{"id":329,"date":"2019-11-19T02:42:14","date_gmt":"2019-11-19T02:42:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/writemaps.com\/blog\/?p=329"},"modified":"2023-08-24T19:12:35","modified_gmt":"2023-08-24T19:12:35","slug":"how-to-find-your-sitemap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writemaps.com\/blog\/how-to-find-your-sitemap\/","title":{"rendered":"How to find your sitemap"},"content":{"rendered":"

How to find your sitemap for your website is just a matter of looking in the right places. If one exists, these steps will help you find it 99% of the time.<\/p>\n

Note that we’re talking about an XML sitemap throughout this article.<\/p>\n

Updated August 2023 to include a link to automatic sitemap finder tool<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

What is an XML Sitemap?<\/h5>\n

An XML Sitemap is a list of your website URLs provided for search engines. It’s written in a code format outlined by sitemaps.org<\/a> who are the authority on XML sitemaps.<\/p>\n

\"How
What our WriteMaps XML sitemap looks like…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Why do I need to find my sitemap?<\/h5>\n

You’ll want to find your XML sitemap for your website to check that you have one, check that it is valid, and then submit the URL to search engines.<\/p>\n

Best practice is to put the sitemap file in the root folder of the domain.
\ne.g. https:\/\/writemaps.com\/sitemap.xml<\/code><\/p>\n

But it can be kept anywhere, even on another domain!<\/p>\n

Having a sitemap isn’t compulsory, but it does help search engines find and index new websites or updated webpages in a faster way.<\/p>\n

How to find your sitemap<\/h2>\n

The first three most basic places to find your sitemap are:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n
      \n
    1. Try typing in your domain name e.g. https:\/\/writemaps.com with the following endings
      \n\/sitemap
      \n\/sitemap.xml<\/code>
      \n\/sitemap_index.xml
      \n<\/code><\/li>\n
    2. Try typing in your domain name e.g. https:\/\/writemaps.com plus \/robots.txt
      \ne.g. https:\/\/writemaps.com\/robots.txt
      \nTip: replace 'writemaps.com' with your domain name<\/code>
      \nLook in the robots.txt file for the sitemap URL, as it is standard practice to put it here because it is the first place search engines look.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
        \n
      1. Do a site search on google by typing your site and a search for the XML type of file into the search enginee.g. \"site:writemaps.com filetype:xml\"<\/code>\n

        If you get a lot of results from that search, you could refine the search further. Try adding a criteria to have ‘sitemap’ in the URL
        \ne.g. \"site:writemaps.com filetype:xml inurl:sitemap\"<\/code><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Advanced – how to find your sitemap<\/h2>\n

        If none of the basic techniques worked, then you can try using a web crawling service to look for your sitemap.<\/p>\n

        Best option is to use our free tool to find your sitemap. Just create an account here<\/a> and you will be able to use our advanced sitemap finder. This tool will crawl your website and if you have an existing sitemap, you will be able to view & download it. If a sitemap doesn’t exist, it will simply generate one for you which you’ll be able to view (visually) or download. In additional to XML, you can also export your sitemap in PDF, Image, Json or Text format. Click here<\/a> to crawl your website using our free sitemap finder.<\/p>\n

        Another option to try is SEO Site Checkup’s sitemap tool<\/a> – just put your URL in and let them see if they can find your sitemap.<\/p>\n

        \"sitemap<\/p>\n

        Secondly, you could try creating a Free account at Spotibo<\/a>, and crawling your website. Then you would need to look through at just the XML file types to see if you have a sitemap.<\/p>\n

        Again, I highly recommend using Writemaps Sitemap Finder<\/a> because it crawls your entire website to find your sitemap and even if your website does not have an existing sitemap, it will generate one for you to use in just a few seconds.<\/p>\n

        How to find your sitemap on Shopify and Squarespace<\/h2>\n

        Shopify and Squarespace both automatically generate XML sitemaps. And both platforms put them in a sitemap.xml file in the root folder of your domain. So try typing this directly into your browser:<\/p>\n

        https:\/\/yourwebsite.com\/sitemap.xml
        \nTip: Replace 'yourwebsite.com' with your domain name<\/code><\/p>\n

        This sitemap file can often act like a sitemap index page and link to further sitemaps which when taken all together list the URLs of your website.<\/p>\n

        Like any good platform or plugin, these sitemaps are automatically updated within 24 hours when you add new pages or content. It isn’t possible to edit the sitemap directly.<\/p>\n

        When setting up Google Search Console, you may need to verify ownership of your site before you can submit your sitemap.
        \nOn Shopify, you’ll need to follow their step by step         guide to adding the google-site-verification meta tag<\/a> to your website.
        \nSquarespace offer a slightly different methods to also         verify your site with google search console<\/a>, so that you can then submit your sitemap.<\/p>\n

        How to find your sitemap on WordPress<\/h2>\n

        WordPress doesn’t automatically create XML sitemaps, and this job is normally done by a plugin.<\/p>\n

        If you are setting your website up for the first time then chances are you won’t have a sitemap.<\/p>\n

        Add a plugin like Google XML Sitemaps<\/a> for a simple sitemap-only tool. Or try Yoast SEO<\/a> which is also easy to create the XML sitemap, but provides a bunch of other SEO tools too.<\/p>\n

        If someone else has been involved with making your website, then you may already have a sitemap plugin in action.<\/p>\n

        Most plugins will put your sitemap at either \/sitemap, \/sitemap.xml or \/sitemap_index.xml – so try quickly try looking there or in the yourwebsite.com\/robots.txt file for a sitemap URL first.<\/p>\n

        Otherwise, Log In to your WordPress admin area, and look around in these places:<\/p>\n