Sitemap Validator
Free online sitemap validator. Check XML sitemap syntax, structure, and compliance with the Sitemap Protocol. Catch errors before submitting to Google Search Console.
Paste sitemap XML and click "Validate" to check for errors.
How to Use Sitemap Validator
Enter Sitemap Content or URL
Paste XML sitemap content directly, or enter a sitemap URL to fetch it. The tool accepts standard XML sitemaps and sitemap index files.
Validate the Structure
Click "Validate" to check the sitemap against the XML Sitemap protocol specification. The validator checks XML syntax, required elements (loc), optional elements (lastmod, changefreq, priority), and URL count.
Fix Issues
Review any errors or warnings. Common issues include invalid XML syntax, missing loc elements, URLs exceeding the 50,000 URL limit, or invalid date formats in lastmod fields.
Valid Sitemap Example
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
<url>
<loc>https://example.com/</loc>
<lastmod>2025-01-15</lastmod>
<changefreq>daily</changefreq>
<priority>1.0</priority>
</url>
<url>
<loc>https://example.com/about</loc>
<lastmod>2025-01-10</lastmod>
<changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
<priority>0.8</priority>
</url>
</urlset>Frequently Asked Questions
What is an XML sitemap?
An XML sitemap is a file that lists all the important pages on your website, helping search engines discover and index your content. It includes URLs along with optional metadata like when each page was last updated, how often it changes, and its relative priority. Sitemaps are especially important for large sites, new sites with few backlinks, and sites with rich media content.
What are the sitemap limits?
A single sitemap file can contain up to 50,000 URLs and must be no larger than 50MB uncompressed. If your site has more pages, use a sitemap index file (which lists multiple sitemap files). Each sitemap must be UTF-8 encoded. URLs must be absolute (including the https:// protocol) and properly escaped.
What does this validator check?
Our validator checks: valid XML syntax (no unclosed tags or illegal characters), that every URL entry has a loc element, that URLs are absolute (start with http:// or https://), that priority values are between 0.0 and 1.0, that changefreq values use valid options (always, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, never), and that the total URL count is within limits.
How often should I update my sitemap?
Update your sitemap whenever you add or remove important pages. For dynamic sites (e-commerce, news, job boards), consider auto-generating your sitemap daily. Most CMS platforms (WordPress, Shopify) auto-generate sitemaps. After major site changes, submit your updated sitemap to Google Search Console to trigger a recrawl.
Sitemap SEO Best Practices
A sitemap doesn't guarantee indexing, but a bad sitemap can prevent it. Search engines use sitemaps as hints, not directives — they may choose not to index pages even if they're in your sitemap. Focus on including only canonical, indexable URLs that return HTTP 200.
What to Include (and Exclude)
- Include: Your most important pages, new content, pages with few internal links, image and video pages
- Exclude: Redirected URLs, non-canonical URLs, paginated pages, search result pages, admin pages, duplicate content
- Priority: Use relative values (0.0-1.0) to indicate page importance within YOUR site, not compared to other sites
- Changefreq: Be honest — Google uses this as a hint, not a crawl schedule
- Keep it updated: An outdated sitemap with 404 errors undermines trust with search engines