Sitemap Validator
This free sitemap validator fetches your XML sitemap, or finds it from your domain, and checks it against the sitemaps.org rules and Google's guidelines. You get errors with line numbers, a spot check of live pages and a list of the URLs inside.
Fetching runs on our servers, so your browser only talks to tpc-hosting.com. We download the sitemap once, up to 50 MB, and keep nothing. The file is unzipped and checked in your browser, and the spot check asks our servers to visit up to 10 of your addresses on the sitemap's own site.
Free, no signup. Try it with wordpress.org.
What this validator checks
Enter a domain such as example.com and we look for the sitemap in the site's robots.txt, then at the usual addresses /sitemap.xml, /sitemap_index.xml and /wp-sitemap.xml. Or enter the full address of a sitemap. Gzip files ending in .gz work too.
The file is checked for well-formed XML, the right namespace, exactly one loc per entry, absolute addresses on the same host, valid lastmod dates, duplicate addresses and the limits of 50,000 entries and 50 MB uncompressed. Image, video, news and hreflang extensions are checked as well. Every problem is shown with the line it is on.
Fetching runs on our servers, so your browser only talks to tpc-hosting.com. We download the file once, up to 50 MB, and keep nothing. Unzipping, parsing and checking happen in your browser. For the spot check we ask our servers to visit up to 10 of your addresses.
Sitemap indexes and the spot check
Large sites split their addresses over several sitemaps and list them in a sitemap index. If you check an index, you see each child sitemap with a Validate button that loads it in the same page. Index files cannot list other index files, so a nested one is flagged.
For a normal sitemap, we also visit the first address, the last one and eight picked at random. A page that redirects is flagged, because sitemaps should list final addresses. A page that is missing (404 or 410) is an error. A server error is a warning. A noindex header on a listed page is an error, since you are asking Google to index a page that you also ask it to skip.
Good sitemap habits
List only the pages you want people to find: ones that answer 200 OK, are not blocked by robots.txt and are not marked noindex. Keep the addresses on the same host as the sitemap, with the same scheme, and use the version of each address that you want shown in search.
Only set lastmod when it is accurate. Google uses it when it is consistently right and ignores it when every page claims the same date. Google ignores changefreq and priority, so you can leave them out. When your sitemap is ready, reference it from robots.txt with a Sitemap line and submit it in Search Console.
Frequently asked questions
How big can a sitemap be?
A single sitemap file can list up to 50,000 addresses and be up to 50 MB uncompressed. If you need more, split it into several sitemaps and list them in a sitemap index.
Can I check a gzipped sitemap?
Yes. Files that start with the gzip signature are unzipped in your browser, and the 50 MB limit is applied to the unzipped size. A browser that cannot unzip files will tell you so.
Do I need a sitemap at all?
Small sites with good internal links are often found without one. A sitemap helps most on large or new sites, sites with pages that are hard to reach by links, and sites that add pages often.
Why does it warn about lastmod?
Google only trusts lastmod when it is consistently accurate. A date in the wrong format, a date in the future, or the same date on every page are all signs that it is not, so Google may ignore it.
Do changefreq and priority matter?
No. Google ignores both. They are harmless, but you can drop them to keep the file smaller.
Why must addresses be on the same host?
A sitemap may only list addresses on the host and scheme it is served from, unless another site's robots.txt points to it. Mixing http and https, www and non-www, or another domain is the most common cause of ignored entries.
Why is a page listed in my sitemap flagged?
The spot check found a redirect, an error, or a noindex header. Sitemaps should list final, indexable addresses, so fix the page or remove it from the sitemap.
Why did a big sitemap fail to load?
Very large files on slow connections can take longer than our 30-second fetch limit. Split the sitemap into smaller files listed in a sitemap index, or try again.
Does the validator keep my sitemap?
No. Our server passes the file through to your browser without storing it, and the checks run on your device. Only the spot check sends a few addresses back to our servers.
Dig deeper
Robots.txt Tester
Is a URL blocked for Googlebot, Bingbot or AI crawlers like GPTBot? See the rule and line that decides.
Test robots.txtRobots.txt Generator
A valid robots.txt with allow and block rules, a sitemap line and a switch for each major AI crawler.
Build robots.txtRedirect Checker
Follows a URL hop by hop to its final page: status codes, timing, loops and long chains.
Trace redirects