All checks
Crawlability · can they found?

XML sitemap

A machine-readable list of every page you want found, usually at yoursite.com/sitemap.xml. It is an index, not a menu — visitors never see it.

Why it matters

Without one, crawlers find pages only by following links. Anything not linked from your navigation — a landing page, a new post, a service page — may never be discovered at all.

How to fix it, step by step

Quick fix — usually under ten minutes, no developer needed.

  1. 1Check whether yoursite.com/sitemap.xml already returns a list of URLs.
  2. 2In WordPress, Yoast and Rank Math generate and update one automatically. Turn it on in the plugin settings; there is nothing to write by hand.
  3. 3On other platforms, most have a sitemap setting — Shopify, Squarespace and Wix generate one for you at the same address.
  4. 4Add the sitemap line to robots.txt so crawlers find it without being told.
  5. 5Submit the sitemap URL in Google Search Console under Sitemaps.

How to know it worked

The URL returns XML listing your real pages, and Search Console shows the sitemap as "Success" with a page count close to what you expect.

Others in Crawlability

Want to know which of these apply to your site?

The free scan runs all 33 checks against your pages and tells you which are failing, with the answer beside each one. No signup for the check itself.

Scan my site free