Sitemap in HTML. Why do you need it?

A special sitemap is practically always used on modern websites. You should distinguish between a sitemap designed for the visitors and a sitemap for the search engines. They perform totally different tasks.

A sitemap for the visitors is made in HTML. Its main task is to ease the navigation on a site that has a big number of internal sections. A sitemap in HTML is a special page on the site where all links of the site are arranged taking into account their hierarchical structure. Thanks to the sitemap you can access any page of the site by one click!

A sitemap in the XML format is necessary for the search engines. With the help of such map you can manage the indexing of the site in the search engines. A sitemap in XML makes the indexing easier, because it allows to collect all information about the site, needed by the search engines, into a single file.

A sitemap in HTML can be made in different variants. It may be a common textual sitemap where the structure of the site is represented in the form of textual links. It may also be a graphic map where graphic links are used.

You can create sitemaps in HTML or XML manually or using special editors. These editors can be found in the form of separate applications or in the form of extensions (plug-ins) for the already existing content management systems (CMS).

When you create a sitemap, you should remember about its usability (easiness to use). For instance, if the link to the sitemap is situated somewhere in an unexpected part of the page, the visitors may not find it. In this case the sitemap will be totally useless. It is highly recommended to make the link to the sitemap well noticeable.

If the sitemap loads very slowly due to the abundance of graphic elements and makes the visitor wait, it can rather harm the site than bring any benefit. It is better not to use too many graphic elements in the sitemap. You should better prefer a textual sitemap.

A textual sitemap should be designed according to the structure of the site. It means that you should visually set off the headings and subheadings, use paragraphs and text that is set off in bold or italics. Such sitemap will be more convenient for the visitors.

If you want you can accompany the links in the sitemap with short descriptions that explain the content of the pages these links refer to. You can also add a short description of the whole site at the top of the page that contains the sitemap.

Taking into account all factors mentioned above, during the creation of the sitemap you should follow there rules:

• the sitemap should harmonize with the whole design of the site;
• the sitemap should look identically (or almost identically) in any browser;
• you should avoid graphic elements in order not to slow down the site loading;
• the sitemap should correspond to the structure of the site;
• the link to the sitemap should be placed on a noticeable place.

The sitemap is a document that is very useful both for the users (HTML) and for the search robots (XML). If your website has a sitemap, you should maintain it in the actual state: check the frequency and correctness of the updates of the sitemap, remember about adding and deleting of links during adding or deleting of categories, sections, separate articles.

TAGS
sitemap, site map, textual sitemap, sitemap in html, sitemap in xml