Many people seem to feel that their to-do list has been growing when running websites. I've heard that you should do a lot of things, but sometimes you want to know what is really worth spending time on. Creating a website map is one of the things worth taking time to do. Next, Jiangmen Huaqifang will outline why it is worth doing to create a site map, how to create a site map, and what to do after having a site map.
What is a website map?
A site map is a file that details the pages and files on a site and their relationships. The most common format of website maps is XML (Extensible Markup Language), which is the type most easily submitted to Google. You can also create an HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) website map, which is more useful for visitors.
Why create a sitemap
The main reason for creating a website map is for SEO (search engine optimization). Search engines search for pages to be included in the search results by crawling pages. But the network world is vast and boundless. Although the search engine algorithm is very powerful, crawling the content of the entire network is a huge task.
Site maps can make it easier for search engines to see which pages are on the website, which content to climb first, and some basic information contained on these pages. Creating a sitemap and submitting it to Google can speed up the process of pages appearing in search results.
But site maps can also be used for purposes other than algorithms and technology SEO. Creating an HTML site map is of great benefit to the site owner, because it can help the site owner maintain a good site organization in the process of site development. It can not only let the website owner see all the pages in a document, but also determine the relationship between these pages.
Provide site visitors with a link to the site map (possibly in the footer). It is hoped that all visitors will find the structure of the website very intuitive. They will never need to use the website map, but there is no harm in providing an auxiliary option just in case.
How to create a site map
Now that you have accepted that this is a task to add to the to-do list, the good news is that many tools can make it very easy to create a site map.
1. Yoast plug-in
If you use WordPress, the free version of the Yoast plug-in provides a function to create XML site maps for websites. After downloading and activating the plug-in, you can set it to automatically create a website map. Just click SEO in the WordPress side menu, select the Features tab, and scroll down to where you see the XML sitemaps option. Confirm that it is set to On; If the display is off, click the icon to change the settings.
2. AIOSEO plug-in
Another option for WordPress users is the All in One SEO plug-in (commonly referred to as AIOSEO). Like Yoast, this SEO plug-in provides free and advanced versions, including many SEO functions, and the sitemap generator is also included in its free version. The plug-in provides dynamically generated site maps, which can be automatically updated, and automatically update Google and Bing with new site maps.
After installing and activating the AIOSEO plug-in in WordPress, you can click All in One SEO in the WordPress menu, click the site map, and check whether the Enable Sitemaps button on the page is open to ensure that it has been set to automatically create a site map.
3. Screaming Frog
If you are not a WordPress user reading this article, you may feel that you have been ignored. Don't worry, you also have a very simple choice. Screaming Frog provides an automatic site map generator, which can provide services for websites with more than 500 web addresses. If website owners want to add more than 500 pages to the website map, they provide an advanced version of the tool.
First, download the SEO spider tool. Open it, enter "Enter URL in spider" on the website, and then click the Start button. The tool shows that after the crawling site progress has reached 100%, click the site map in the menu and XML Sitemaps in the drop-down list. You will see a menu like this:
The tool will automatically include most important pages on the website. But it also provides website owners with the option to add and delete certain types of pages, as well as the ability to set priorities for different pages. After completing the process of setting preferences, click Next to generate a site map.
What should I do when I have a website map?
After the website map is created, you should submit it to the search engine.
If you use the WordPress plug-in, it may automatically generate a page for the site map on the site. If you are not a WordPress user, you need to load the site map into the root folder of the site and add it to the site. You can use FTP (File Transfer Protocol) client or select File Manager in cPanel (in cPanel, the root folder is usually publichtml) to complete this operation. You need to load the site map file into this folder and note its name.
Now you can submit. The most important search engine is Google. The easiest way to submit a website map to Google is through Google's search console.
Submit your website map to Google Search Console
If you don't have a Google Search Console account, register now. We have specific instructions on how to operate in the beginner's guide of Google Search Console. After logging into the Google search console, select the website map from the menu. Create a URL using the name of the site map, and then you can submit the site map.
Submit site map to Bing
If you want to submit a site map to Bing, you need an account for the Bing Webmaster tool. You can follow the instructions here. If you have submitted a site map in the Google Search Console, Bing provides a simple option to import the site from the Google Search Console to the Bing Webmaster tool. Select this tool, and any website map you have in Google's search console will be automatically submitted to Bing.
When your to-do list is piled up, it's easy to let things like creating a website map go. However, creating a website map and submitting it to a search engine can help the webpage to be indexed by the search engine algorithm, so that it can be found by the target audience.
