An HTML sitemap is an ordinary page on a website that lists links to its content so visitors can find their way around. It is usually linked in the footer and grouped by section.
HTML sitemap vs. XML sitemap
An XML sitemap is a file for search engines. Google describes a sitemap as a file that provides information about the pages, videos and other files on a site and their relationships. An HTML sitemap is written for people. It shows clickable titles, often in a hierarchy.
For search engines, an HTML sitemap adds internal links that crawlers can follow. The benefit depends on the existing navigation, and on a well-linked site it is small (assessment based on secondary sources). The pages are mostly seen as an optional aid for visitors, especially on large or complex sites.
| Type | Purpose | Limits | Required elements |
|---|---|---|---|
| XML sitemap | a file with information about the pages, videos and other files on a site and the relationships between them | at most 50,000 URLs or 50 MB (uncompressed) per file; UTF-8, absolute URLs | urlset, and per URL a url with loc |
| Sitemap index | groups several sitemaps so they can be submitted together | at most 50,000 sitemaps and 50 MB per index; up to 500 index files per site in Search Console | sitemapindex, and per sitemap a sitemap with loc |
| Image sitemap | tells Google about images it might not otherwise find, such as images loaded with JavaScript | up to 1,000 image:image per url; otherwise as for XML sitemaps | image:image with image:loc |
| Video sitemap | adds information about videos hosted on the pages | as for XML sitemaps; description at most 2,048 characters | video:video with video:thumbnail_loc, video:title, video:description and either video:content_loc or video:player_loc |
| News sitemap | tells Google about news articles with extra details | up to 1,000 news:news per file; only articles from the last two days | news:news with news:publication (news:name, news:language), news:publication_date, news:title |
| Sitemap with hreflang | lists the language and regional versions of a page | as for XML sitemaps | per url a loc and one xhtml:link rel="alternate" hreflang="…" for every version, including the page itself |
| HTML sitemap (this term) | a page of links for visitors to the site | – (not part of the sitemap protocol; Google says it cannot be submitted as a sitemap. Source: Google Search Central Blog, 2005) | – |
Image, video, news and hreflang data are extensions of the XML format; every file is limited to 50,000 URLs or 50 MB. Of the optional elements, Google uses lastmod if it is consistently and verifiably accurate and ignores priority and changefreq. The HTML sitemap details come from a 2005 Google blog post; Google's current sitemap documentation does not mention HTML sitemaps. Sources: Google Search Central: Build and submit a sitemap (last updated 2025-12-10); Google Search Central: Manage your sitemaps with sitemap index files; Google Search Central: Image sitemaps; Google Search Central: Video sitemaps; Google Search Central: Create a news sitemap; Google Search Central: Localized versions of your pages (sitemap method); sitemaps.org: Sitemaps XML format; Google Search Central Blog (2005): How is a Google Sitemap different from an HTML sitemap?. Last checked: .
Example
A page at /sitemap/ lists the main categories of a shop with their subcategories. Every category is linked, and individual products are left out. (Constructed example.)
Common mistakes
A page with thousands of links helps visitors little. Listing the main sections and reaching deeper levels through the category pages is easier to use (assessment).
Sources
- Learn about sitemaps – Google Search Centraldevelopers.google.com
- HTML Sitemap – Seobility Wikiseobility.net
- HTML Sitemap – Semrush Blog (secondary source)semrush.com
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