AboutAll ServicesFree EmailOur WorkGuidesFAQContact
ServicesSEO ServicesEcommerce RankingSpeed OptimizationWebsite AuditGoogle Ads ManagementMeta Ads ManagementSocial Media ManagementAnalytics & TrackingShopify Catalogue SEO
Build & SolutionsWordPress DevelopmentEcommerce DevelopmentCustom EcommerceFlying CartFlying AdsFlying Blog
Free ToolsAll free tools →
Domain and securityEmail Deliverability CheckWebsite Security GradeDNS CheckerWhois LookupDomain Expiry Checker
SEO and crawlingAI Crawler CheckerRedirect CheckerRobots.txt GeneratorSitemap CheckerSchema Markup Generator
Ads and trackingShopify Tracking CheckUTM BuilderBreak-even ROAS Calculator
Store and speedSpeed ReportShopify App Weight CheckMerchant Center Readiness CheckShopify Profit Margin and Fees CalculatorShopify Theme and App DetectorShopify Redirect CSV GeneratorBarcode Generator and GTIN CheckerImage to WebP Converter
Profiles and messagingWhatsApp Link & QR GeneratorLinkedIn Headline GeneratorUPI QR Code Generator
Dedicated SitesServices ↗Care ↗Firstlight ↗Truefeed ↗Woo2Shopify ↗Shopify ↗Realty Leads ↗AnkShakti ↗

Guide

How to check if your XML sitemap is working

How do I check if my sitemap is working?

5 min read

Short answer

Open yourstore.in/sitemap.xml. It should load as a list of addresses, and every address should open a normal page. Enter your site into the free sitemap checker on this site and it finds the sitemap, counts the addresses and opens a sample to catch the ones that do not load.

Find it first

M

o

s

t

s

t

o

r

e

s

k

e

e

p

i

t

a

t

/

s

i

t

e

m

a

p

.

x

m

l

.

S

h

o

p

i

f

y

m

a

k

e

s

i

t

a

u

t

o

m

a

t

i

c

a

l

l

y

.

W

o

r

d

P

r

e

s

s

s

i

t

e

s

o

f

t

e

n

u

s

e

/

s

i

t

e

m

a

p

_

i

n

d

e

x

.

x

m

l

o

r

/

w

p

-

s

i

t

e

m

a

p

.

x

m

l

.

Y

o

u

r

r

o

b

o

t

s

.

t

x

t

c

a

n

a

l

s

o

n

a

m

e

i

t

o

n

a

l

i

n

e

s

t

a

r

t

i

n

g

w

i

t

h

S

i

t

e

m

a

p

:

,

w

h

i

c

h

i

s

t

h

e

p

l

a

c

e

s

e

a

r

c

h

e

n

g

i

n

e

s

l

o

o

k

f

i

r

s

t

.

What a healthy one looks like

It loads, with no error. It lists only pages that open normally. Each address is the final one, the https version a visitor really lands on. It stays under 50,000 addresses per file, and larger sites use an index that points to several files.

Try it now: Sitemap Checker → · Robots.txt Generator →

Problems that waste crawling

Dead pages (404) in the list send search engines to nothing. Redirected addresses make them take a detour for every page. Pages marked noindex contradict the sitemap, which says to index them. Addresses on http, or on another domain, are normally ignored.

These pile up after a migration, when old products are removed but the sitemap keeps listing them.

Dates

L

a

s

t

-

m

o

d

i

f

i

e

d

d

a

t

e

s

h

e

l

p

s

e

a

r

c

h

e

n

g

i

n

e

s

r

e

-

c

r

a

w

l

c

h

a

n

g

e

d

p

a

g

e

s

f

i

r

s

t

,

b

u

t

o

n

l

y

w

h

e

n

t

h

e

y

a

r

e

a

c

c

u

r

a

t

e

.

A

s

i

t

e

m

a

p

t

h

a

t

s

t

a

m

p

s

e

v

e

r

y

p

a

g

e

w

i

t

h

t

o

d

a

y

'

s

d

a

t

e

t

e

a

c

h

e

s

s

e

a

r

c

h

e

n

g

i

n

e

s

t

o

i

g

n

o

r

e

t

h

e

d

a

t

e

s

.

L

e

a

v

e

t

h

e

m

o

u

t

r

a

t

h

e

r

t

h

a

n

f

a

k

e

t

h

e

m

.

Submit it and watch it

In Google Search Console, open Sitemaps and add the address. It shows how many addresses Google found and any errors it hit reading the file. List the sitemap in robots.txt as well.

A sitemap only tells Google your pages exist. Whether they get indexed depends on the pages themselves.

How we can help

Want this done for you?

These are the services that fix what this guide describes. Prices are starting prices.

Not sure which you need? Book a free 30-minute call and bring this result, or send us a message. No obligation, no pitch deck.

Free sitemap checker →Free robots.txt generator →What to check before you migrate an online store →

Want free stats on your site first?

Send us the URL. We pull the numbers from your own accounts and tell you what is wrong before there is any quote, and before there is any contract.

No pitch deck, no obligation. Bring your URL and we will look at it together.