a format that is specific to Google and Bing.
Is a text file that is created in the root directory of your website, includes information about the location, and enables you to provide information about your page to web robots, including which pages should not be crawled and indexed by search engines.
The process of creating a Robots.txt sitemap is very simple:
1. Start by generating an XML sitemap for your website
2. In the XML sitemap, include information about the location of the robots.txt file, as well as the URL and title of each file
3. Once this sitemap file has been created, download it and upload it to your website
4. Finally, include the location of your sitemap in the sitemap index so that the search engine crawlers can find it
Best Tool to Create Sitemap
There are several different visual sitemap creation tools, but my favourite is the Google XML Sitemaps tool. It's easy to use and creates a sitemap that is compliant with Google's guidelines. However, the are many visual sitemap generator tools for a web page, learn more below about my list:
1. Slickplan - Great visual sitemap maker to create refined structures, diagrams, and showcase design mock-ups. Free plan, pro starts from $8.99/month
2. Octopus - Feature-rich visual sitemap generator that can help you generate visual sitemaps for your web presence. Free plan, pro starts from $8/month
3. Dynomapper - Interactive generator, where you can choose from 3 visual sitemap styles (default, circle, and tree) and customize with your logo and color scheme. Starts from $49/month
4. Screamingfrog - It's a powerful and flexible crawler, able to crawl both small and large webpages effectively, while letting you analyze the results in real-time. Free plan, pro starts from £149/year
5. Inspyder - The Inspyder tool is a simple yet powerful visual sitemap generator that helps you make professional-looking websites. The intuitive design makes it easy to use, even if your skills in HTML aren't perfect! Free plan, pro starts from $79.92/bundle
Top 5 Free Sitemap Generators
There are several free sitemap generator tools available to create sitemaps and fix up broken links. My favorite free sitemap generator is Google XML, it's a great sitemap builder and is compatible with google analytics.
1. XML sitemaps - The most used and referenced
2. Google sitemap - It is part of WordPress and it's very easy to use
3. Flowmapp - Good for visual creation and allows you to invite a team member
4. GlooMaps - Create visual sitemaps in a few simple clicks
5. MindMup - Design and share creative mind maps hassle-free
5 Tips to Create Effective Sitemap
1. Process
Start with the home page and work your way out. When you sit down to create your sitemap, start with the home page and work your way out. This will help you to get a good overview of the web pages and how it is structured.
2. Pages
Organize pages into groups. Once you have created a list of all the pages on your website, start to organize them into groups. This will help you to see how the website url is structured and which pages are related to each other.
3. Tools
Use a sitemap generator. There are several sitemap generators available online that can help you to create an effective sitemap for your website.
4. Visuals
Use images sparingly. While sitemaps are meant to help engines crawl your website, they don't have to be text heavy. You can also use sitemap generators which offer sitemaps in formats besides just text.
5. Maintenance
Continue to maintain your sitemap. Make sure that you continue to maintain your sitemap after it has been created. You will want to regularly update it when you add or delete pages.
Does Google Have a Sitemap Generator?
YES, it does! Google sitemap generator is a great tool to help you create a sitemap for your website. It's easy to use and can help you get your website indexed by Google faster. It is free xml sitemap generator unlimited pages: sitemap.Google.com
Process to Improve Website SEO
- Keyword Research:
- Identify the keywords and phrases that potential customers are searching for, and use them throughout your website's content and meta tags.
- On-page Optimization:
- Optimize the content of your website's pages, including the title tags, meta descriptions, header tags, and images.
- Content Creation:
- Create high-quality, relevant, and informative content that provides value to your target audience.
- Technical SEO:
- Ensure your website is technically sound by implementing best practices for website structure, such as URL structure, sitemaps, and responsive design.
- Link Building:
- Build high-quality backlinks to your website from reputable sources.
- Website Performance Optimization:
- Optimize the website's speed and performance, it includes image optimization, code minification, browser caching and much more.
- Mobile Optimization:
- Make sure your website is optimized for mobile devices, as mobile-friendliness is now a ranking factor.
- Local SEO:
- Optimize your website for local search by claiming your Google My Business listing, building citations, and getting listed in local directories.
- Track & Measure:
- Use analytics tools to track your website's traffic and performance, and use the data to make informed decisions about your SEO strategy.
- Update Website Regularly:
- Regularly update your website with new and relevant content, including blog posts, videos, and infographics, to keep your audience engaged and attract new visitors.
What's SEO?
SEO [search engine optimization] is the process of optimizing a website for Google search to earn higher web traffic levels and improve the visibility of the site. Many techniques can be used as part of an SEO campaign, but the most important factor is always creating high-quality content that will appeal to users and earn links from other websites.
To avoid the difficult and time-consuming process of doing all this yourself, you can always hire an SEO expert who will work on your behalf.
Search Engines Types
They are one of the most important tools that you can use to improve the visibility of your website. By using the right keywords and phrases, you can help your website to rank higher in the search results pages, which can help to increase traffic levels and improve sales or conversions.
There are three types of search engines:
- Crawler-based
- Directory-based
- Metasearch engines
Search Engines:
- Google: Google is the most widely used search engine worldwide, with over 92% of the global search engine market share.
- Bing: Bing is a web search engine owned and operated by Microsoft.
- Yahoo: Yahoo is a web search engine owned and operated by Verizon Media.
- Baidu: Baidu is the leading search engine in China and has a market share of over 70% in the country.
- Yandex: is the leading search engine in Russia, with a market share of over 57%.
- DuckDuckGo: is a privacy-focused search engine that does not track users' search history and does not personalize search results.
- StartPage: is another privacy-focused search engine that uses Google's search results but does not track users' search history or personalize search results.
- WolframAlpha: is a "computational knowledge engine" that provides answers to questions and provides information on a wide variety of subjects, including math, science, and history.
Conclusion
A visual sitemap is a map of your website that helps visitors find the content they are looking for on your site. This should be an essential part of every development agency and digital marketing strategy because it can help increase awareness and drive more traffic to your pages.
Creating and submitting a visual sitemap for your website is an essential step in improving your website's SEO ranking too. In addition to helping the SEO crawl and index your pages, sitemaps can also help to improve the usability of your website. There are several different visual sitemap creation tools available, therefore you will have to choose the best sitemap generator for your website.
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