Paste or type your XML sitemap content to validate
XML Sitemap Validator
How It Works
- Step 1: Paste XML sitemap content including urlset root element, url entries with loc (location), lastmod (last modified), changefreq (change frequency), and priority tags.
- Step 2: The validator parses XML structure checking against sitemaps.org schema, verifying required elements (urlset, url, loc), valid namespace declarations, and proper XML formatting.
- Step 3: Validates URL entries checking absolute URL format (https://), lastmod date format (YYYY-MM-DD), changefreq values (always, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, never), and priority range (0.0-1.0).
- Step 4: Provides validation report with errors (invalid URLs, malformed XML), warnings (missing lastmod, incorrect priority), and SEO recommendations for search engine submission.
Manual vs Automated Sitemap Validation
| Feature | Manual Checking | AI-Powered Validator |
|---|---|---|
| XML Validation | Manually check XML syntax | Instant XML schema validation |
| URL Format | Verify each URL manually | Auto-validates absolute URL format |
| Date Format | Check lastmod dates one by one | Validates YYYY-MM-DD format automatically |
| Priority Range | Manually verify 0.0-1.0 range | Instant priority range validation |
| Changefreq Values | Look up valid values | Validates against allowed values |
| SEO Recommendations | No automated suggestions | Provides SEO best practices |
XML Sitemap Validation Examples
Example: Sitemap XML Validation
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
<url>
<loc>https://example.com/</loc>
<lastmod>2024-12-18</lastmod>
<changefreq>daily</changefreq>
<priority>1.0</priority>
</url>
<url>
<loc>/blog/post-1</loc>
<lastmod>2024-13-45</lastmod>
<changefreq>sometimes</changefreq>
<priority>1.5</priority>
</url>
<url>
<loc>https://example.com/products</loc>
<priority>0.8</priority>
</url>
</urlset>Validation Report:
✅ VALID ENTRIES (2):
URL 1: https://example.com/
✓ Valid absolute URL
✓ lastmod: 2024-12-18 (valid ISO 8601)
✓ changefreq: daily (valid value)
✓ priority: 1.0 (homepage priority)
URL 3: https://example.com/products
✓ Valid absolute URL
✓ priority: 0.8 (appropriate for category page)
⚠️ Missing lastmod (recommended for SEO)
❌ ERRORS (4):
URL 2 - Line 10: Invalid URL format
<loc>/blog/post-1</loc>
Error: Relative URL not allowed
Fix: Use absolute URL: https://example.com/blog/post-1
URL 2 - Line 11: Invalid date format
<lastmod>2024-13-45</lastmod>
Error: Invalid month (13) and day (45)
Fix: Use valid ISO 8601 date: 2024-12-18
URL 2 - Line 12: Invalid changefreq value
<changefreq>sometimes</changefreq>
Error: 'sometimes' is not a valid value
Valid: always, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, never
Fix: Use 'monthly' or 'weekly'
URL 2 - Line 13: Priority out of range
<priority>1.5</priority>
Error: Priority must be between 0.0 and 1.0
Fix: Use 1.0 for high priority or 0.8 for normal
⚠️ WARNINGS (2):
URL 3: Missing lastmod element
Recommendation: Add <lastmod> to help crawlers detect updates
Sitemap Size: 3 URLs
Note: Sitemaps can contain up to 50,000 URLs
Current: 0.006% capacity used
✅ VALID SITEMAP (After Fixes):
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
<url>
<loc>https://example.com/</loc>
<lastmod>2024-12-18</lastmod>
<changefreq>daily</changefreq>
<priority>1.0</priority>
</url>
<url>
<loc>https://example.com/blog/post-1</loc>
<lastmod>2024-12-18</lastmod>
<changefreq>weekly</changefreq>
<priority>0.7</priority>
</url>
<url>
<loc>https://example.com/products</loc>
<lastmod>2024-12-18</lastmod>
<changefreq>daily</changefreq>
<priority>0.8</priority>
</url>
</urlset>
Summary:
Total URLs: 3
Valid URLs: 3 (after fixes)
Errors: 0
Warnings: 0
Schema: sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9
Size: ~500 bytes (well under 50MB limit)
Ready for: Google Search Console, Bing WebmasterKey Changes:
The validator enforces sitemaps.org XML schema specification, catching critical errors that cause search engines to reject sitemaps. Relative URLs (/blog/post-1) are invalid—sitemaps require absolute URLs with protocol (https://example.com/blog/post-1) for crawler disambiguation. The invalid date '2024-13-45' would be rejected by XML parsers—lastmod must follow ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD or YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS+00:00). The changefreq value 'sometimes' is non-standard—only seven values are valid (always, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, never), though Google largely ignores this field. Priority values above 1.0 or below 0.0 violate the schema—priority indicates relative importance within your site (0.0-1.0), not absolute search ranking. Missing lastmod tags trigger warnings because they help crawlers prioritize re-crawling updated pages. The validator checks sitemap size limits: 50,000 URLs max, 50MB uncompressed max—exceeding these requires sitemap index files. SEO teams use sitemap validators before submitting to Google Search Console or Bing Webmaster Tools to prevent indexing delays. Valid sitemaps improve crawl efficiency, especially for large sites, new sites with few backlinks, or sites with complex navigation structures.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an XML sitemap?
An XML sitemap is a file that lists all the important pages of a website in XML format. It helps search engines discover and index website pages more efficiently. The sitemap follows a specific XML schema defined by sitemaps.org and includes URL entries with optional metadata like lastmod, changefreq, and priority.
How does the XML sitemap validator work?
Our XML sitemap validator parses your sitemap XML content to check for syntax errors, validate XML structure, verify URL entries, and ensure compliance with the sitemap protocol. It checks for proper XML formatting, required elements, and valid URL formats.
Is my sitemap data safe when using this validator?
Yes, completely safe. All validation happens entirely in your browser using client-side JavaScript. Your sitemap content never leaves your device, is never sent to any server, and is never stored or logged anywhere.
What sitemap formats does the validator support?
The validator supports standard XML sitemap format (sitemap.xml) as defined by sitemaps.org. It validates URL entries, optional metadata (lastmod, changefreq, priority), and ensures proper XML structure and encoding.
Can the validator check sitemap index files?
The validator can detect sitemap index files (sitemaps that reference other sitemaps) and validate their structure. However, it validates the index file itself, not the referenced sitemaps.
What common errors does the validator detect?
The validator detects XML syntax errors, invalid URL formats, missing required elements, incorrect XML structure, encoding issues, and non-compliance with sitemap protocol standards. It provides clear error messages to help you fix problems.