A sitemap means a file which provides the data including pages, posts, and other content published on your website to search engines. It helps the search engine crawlers to navigate and index your website more effectively and provides right direction of your site. When you are create and submit a sitemap to search engines, then they crawl all your important pages and includes them in search engine results. Lets explore the types of sitemaps on WordPress website.
Types of Sitemaps for your Website
There are two primary types of sitemaps used in web development:
1. HTML Sitemap
An HTML sitemap is a page designed specially for human visitors on your website and not for search engines. It provides the lists of all the important pages and sections of your website in a beginner-friendly format. HTML sitemaps makes it simple for visitors to search specific content through your site.
2. XML Sitemap
An XML sitemap is totally different from XML sitemap and specifically designed for search engines. This XML file contains a list of all the URLs (web addresses) of your website’s pages such as posts, images, videos, and other content. The XML sitemap also provides essential information to search engine crawlers, like the last modification date of each page and level of priority related to other pages.
When it comes to SEO (Search Engine Optimization), XML sitemaps are very critical as they allow search engines to search, discover and index your content more efficiently, and drastically improve your website’s visibility in search results.
For creating and managing XML sitemaps for your WordPress website, there are useful plugins available like “Yoast SEO” “All in One SEO Pack” or “Google XML Sitemaps.” These plugins automatically generate XML sitemaps for your website, and keep the sitemaps updated whenever you add or modify content.
Final Note
You can submit these sitemaps to popular search engines like Google, Bing, and others with their respective webmaster tools or search console platforms. This ensures that the search engines will be aware of your website’s sitemap and start crawling and indexing your content more effectively.
In conclusion, a sitemap is an important factor for improving the traceability of your website. When creating and submitting both HTML and XML sitemaps, you are improving the user experience and SEO of your WordPress website.
