Publish an XML sitemap

Switch on your platform’s sitemap and list it in robots.txt, so crawlers can find every page.

Time: 10 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Updated: 28 October 2026

A sitemap is a list of every page you want found. Crawlers use it to discover pages they might not reach by following links.

Switch it on

Shopify: creates one automatically at /sitemap.xml.
WordPress: WordPress makes one at /wp-sitemap.xml, and SEO plugins such as Yoast SEO make one at /sitemap_index.xml.
Wix, Squarespace and most builders: create one automatically; check it isn’t switched off in your SEO settings.

Point crawlers to it

Add a line like this to your robots.txt, using your sitemap’s full address:

Sitemap: https://yourbusiness.co.uk/sitemap.xml

Then submit it in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.

For your developer

Serve an XML sitemap (or sitemap index) listing canonical URLs only, and add a Sitemap: line with its absolute URL to robots.txt. Submit it in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.

General guidance only. Take a backup before making changes, and test on a staging copy where you can. Nobody can guarantee what AI tools recommend.