What Is a Sitemap and Why Does Your Website Need One?
If you're running a small business in the UK and trying to get your website noticed on Google, you’ve probably heard about sitemaps. But what actually is a sitemap? Do you really need one? Or is it one of those technical things that only developers care about?
Don't worry – we’re going to break it all down in plain English. By the time you reach the end of this blog post, you’ll know exactly what a sitemap is, how it helps your website, and why it's such a valuable part of your SEO toolkit.
Let’s dive in.
What Is a Sitemap?
Imagine your website is a house, and Google is a visitor trying to find their way around. A sitemap is like a floorplan. It shows Google (and other search engines) what rooms (pages) exist, how they’re connected, and where the most important ones are.
In technical terms, a sitemap is a file – usually called sitemap.xml – that lists all the pages on your website you want search engines to know about.
There are two main types of sitemaps:
XML sitemaps: These are created specifically for search engines.
HTML sitemaps: These are designed for human visitors to help them navigate your site.
Most websites focus on XML sitemaps for SEO purposes. That’s what we’ll be talking about here.
What Does a Sitemap Look Like?
A basic XML sitemap looks something like this:
Each entry contains:
<loc>: the URL of the page<lastmod>: when the page was last updated (helps Google know how fresh your content is)
Don’t worry if this looks a bit techy – there are tools to generate your sitemap automatically, so you don’t need to code it yourself.
Why Does Your Website Need a Sitemap?
Here’s the short answer: sitemaps help search engines find and understand your web pages. And the easier you make it for Google to crawl your site, the more likely your pages are to show up in search results.
Let’s break down some key benefits:
1. Better Indexing by Search Engines
Search engines use “bots” (also called crawlers) to scan websites and add them to their index. If your site doesn’t have a clear structure, or if certain pages are hard to find, the bots might miss them entirely.
A sitemap acts as a cheat sheet – it tells Google exactly what’s on your site and where to find it. That means more of your pages are likely to be indexed and eligible to rank in search results.
2. Helpful for Larger Sites
If your website has a lot of pages – think e-commerce shops or blogs with loads of posts – a sitemap helps search engines prioritise and understand the layout. It ensures that even the deep or rarely linked pages are still discoverable.
3. Great for New Websites
If your site is brand new and doesn’t have many links pointing to it yet (which help Google find your pages), a sitemap is essential. It puts you on Google’s radar and gets you indexed quicker.
4. Shows Google What’s Important
Sitemaps can include information like how often a page is updated and how important it is in relation to other pages. This helps Google figure out which pages to focus on – like your homepage, services, or your best blog content.
5. Highlights Changes and Updates
Every time you update your site, your sitemap can be updated too. This tells Google: “Hey, I’ve made changes – come take another look!” That can help keep your listings up to date in the search results.
What Should Be Included in a Sitemap?
You don’t need to include every single file or page – just the ones that matter to your business and that you want to appear in search engines.
That usually means:
Your homepage
Main service pages
Blog posts or news updates
Contact and about pages
Product pages (if you sell online)
Pages to leave out:
Duplicate pages
Admin pages
Pages blocked from search engines (like password-protected areas)
How Do You Create a Sitemap?
Good news: you don’t need to be a tech wizard.
Here are a few ways to do it depending on your setup:
If You’re Using WordPress
Install a plugin like Yoast SEO or Rank Math. These will automatically generate and update your sitemap for you.
For example, with Yoast SEO, your sitemap will be at:arduino
If You’re Using Wix, Squarespace, or Shopify
Most modern platforms generate sitemaps for you automatically. You can usually find them by typing:
If You’ve Got a Custom Website
You can use a free tool like:
Screaming Frog SEO Spider (more advanced)
Once generated, upload the sitemap file to the root of your domain (e.g., yourdomain.co.uk/sitemap.xml).
How Do You Submit a Sitemap to Google?
Once you’ve got your sitemap, the next step is to tell Google about it.
Here’s how:
Go to Google Search Console
Click on your website (or add it if you haven’t yet)
Head to ‘Sitemaps’ on the left-hand menu
Enter the URL of your sitemap (e.g.,
sitemap.xml)Click Submit
That’s it! Google will now crawl your sitemap and start indexing your pages.
How Often Should You Update Your Sitemap?
If your website rarely changes, you might not need to update it often. But if you:
Add new blog posts weekly
Launch new products
Regularly tweak your site content
…then it’s smart to make sure your sitemap is updated every time. If you’re using WordPress with a plugin, this usually happens automatically.
Do Sitemaps Help You Rank Higher?
Here’s the honest truth: having a sitemap won’t magically put you at the top of Google.
But it will: ✅ Help Google find all your pages
✅ Get your content indexed faster
✅ Improve the visibility of deeper pages
✅ Ensure your most important content is seen
In other words – a sitemap won’t boost your rankings directly, but it lays the foundation for everything else SEO-related to work better.
Common Sitemap Mistakes to Avoid
Like anything tech-related, there are a few pitfalls to dodge:
❌ Submitting a sitemap with broken links
Google doesn’t like crawling pages that lead to 404 errors. Keep your sitemap tidy and error-free.
❌ Including pages you don’t want indexed
Be careful not to add pages like staging versions, test pages, or private client portals.
❌ Forgetting to resubmit after big updates
If you’ve made big structural changes to your site, pop back into Google Search Console and submit your sitemap again.
FAQ: All Your Sitemap Questions Answered
🧭 Do I really need a sitemap for a small website?
Yes – even if your site only has a few pages, a sitemap helps Google crawl and index them more efficiently. It’s especially useful for new sites or if you’re not getting much traffic yet.
🔄 Will my sitemap update automatically?
If you’re using WordPress with an SEO plugin, yes. If you’ve manually uploaded your sitemap, you’ll need to regenerate and re-upload it when you make changes.
📍 Where should I put my sitemap?
In the root directory of your website – usually this means it’ll be at yourdomain.co.uk/sitemap.xml.
🚫 Should I include every single page?
Nope. Leave out duplicate content, admin pages, or anything you’ve blocked with a “noindex” tag.
📈 Can I have more than one sitemap?
Yes! Especially useful for large sites. You can even use a sitemap index file to link several sitemaps together (e.g. one for blog posts, one for products, etc.).
🕵️♀️ Can I see if Google has crawled my sitemap?
Absolutely. Head into Google Search Console – under the “Sitemaps” section, you’ll see when it was last read and whether there were any issues.
Small Action, Big Impact
A sitemap might not be the flashiest part of your website, but it plays a surprisingly big role in helping your site show up in Google.
If you’re serious about getting found online – whether you run a bakery in Brighton, a builder’s service in Birmingham, or a copywriting studio in Cornwall – adding and submitting a sitemap should be high on your SEO to-do list.
It’s quick, it’s simple, and it’s one of the easiest ways to give Google a nudge in the right direction.
Thinking About SEO Help?
If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed by all things SEO – or just want to make sure it’s all set up properly – that’s where a trusted SEO partner comes in.
At 99 quid websites, we help UK small businesses get found on Google without the techy headache. Whether it’s setting up your sitemap, writing blog content that ranks, or sorting out your Google Business Profile – we’re here to help.
Want to chat about how SEO could help your business grow?
[Book a free discovery call] or [Call us 07816 528421 ] – we’d love to hear from you.
