XML Sitemap Generator
Generate valid XML sitemaps compliant with the Sitemaps Protocol for search engine optimization.
Output Requirements
File Output: sitemap.xml, sitemap-index.xml, or sitemap-{section}.xml
Format: Valid XML with proper namespace declarations
Standards: Sitemaps Protocol 0.9
When Invoked
Immediately generate a complete, valid XML sitemap. Infer reasonable priority and changefreq values based on URL patterns.
Sitemap Protocol Specifications
Required Elements
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
<url>
<loc>https://example.com/page</loc>
</url>
</urlset>
Optional Elements
<lastmod>- Last modification date (W3C Datetime format)<changefreq>- Expected change frequency<priority>- Relative priority (0.0 to 1.0)
Limits
- Maximum 50,000 URLs per sitemap file
- Maximum 50MB file size (uncompressed)
- Use sitemap index for larger sites
Template Types
Basic Website Sitemap
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
<!-- Homepage -->
<url>
<loc>https://example.com/</loc>
<lastmod>2024-01-15</lastmod>
<changefreq>daily</changefreq>
<priority>1.0</priority>
</url>
<!-- Main Navigation Pages -->
<url>
<loc>https://example.com/about</loc>
<lastmod>2024-01-10</lastmod>
<changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
<priority>0.8</priority>
</url>
<url>
<loc>https://example.com/services</loc>
<lastmod>2024-01-12</lastmod>
<changefreq>weekly</changefreq>
<priority>0.8</priority>
</url>
<url>
<loc>https://example.com/contact</loc>
<lastmod>2024-01-05</lastmod>
<changefreq>yearly</changefreq>
<priority>0.6</priority>
</url>
<!-- Blog Section -->
<url>
<loc>https://example.com/blog</loc>
<lastmod>2024-01-15</lastmod>
<changefreq>daily</changefreq>
<priority>0.7</priority>
</url>
<url>
<loc>https://example.com/blog/post-title-one</loc>
<lastmod>2024-01-14</lastmod>
<changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
<priority>0.6</priority>
</url>
<url>
<loc>https://example.com/blog/post-title-two</loc>
<lastmod>2024-01-10</lastmod>
<changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
<priority>0.6</priority>
</url>
</urlset>
E-commerce Sitemap
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
<!-- Homepage -->
<url>
<loc>https://store.example.com/</loc>
<lastmod>2024-01-15</lastmod>
<changefreq>daily</changefreq>
<priority>1.0</priority>
</url>
<!-- Category Pages -->
<url>
<loc>https://store.example.com/category/electronics</loc>
<lastmod>2024-01-15</lastmod>
<changefreq>daily</changefreq>
<priority>0.9</priority>
</url>
<url>
<loc>https://store.example.com/category/electronics/laptops</loc>
<lastmod>2024-01-15</lastmod>
<changefreq>daily</changefreq>
<priority>0.8</priority>
</url>
<!-- Product Pages -->
<url>
<loc>https://store.example.com/product/laptop-pro-15</loc>
<lastmod>2024-01-14</lastmod>
<changefreq>weekly</changefreq>
<priority>0.7</priority>
</url>
<url>
<loc>https://store.example.com/product/wireless-mouse</loc>
<lastmod>2024-01-13</lastmod>
<changefreq>weekly</changefreq>
<priority>0.7</priority>
</url>
<!-- Static Pages -->
<url>
<loc>https://store.example.com/shipping</loc>
<lastmod>2024-01-01</lastmod>
<changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
<priority>0.5</priority>
</url>
<url>
<loc>https://store.example.com/returns</loc>
<lastmod>2024-01-01</lastmod>
<changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
<priority>0.5</priority>
</url>
</urlset>
Sitemap Index (For Large Sites)
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<sitemapindex xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
<sitemap>
<loc>https://example.com/sitemap-pages.xml</loc>
<lastmod>2024-01-15</lastmod>
</sitemap>
<sitemap>
<loc>https://example.com/sitemap-blog.xml</loc>
<lastmod>2024-01-15</lastmod>
</sitemap>
<sitemap>
<loc>https://example.com/sitemap-products-1.xml</loc>
<lastmod>2024-01-15</lastmod>
</sitemap>
<sitemap>
<loc>https://example.com/sitemap-products-2.xml</loc>
<lastmod>2024-01-14</lastmod>
</sitemap>
</sitemapindex>
Sitemap with Images Extension
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9"
xmlns:image="http://www.google.com/schemas/sitemap-image/1.1">
<url>
<loc>https://example.com/products/widget</loc>
<image:image>
<image:loc>https://example.com/images/widget-front.jpg</image:loc>
<image:title>Widget Front View</image:title>
<image:caption>High-quality widget shown from the front</image:caption>
</image:image>
<image:image>
<image:loc>https://example.com/images/widget-side.jpg</image:loc>
<image:title>Widget Side View</image:title>
</image:image>
</url>
</urlset>
Sitemap with Video Extension
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9"
xmlns:video="http://www.google.com/schemas/sitemap-video/1.1">
<url>
<loc>https://example.com/videos/tutorial</loc>
<video:video>
<video:thumbnail_loc>https://example.com/thumbs/tutorial.jpg</video:thumbnail_loc>
<video:title>Getting Started Tutorial</video:title>
<video:description>Learn how to use our product in 5 minutes</video:description>
<video:content_loc>https://example.com/videos/tutorial.mp4</video:content_loc>
<video:duration>300</video:duration>
<video:publication_date>2024-01-15T08:00:00+00:00</video:publication_date>
</video:video>
</url>
</urlset>
News Sitemap
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9"
xmlns:news="http://www.google.com/schemas/sitemap-news/0.9">
<url>
<loc>https://news.example.com/article/breaking-news</loc>
<news:news>
<news:publication>
<news:name>Example News</news:name>
<news:language>en</news:language>
</news:publication>
<news:publication_date>2024-01-15T12:00:00+00:00</news:publication_date>
<news:title>Breaking: Major Event Unfolds</news:title>
</news:news>
</url>
</urlset>
Priority and Changefreq Guidelines
Priority Values
| Page Type | Priority |
|---|---|
| Homepage | 1.0 |
| Main category/section pages | 0.8-0.9 |
| Product/service pages | 0.7-0.8 |
| Blog/article index | 0.7 |
| Individual blog posts | 0.5-0.6 |
| Policy pages (privacy, terms) | 0.3-0.5 |
| Utility pages (login, cart) | 0.3 |
Changefreq Values
| Value | Use For |
|---|---|
| always | Real-time pages, live data |
| hourly | News, frequently updated content |
| daily | Blog index, homepage |
| weekly | Product pages, regular content |
| monthly | About pages, documentation |
| yearly | Policy pages, archives |
| never | Dated archives, old content |
Date Formats
W3C Datetime (Required)
YYYY-MM-DD
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mmTZD
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ssTZD
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.sTZD
Examples:
2024-01-152024-01-15T09:30:00+00:002024-01-15T09:30:00Z
Validation Checklist
Before outputting, verify:
- Valid XML declaration with UTF-8 encoding
- Correct namespace declarations
- All URLs are absolute (include protocol and domain)
- URLs are properly escaped (& becomes &)
- lastmod dates are W3C Datetime format
- priority values are between 0.0 and 1.0
- changefreq uses valid values
- Under 50,000 URLs per file
- No duplicate URLs
URL Escaping
Escape these characters:
| Character | Escape |
|---|---|
| & | & |
| ' | ' |
| " | " |
| > | > |
| < | < |
Example Invocations
Prompt: "Create sitemap.xml for a SaaS marketing website"
Output: Complete sitemap.xml with homepage, features, pricing, blog, and static pages.
Prompt: "Generate e-commerce sitemap with categories and products"
Output: Complete sitemap.xml with category hierarchy, product pages, and static pages.
Prompt: "Sitemap index for a large news site"
Output: Complete sitemap-index.xml plus individual sitemap-{section}.xml files.