XML Sitemap Checker
Enter a sitemap URL to confirm it returns valid XML and to count the URLs — and any nested sitemaps — it contains.
How to Use This Tool
Find your sitemap URL
Usually at yoursite.com/sitemap.xml, or check your SEO plugin's settings.
Paste the full sitemap URL
Include the complete address, starting with https://.
Click "Check sitemap"
The tool fetches and validates the XML structure directly.
Review the URL count
Confirm the number of URLs matches roughly what you'd expect for your site.
About the XML Sitemap Checker
An XML sitemap is a structured file that lists the URLs on your site you want search engines to crawl and index, optionally with metadata like when each page was last updated. It doesn't guarantee indexing, but it's one of the most reliable ways to help search engines discover pages, particularly ones that don't have many internal links pointing to them.
Sitemaps can silently break in ways that aren't obvious just by opening the file in a browser — invalid XML syntax, an unexpectedly low URL count after a migration, or a sitemap index file that fails to properly reference its child sitemaps. These issues can quietly reduce how much of your site gets crawled.
This tool fetches your sitemap URL directly, confirms it parses as valid XML, and counts how many <url> entries, <loc> tags, and nested <sitemap> references it contains — a quick way to sanity-check that your sitemap is structurally sound.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need an XML sitemap if my site is small?
It's less critical for a small site with good internal linking, since crawlers can usually find every page just by following links. It still doesn't hurt to have one, and it becomes genuinely important as a site grows larger or has pages that are harder to discover through navigation alone.
What's the difference between a sitemap and a sitemap index?
A sitemap lists individual page URLs directly. A sitemap index is a sitemap of sitemaps — it lists multiple child sitemap files rather than pages directly, which is used by larger sites that exceed the 50,000-URL limit per individual sitemap file.
Why would my sitemap check fail even though the file opens fine in my browser?
Some servers restrict cross-origin requests from browser-based JavaScript tools (a security policy called CORS) even though the file loads normally when you navigate to it directly, which can cause an automated fetch like this one to be blocked while manual browsing still works.
Is there a maximum number of URLs a single sitemap file can contain?
Yes, the sitemap protocol specifies a limit of 50,000 URLs and a maximum uncompressed file size of 50MB per sitemap file. Sites exceeding that need to split into multiple sitemap files referenced by a sitemap index.
Should I submit my sitemap to Google manually, or is having the file enough?
Both help. Having the file at a discoverable, standard location and referencing it in robots.txt helps organic discovery, but manually submitting it through Google Search Console gives you direct crawl-status feedback and can speed up initial discovery.
How often should I check my sitemap for issues?
Checking after any major site change — a migration, a CMS switch, a large batch of new or deleted content — is the most important trigger. Beyond that, a periodic monthly check is a reasonable habit for actively maintained sites.