Sitemap builder

How to write the outline

Put one page on each line. Start with your home page on the first line, with no indent. Indent each child page by two spaces under its parent. A tab also counts as one level. You can paste an outline from a document or a spreadsheet column, as long as the indents survive.

The builder checks that no line jumps more than one level deeper than the line above it, because a page cannot have a grandparent without a parent. If it finds one, it tells you which line to fix.

How addresses are suggested

Each page title becomes a short address, or slug, made of lower-case words joined by hyphens. Accents are removed, "&" becomes "and", and anything that is not a letter or number is dropped. That follows Google's address guidance, which recommends "hyphens (-) instead of underscores (_)" and readable words "rather than long ID numbers", and warns that its URL handling is case sensitive.

You can choose between two styles:

• Nested folders, where each page's address includes its parent: /services/website-audits/. This shows the hierarchy in the address and suits sites where sections are stable.
• One level, where every page sits at the top: /website-audits/. This keeps addresses short and means a page can move between sections without its address changing.

Neither style is right for every site. The URL structure guide explains the trade-offs. If two pages would end up with the same address, the builder adds a number to the second one and you should rename one of them.

If your first line is "Home", it gets the address /.

What you can download

CSV file. One row per page with its level, title and full suggested address. Open it in any spreadsheet program to add owners, content types or launch phases. Values that a spreadsheet might treat as a formula are prefixed so they stay as plain text.

Draft sitemap.xml. A file in the sitemaps.org format listing the planned addresses. It contains addresses only. Google states that it ignores the priority and change frequency fields, and that a last-modified date should reflect "the last significant update to the page", which a planned page does not have yet. A single sitemap file may hold up to 50,000 addresses or 50MB uncompressed, according to Google, so a planning draft will fit easily.

The XML draft is a planning aid, not a file to publish as it stands. Once your site is built, generate the real sitemap from the live pages, so every address in it actually works.

Doing it without the tool

If JavaScript is off or you prefer paper, the method is simple:

1. Write each planned page on its own line, indented under its parent.
2. For each page, write a slug: lower-case words from the title, joined by hyphens, with small words such as "and" or "the" removed if the slug gets long.
3. Decide nested or one-level addresses, then write the full address for each page.
4. Check for duplicates and for any page more than four levels deep.

Tips for a better first draft

• Start from tasks. List what your visitors come to do before listing pages. Each section should serve a clear group of tasks.
• Name sections in your visitors' words. "Pay a bill" beats "Financial services" if paying a bill is what people come for.
• Watch for single-page sections. A section with one page may belong inside another section.
• Watch for crowded sections. A section with dozens of unrelated pages may need splitting. The hierarchy visualiser flags these.

A worked illustration

After you download

Open the CSV in a spreadsheet and add the columns a planned sitemap needs: purpose, content type, owner, source page and launch phase. Share it with the people who will design, build and write the site, and treat it as the single list of pages that everyone works from.

Privacy

The builder runs on this page. Your outline and website address are never sent to us or to anyone else, and nothing is stored once you close the page.

Sources checked 4 November 2026 for sitemap builder

1. SEO Starter Guide, Google
2. Sitemaps, Google
3. URL structure, Google