# HTML sitemap

Category: [Crawling & Indexing](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/category/crawling-indexing/) › [Sitemaps & feeds](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/category/crawling-indexing/sitemaps-feeds/)

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.

## 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).

## Sitemap types compared

| 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 | 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) | – |

Sources: [Google Search Central: Build and submit a sitemap (last updated 2025-12-10)](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/sitemaps/build-sitemap); [Google Search Central: Manage your sitemaps with sitemap index files](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/sitemaps/large-sitemaps); [Google Search Central: Image sitemaps](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/sitemaps/image-sitemaps); [Google Search Central: Video sitemaps](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/sitemaps/video-sitemaps); [Google Search Central: Create a news sitemap](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/sitemaps/news-sitemap); [Google Search Central: Localized versions of your pages (sitemap method)](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/specialty/international/localized-versions); [sitemaps.org: Sitemaps XML format](https://www.sitemaps.org/protocol.html); [Google Search Central Blog (2005): How is a Google Sitemap different from an HTML sitemap?](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2005/09/how-is-google-sitemap-different-from). Last checked: October 8, 2026

## Not to be confused with

- [XML sitemap](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/xml-sitemap/index.md): is a file for search engines that lists the pages, videos and other files of a site and their relationships. Visitors do not normally see it.

## Related terms

- [XML sitemap](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/xml-sitemap/index.md)
- [Sitemap index](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/sitemap-index/index.md)
- [Internal linking](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/internal-linking/index.md)
- [Website navigation](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/website-navigation/index.md)
- [Breadcrumb navigation](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/breadcrumb-navigation/index.md)
- [Orphan page](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/orphan-page/index.md)

## Sources

- [Learn about sitemaps – Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/sitemaps/overview)
- [HTML Sitemap – Seobility Wiki](https://www.seobility.net/en/wiki/HTML_Sitemap)
- [HTML Sitemap – Semrush Blog (secondary source)](https://www.semrush.com/blog/html-sitemap/)

---

Last updated: October 8, 2026
URL: https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/html-sitemap/