An HTML sitemap is an ordinary web page that lists links to the main pages of a website, grouped by section, so that visitors can see the whole site at a glance and jump straight to what they need. It is written for people, unlike an XML sitemap, which is a file written for search engines.
How an HTML sitemap works
It is simply a page, often at an address like /sitemap/ and linked from the footer, containing headings for each part of the site and links beneath them. A solicitor’s site might list Family law, Conveyancing and Wills and probate as headings, with each service page underneath, followed by the team, guides and contact pages.
The difference from an XML sitemap is audience and format. An XML sitemap is a machine-readable file submitted to Google Search Console, listing URLs and sometimes when they last changed. Visitors never see it. An HTML sitemap is styled like the rest of the site, uses readable link text and appears in the navigation like any other page.
Because it is a normal page full of links, search engines crawl it too. Every page it lists gains at least one internal link, which can help crawlers find pages that are otherwise buried. That is a side effect, though, not a substitute for proper navigation.
Why it matters
For a small business site with a dozen pages and clear menus, an HTML sitemap adds little. For larger sites it earns its place. A UK retailer with hundreds of categories, a membership body with years of guidance notes, or a council or charity with many services can all leave visitors unable to find pages through the menus alone.
There is an accessibility reason too. The WCAG success criterion called Multiple Ways asks that users have more than one way to find a page within a set of pages, and a site map is one of the recognised ways to meet it, alongside search and a table of contents. UK public sector websites are legally required to meet WCAG, and many private organisations work to the same standard.
Building one is also a useful exercise in its own right. If you cannot organise your pages into a sensible sitemap, your site architecture probably needs work, and visitors are probably feeling that too.
Common mistakes
- Listing every URL. Thousands of links on one page help nobody. Include the main sections and important pages, or split it into several pages by section.
- Letting it go out of date. A hand-built sitemap that still lists deleted pages sends visitors and crawlers to errors.
- Using it to hide poor navigation. If key pages are reachable only through the sitemap, the menus need fixing.
- Including pages you do not want indexed. Thank-you pages, test pages and filtered views have no place on it.
- Confusing it with the XML sitemap. Adding an HTML sitemap does not replace submitting an XML sitemap in Search Console.
How to act on it
Decide whether your site needs one. If visitors can reach every important page within two or three clicks from the home page and the site search works, it is optional. If the site is large, deep or built up over many years, it is worth having.
Generate it automatically from your content management system where you can, so new pages appear and deleted ones disappear without anyone remembering to update it. Group links under clear headings that match your main sections, link to it from the footer, and check it for broken links whenever you crawl the site.
While you are at it, compare the sitemap with a crawl to find any orphan pages that nothing else links to. Sorting out structure, sitemaps and internal links together is part of the technical SEO work I do on larger sites.