SEO and Website Guides

XML Sitemap Guide: Create, Check and Submit URLs

By MayreDukaan Editorial TeamPublished 15 Nov 20264 min read

Illustration: an unfolded map with page-shaped buildings linked by glowing routes to a central hub

Create an XML sitemap from your page URLs, use honest lastmod dates, and learn what to check before submitting the file in Google Search Console.

An XML sitemap lists page URLs you want search engines to discover. It helps communicate your preferred pages, but it does not guarantee crawling, indexing, or rankings. For a small website, you can create one from a carefully reviewed list rather than running an automatic site crawl.

MayreDukaan’s XML sitemap generator accepts one full page address per line and an optional last-modified date. You supply the URLs; the tool does not explore the website or publish the result.

What belongs in a sitemap?

Choose the canonical URLs you want shown in search. Google recommends listing fully qualified absolute URLs, including the protocol and host. Do not submit a mixture of duplicate versions just because each address loads in a browser.

For example, a hypothetical site could include https://example.com/, https://example.com/about, and https://example.com/guides/plant-care. Before adding them, check that those are the intended public pages rather than redirects, error pages, or private areas.

A sitemap is not a substitute for sensible navigation. Keep useful internal links between pages so visitors can find them too. Think of the sitemap as a maintained inventory, not a repair mechanism for inaccessible content.

Understand the important fields

Field or choice	Meaning	Practical advice
loc	The page’s URL	Use the preferred full address
lastmod	When the page materially changed	Include it only when accurate
changefreq	A suggested change frequency	Google ignores it
priority	A relative priority value	Google ignores it

The current MayreDukaan interface offers a URL list and an optional date. It does not present per-page priority or change-frequency controls. Do not spend time trying to tune those values for Google.

Google says it uses lastmod when it is consistently and verifiably accurate. It should reflect a significant page update, not simply the moment someone generated the sitemap. Changing a copyright year is not a reason to claim every page’s main content changed.

Build a sitemap step by step

Collect the public canonical addresses you want included.
Remove duplicates, obsolete pages, and unwanted URL variations.
Paste full HTTP or HTTPS addresses into the generator, one per line.
Leave the optional date blank unless it truthfully applies to the supplied pages.
Review the valid URL count and any skipped-address messages.
Copy or download sitemap.xml.
Deploy the file on your website and open its public URL before submitting it.

The generator flags entries that are not full web addresses. That is a syntax check, not a live page-status test. An address can be syntactically valid while pointing to a missing page, a redirect, or the wrong content.

A practical lastmod example

Suppose you revised a plant-care guide today, but your contact page has not changed. Do not give both pages today’s lastmod merely because they appear in the same pasted list. The interface’s single date applies to the generated batch.

The simplest accurate choice is to leave that field blank when the pages have different unknown update dates. If you need ongoing per-page dates, use a publishing workflow that records actual content changes and generates metadata from those records.

Avoid inventing precision. An omitted optional date is better than a confidently wrong date, and it makes the file easier to maintain honestly.

Limits and submission

Google documents a limit of 50,000 URLs or 50 MB uncompressed for a single sitemap. If you exceed either limit, split the sitemap and use a sitemap index. The generator warns about a URL count over the single-file limit; it is not an automatic large-site indexing system.

Upload the finished file to your site, preferably at its root for broad coverage. In Google Search Console, submit the sitemap address using the Sitemaps report. You can also reference the fully qualified sitemap URL in robots.txt.

The robots.txt generator helps create that reference. Keep the distinction clear: robots rules control crawl requests, while a sitemap provides discovery information. A URL appearing in one file does not cancel restrictions in the other.

Common mistakes and ongoing checks

Listing URLs that you do not want indexed.
Assuming the generator checked page availability.
Adding today’s date to unchanged pages.
Forgetting to update the list when pages are removed.
Treating successful submission as proof of indexing.

If a listed page has unexpected indexing settings, inspect its returned HTML with the meta tag analyzer. Combine that evidence with your site configuration and Search Console reports rather than relying on the sitemap alone.

Keep one person or process responsible for updates. A small accurate sitemap is easier to trust than an abandoned inventory of historical addresses. Prepare your next reviewed list in the XML sitemap generator, publish it, and check the live file.

Frequently asked questions

Does a sitemap guarantee indexing?

No. It helps discovery, but Google does not guarantee it will crawl or index every listed URL.

Does the tool crawl my website?

No. You provide the page addresses, and the tool generates XML from that list.

Should lastmod always be today?

No. Use a date only when it reflects the page’s real significant update. Leave it blank if you cannot provide an accurate date.

Useful on MayreDukaan

Sources

Facts last checked against these sources on 15 Nov 2026, 07:43 Pakistan time.

Images: Illustration created for MayreDukaan (not a photo)