Technical SEO
What is XML Sitemap?
Sitemap.xml is the file that lists the site's public URLs so crawlers (Google, Bing) discover them fast, with priority and frequency hints.
A sitemap accelerates indexing especially on large and new sites. Modern frameworks (Next.js, Astro) generate it automatically via app/sitemap.ts.
Best practices: include only canonical URLs (no duplicates), update lastmod correctly, limit to 50,000 URLs per sitemap (use a sitemap index for large sites), and submit in Google Search Console.
Frequently asked questions
Does a sitemap force Google to index?
No. It signals their existence; indexing is Google's decision based on quality, authority and crawl budget.
Do deleted posts stay in the sitemap?
No. Remove from the sitemap + return 410 (gone) or 301 (redirect) helps Google remove from index faster.