What Is a Sitemap and Why Is It a Website Must-Have?

When most people think of website design, they think of the content, design, and typography that appears on a page. However, the truth is that outstanding design starts with careful planning behind the scenes.

That's where sitemaps come in. These powerful tools allow you to organize your website for human and bot visitors, boosting your search engine optimization (SEO).

Of course, if you're new to web design, you may be wondering, "What is a sitemap, anyway, and why should I bother with one?" Let's define these useful tools and take a look at why they're so important.

What Is a Sitemap?

As the name suggests, it is a map of your website. It contains information about the content on your website as well as how that content connects. This information includes pages, web page trees, videos, and other files.

Why Use One?

A website sitemap can be helpful for many reasons.

Sitemaps allow you to get a bird's eye view of your entire website, which is great for planning. With this visual representation, it's easier for you to make sure you're creating an intuitive and usable website.

Sitemaps can also help website visitors navigate from page to page. They're a great way to let new customers see everything your website offers at a glance.

However, the most important reason to use a sitemap is to boost your online rankings.

In terms of SEO, your sitemap is what lets you give search engines information about your website content. Google will crawl your site to understand your content, keywords, and the relationships between your links. It also reads the metadata on your sitemap to contextualize each page.

In addition, a sitemap can help you prioritize the pages you want a search engine to crawl. Search engines won't crawl your entire website all at once the first time, so a well-structured sitemap can help you focus on the pages that matter most for your brand.

What Are the Different Types?

There are several types of sitemaps to consider when creating a website. However, when we discuss SEO, there are two main options to consider.

XML sitemaps are the gold standard when it comes to SEO. These sitemaps are hidden files that aren't for human visitors. They're powerful tools that help search engines crawl and prioritize the pages of your site.

HTML sitemaps, on the other hand, act as a clickable website content map that human visitors can see. This allows you to organize large websites for viewers and highlight your site's purpose. Because they improve your website navigation by making it more user-friendly, they're also beneficial for SEO.

In an ideal world, your site should have both an XML and an HTML sitemap. Each of these options offers unique benefits for any brand's website.

Harness the Power of Sitemaps

Now that you've stopped asking yourself, "What is a sitemap, anyway?" it's time to take advantage of these simple but powerful tools! Anyone hoping to boost their website's rankings should consider adding at least one of these helpful maps to their site.

Ready to make your site user-friendly, optimized, and easy for both humans and bots to navigate? Our website design strategies offer everything you need. Get in touch with us today to learn more.