{"id":83,"date":"2018-02-22T10:00:55","date_gmt":"2018-02-22T18:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/webmuscle.wpengine.com\/?p=83"},"modified":"2025-01-28T12:46:56","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T20:46:56","slug":"sitemap-page","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/websitemuscle.com\/sitemap-page\/","title":{"rendered":"Does My Website Need a Sitemap Page?"},"content":{"rendered":"

One outdated component of our clients\u2019 old websites is the sitemap page. Not the sitemap, mind you, just the sitemap page. Sometimes clients come to us with ideas about their websites that are a little… outdated.<\/p>\n

For example, here are three old myths we can bust immediately:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Pop-up ads are not a surefire way to build your brand \u2014 in fact, it\u2019s the opposite.<\/li>\n
  2. No one likes it when music auto-plays on your site. No One.<\/em><\/li>\n
  3. If your business only receives a few emails a week, you don\u2019t need a 24-hour AI chatbot, no matter how cool it sounds.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Before we explain why you don\u2019t need the latter, we should explain the difference between the two.<\/p>\n

    What\u2019s the Difference between a Sitemap and a Sitemap Page?<\/h2>\n

    A \u201csitemap\u201d is any central list of the pages on your website. Sitemaps in the back end of your website, for example, are necessary for search engine indexing purposes. Sitemaps can also be page links that give your users access to different parts of your website.<\/p>\n

    The back-end sitemap that tells search engine algorithms what pages are on your site, usually created in XML format, is crucial. These sitemaps make it easier for Google to crawl and index your site, which makes it more likely that you\u2019ll appear higher in organic search results. (Which is a good thing.)<\/p>\n

    Sitemaps for Google are one thing, but sitemap pages for your website\u2019s visitors are something else.<\/p>\n

    We used to see \u2014 and create \u2014 sitemap pages for our clients\u2019 websites as a part of their projects. The assumption was that Google and humans both needed a central place to find all of the pages on your site. And a few years ago, that might have been true.<\/p>\n

    The focus for business websites today, however, is less abstract. You\u2019re not trying to give visitors a bird\u2019s-eye view of your website. You\u2019re trying to engage their interest, provide valuable information, and persuade them to take action.<\/p>\n

    This type of message requires removing pages from your site that don\u2019t advance your narrative. Since the \u201csitemap page\u201d is a link collection without a message or an action item, it doesn\u2019t serve your purpose.<\/p>\n

    Sitemap Best Practices<\/h2>\n

    For the reasons above, we don\u2019t recommend including the “old school” sitemap page on your new website. To ensure a quality user experience, focus on:<\/p>\n