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XML Sitemap Generator

Free XML sitemap generator: paste your URLs, get a valid sitemap.xml with duplicates removed and characters escaped. Ready for Google Search Console.

Last updated:

Last modified is optional and left out when empty. Fill it in only with the date the page really last changed.

sitemap.xml (3 URLs)
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
  <url>
    <loc>https://example.com/</loc>
  </url>
  <url>
    <loc>https://example.com/about</loc>
  </url>
  <url>
    <loc>https://example.com/contact</loc>
  </url>
</urlset>

Upload to https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml and submit in Google Search Console. Ampersands and other special characters in URLs are escaped for you.

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How the Sitemap Generator works

The sitemap generator builds an XML sitemap that follows the sitemaps.org protocol. Add your URLs one by one or paste a list with Bulk import, and the tool joins paths to your base address, escapes special characters, percent-encodes spaces and non-ASCII characters, removes duplicates and leaves out anything that is not a valid web address. You can then copy the XML or download sitemap.xml, upload it to your site root and submit it in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. Everything runs in your browser.

XML sitemap format

A sitemap is a urlset element with the namespace http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9 that contains url entries. Each entry needs a loc, the full address of the page, and may have a lastmod date such as 2026-10-01. The file must be UTF-8 and every value escaped, so an ampersand in a query string is written as &amp;. The generator does this for you. It checks the addresses, not the whole file against the schema.

Last modified, priority and change frequency

Google says it uses lastmod only if it is consistently and verifiably accurate, and that it ignores priority and changefreq. So new rows here start with no date, a date is written only when you enter one, and priority and change frequency are left out unless you tick the box for another tool that reads them. Do not set every date to today: a date that does not match a real change teaches crawlers to distrust the field.

The 50,000 URL limit and sitemap index files

A single sitemap can hold 50,000 URLs or 50 MB uncompressed. The generator shows a warning when you pass either limit, but it does not split the list for you. Create several sitemap files and list them in a sitemap index, an XML file with a sitemapindex element whose entries point to each sitemap.

Submitting to Google Search Console

After uploading sitemap.xml to your domain root, submit its address in Google Search Console under Indexing → Sitemaps. Google fetches the file again from time to time to find new or changed URLs. You can also add a Sitemap: line to robots.txt so every crawler that reads it can find the sitemap without manual submission.

Frequently asked questions

What is an XML sitemap?
An XML sitemap is a file that lists the important URLs on your website so search engines can find them. Each entry has a required address and, optionally, the date the page last changed. Google uses that date only if it is consistently accurate.
How do I submit a sitemap to Google?
Go to Google Search Console → Sitemaps → enter your sitemap URL (e.g. https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml) → Submit. Google fetches the file and reports how many URLs it found; how soon those pages are crawled and indexed varies.
What should I set for priority?
Nothing. Google states that it ignores the priority value, so it has no effect on crawling or ranking there. It was meant to rank your own pages against each other. This generator leaves it out unless you tick "Include priority and change frequency" for another tool that reads it.
What is changefreq?
changefreq is an optional hint about how often a page changes (always, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, never). Google ignores it too and works out its own crawl schedule. It is off by default here. A correct last-modified date is more useful than either.
Do I need a sitemap if my site is small?
Sitemaps are most beneficial for large sites (500+ pages), sites with complex navigation, new sites with few external links, or sites with rich media content. Small sites with good internal linking usually get crawled fine without one.
How do I create a sitemap for a site without a CMS?
List your page URLs (crawl your own navigation, or copy them from your hosting file listing), paste them into Bulk import, add a last-modified date only where you know it, and download sitemap.xml. Upload it to the root of your site.
How many URLs can one sitemap contain?
A single file is limited to 50,000 URLs or 50 MB uncompressed. This tool shows a warning above that size but does not split the list for you: make several sitemap files and list them in a sitemap index file.
Does the generator handle special characters in URLs?
Yes. Ampersands, quotes and angle brackets are escaped as the format requires, spaces and non-ASCII characters are percent-encoded, duplicates are removed, and anything that is not a valid web address is left out with a note.
Should I add my sitemap to robots.txt?
Yes. Add one line to your robots.txt file: Sitemap: https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml (use the full absolute URL). Crawlers that read robots.txt, not just Google, will then find the sitemap without you submitting it anywhere. You can still submit it in Search Console to see how many URLs were read.
What does a sitemap.xml file look like?
It is a <urlset> element in the sitemaps.org namespace containing one <url> block per page. Each block has a required <loc> with the full address and an optional <lastmod> date, for example <loc>https://example.com/about</loc> and <lastmod>2026-10-12</lastmod>. This generator writes that structure for you and escapes special characters.

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