When you learn to build a website, one of the first things you should do with your project is to create a sitemap. These are small files that make it easy for visitors and search engines to browse easier and index faster your site.
Continue reading to find out about the various types of sitemaps and why they are important for any WordPress website.
What is a WordPress Sitemap
A WordPress sitemap is a file, which contains data about your site – pages, text, media, links, tags, and information on how they relate to each other.
There are two types of sitemaps – XML and HTML maps.
An XML Sitemap is a file that lists all your site content in an XML format and is created to ease search engines in discovering and indexing your website. The main reason why site owners include XML sitemaps in their websites is indeed to speed up the indexing process and thus improve their search result rankings.
On the other hand, the HTML format contains a list of the entire website’s links and presents this list in a user-friendly manner, so site visitors can use it right away.
Do You Need a WordPress Sitemap?
It is highly advisable to include both types of sitemaps on your website. There are four main reasons why:
- XML sitemaps alert search engines for pages that are still not crawled and for new content on your website.
- XML sitemaps speed up the crawling and indexing process and can give a useful boost in the indexing and ranking of any new website.
- XML sitemaps contribute to SEO. They notify crawlers that the website doesn’t contain any duplicate content and makes the crawling process noticeably faster.
- HTML sitemaps can greatly enhance user experience, as they showcase a handy list of all the website’s content and quick access to any of its pages.
Conclusion
The WordPress sitemaps are a great tool to enhance the indexing process of search engines and the UX of your site visitors.
Both types of sitemaps are equally important and when you start using them, you enhance your online presence, traffic, and chance for conversions.
If you are building a website and wish to boost its ranking right away, then you should learn how to create an XML sitemap and how to submit it to search engines.
Related:
- How to Create an XML Sitemap in WordPress
- How to Submit your WordPress XML Sitemap to Google
- How to Create a WordPress HTML Sitemap