It used to be considered compulsory, but many now ask, is there a need for HTML sitemaps? We delve into the pros and cons below.
What is an HTML Sitemap?
An HTML sitemap lists all of the pages on your website in an organised format, providing an overview of your site’s content at a glance. Originally, an HTML sitemap would have been created specifically for human visitors.
HTML Sitemap Uses
Sitemaps provide a directory of content for website visitors, which previously acted as an indirect SEO factor, as Google takes user experience into consideration. They also enhance visibility for pages that aren’t linked on other pages on your website, as they may otherwise not be found by search engines.
However, HTML sitemaps shouldn’t be relied on for this.
Having the correct categories, breadcrumbs, internal linking and navigation on your website should allow users to easily navigate your website pages, without the need for an HTML sitemap. Additionally, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) do not mandate HTML sitemaps, acting as a recommendation only.
HTML vs XML Sitemaps
HTML sitemaps are created with users in mind, they aren’t directly used by search engines. However, XML sitemaps are.
XML sitemaps are created in a specific file format for search engine bots, providing structured data that crawlers can process. XML sitemaps list all pages and posts on a website, also including information such as when pages were last updated and the importance or priority of pages.
XML sitemaps can be created either from scratch or through plugins such as Yoast, which create them automatically for you by including a line of code in your website a pointer to them is put in the robots.txt to tell search engines where they are. You can also upload your XML sitemap to Google Search Console so that Google is aware of the content that you want to index – although uploading to Search Console is not mandatory and pages will still be crawled if your site is well structured or if your sitemap is referenced in your robots.txt file. However, by submitting an XML sitemap, website owners ensure all pages are crawled and indexed correctly and get some feedback on how Google is processing pages listed.
We consider XML sitemaps to be essential on all websites, but they are especially useful on large websites and those with complex structures, as they are able to break down pages and products into smaller files, making it easier for Google to index. XML sitemaps also support hreflang tags which indicate different languages of a page, helping crawlers to differentiate between different language versions of your site.
Having an XML sitemap will help to improve the visibility of your website in search results, thus helping you to reach your target audience and boost conversions.
So, Do You Still Need an HTML Sitemap?
HTML sitemaps aren’t necessary. Your website should be crawlable and accessible, through your content structure, navigation and internal links, to ensure that users can find what they need. However, they can help ensure that orphaned pages – those that do not have a link from any other section or page on your website – are found, which otherwise may not be found by search engine bots.
It is important to remember that an XML sitemap is essential for any size website.
Contact us today if you require assistance with a website redesign to improve user accessibility and Google rankings.
