Free tool · Technical SEO
XML Sitemap Checker & Validator
Find your sitemap automatically from robots.txt, or paste its URL, and check format, size, lastmod dates, robots.txt conflicts and whether the listed URLs actually load.
By Ajay Padhy · Updated · Free, no sign-up
Disclaimer
The checker samples up to 20 URLs per sitemap rather than testing every one, and reads up to 10 MB. A clean result means the format and sample look healthy, not that every URL is indexable. Use the Sitemaps and Page indexing reports in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools for full coverage.
Privacy: URLs you check are fetched once to produce the result and aren't stored.
How to use the sitemap checker
- Enter your domain to find the sitemap listed in robots.txt, or paste the sitemap URL directly.
- For a sitemap index, the checker lists the child sitemaps. Check each one individually for full detail.
- Fix anything marked fail first, then warnings.
What the checker validates
| Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Returns 200 and is served as XML | A redirect or HTML error page breaks discovery |
| urlset or sitemapindex root and the sitemaps.org namespace | Required by the sitemap protocol |
| Under 50,000 URLs and 50 MB per file | Protocol limits; split larger sitemaps with an index |
| Valid lastmod dates | Wrong formats are ignored |
| Same lastmod on every URL | Google ignores lastmod it can't trust |
| URLs on the same host and protocol | Off-host or http URLs are usually mistakes |
| Duplicates | Waste crawl attention |
| URLs blocked by robots.txt | A contradiction: listed but not crawlable |
| Sample status codes | Sitemaps should list only final, 200 URLs |
Sitemap best practice
- List only canonical, indexable URLs that return 200, with no redirects, 404s or noindexed pages.
- Update lastmod only when the content changes meaningfully.
- Reference the sitemap in robots.txt with a full URL.
- Submit it in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, and use IndexNow for faster Bing updates.
- For large sites, split by section (products, categories, articles) so the coverage reports show where problems are.
A sitemap helps discovery but doesn't force indexing. If important pages are listed but not indexed, the cause is usually quality, duplication or weak internal linking, which an SEO audit will identify.
XML sitemap example
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
<url>
<loc>https://example.com/</loc>
<lastmod>2026-11-03</lastmod>
</url>
<url>
<loc>https://example.com/services/seo-audit</loc>
<lastmod>2026-10-21</lastmod>
</url>
</urlset>Google ignores <priority> and <changefreq>, so you can leave them out.
Search Console sitemap errors explained
| Message in Search Console | What it usually means | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Couldn't fetch | Google couldn't download the file (blocked, timed out, wrong URL or a firewall rule) | Open the URL in a private window, check robots.txt and firewall rules, resubmit |
| Sitemap is HTML | The URL returns a web page, often a 404 page or a redirect to the homepage | Point Search Console at the real XML file |
| Sitemap could not be read / parsing error | Invalid XML: unescaped & characters, a byte-order mark or text before the XML declaration | Escape & as & and remove anything before <?xml |
| URL not allowed | Listed URLs are on another host or protocol | List only URLs on the sitemap's own host and protocol |
| Submitted URL marked noindex / blocked by robots.txt | The sitemap lists pages you've told Google not to index or crawl | Remove them from the sitemap, or lift the block if they should rank |
Run the checker above first: it catches most of these before Google does.
FAQ
XML Sitemap Checker & Validator: common questions
Short answers to what people ask most about this tool and topic.
Small, well-linked sites can be crawled without one, but a sitemap costs little and speeds up discovery of new and updated pages, especially for new sites with few links.
Optional. Image and video sitemap extensions can help those assets be discovered, especially if they load with JavaScript.
A file that lists other sitemaps. Use one when you have more than 50,000 URLs or want separate sitemaps per section.
Google ignores them. Bing may use them lightly. Accurate lastmod dates matter more.
Built by
SEO and AI search (GEO) consultant with 14+ years in digital growth. I build these tools for the checks I run on client sites every week. Need more than a quick check? See my SEO audit services or get in touch.
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