A visitor lands on a product page from Google, looks for the customer service section, can’t find it within two clicks, and leaves the site. This scenario plays out every day on thousands of websites whose structure has grown without a plan. The problem isn’t the number of pages; it’s the lack of a clear map connecting each piece of content to the others.
HTML sitemap and XML sitemap: two distinct roles in navigation
The sitemap intended for visitors (an HTML page listing sections) is often confused with the XML sitemap read by crawlers. Both share the same goal—making pages easier to find—but they have different audiences and formats.
An HTML sitemap is a page that people can browse. It presents categories, subcategories, and key pages as clickable links. When the main navigation isn’t enough, this page serves as a safety net for visitors who have lost their way.
An XML sitemap, on the other hand, is a technical file submitted to search engines. Google recommends including priority URLs, but an XML sitemap guarantees neither crawling nor indexing of a page. A URL listed in the file with no internal links pointing to it may be ignored. By looking at the Superfora sitemap, you can see how the two levels work together: a clear structure for users, alongside a file intended for crawlers.
Designing a sitemap that reflects visitors’ actual journeys
Most sitemaps mirror the company’s internal organizational chart: “About us,” “Our services,” “Contact.” This structure makes sense to the team, but rarely to visitors looking for a specific answer.
Start with search queries, not departments
Before mapping out the site structure, list the questions visitors actually ask. Search Console data, internal search suggestions, and informational keywords provide the raw material. Each group of closely related queries becomes a branch of the sitemap.
Grouping pages by user intent rather than by business function reduces the number of clicks needed. A visitor searching for “delivery time” should land on the right page without having to go through “Our commitments” and then “Logistics.”
Limit the structure to three levels
Beyond three levels of navigation (home page, category, page), page views drop. The sitemap should reflect this constraint. If a page is four clicks away from the home page, move it higher up or add a shortcut from a parent category.
- Level 1: main categories visible in the menu (5 to 8 sections are enough for most small to medium-sized brochure or e-commerce sites)
- Level 2: subcategories that clarify intent (for example, “Hiking shoes” under “Shoes”)
- Level 3: final pages (product pages, articles, service pages) linked to one another through contextual links
Internal linking and navigation: making every page accessible
Even a comprehensive sitemap can’t replace a strong internal linking structure. Contextual links in the body text, breadcrumbs, and secondary menus are what really help visitors move around the site.
Breadcrumbs and user location
Breadcrumbs show visitors where they are in the site structure. They also let them move up one level without returning to the home page. For search engines, they confirm the hierarchy between pages. Each breadcrumb item should correspond to a real, clickable page.
Contextual links in content
A link placed in a paragraph with descriptive anchor text passes more value than a generic link at the bottom of the page. Use anchors that describe the destination page (“view the return policy”) rather than vague wording.
Orphan pages (with no internal links pointing to them) remain invisible to both crawlers and visitors. An HTML sitemap can help users find them, but the lasting solution is to include them in the internal linking structure from the moment they’re created.
Sitemap accessibility: keyboard navigation and clickable target size
A well-structured sitemap is of little use if some visitors can’t use it. The accessibility criteria published by the W3C in WCAG 2.2 (October 2023) include requirements for making the keyboard-focused element visible and setting a minimum size for interactive targets.
In practice, this means every link in the sitemap must be reachable using the Tab key, with a clear visual indicator (such as an outline or color change). Fixed menus that cover content pose a particular problem: they can hide the focused element and prevent keyboard navigation.
- Test the sitemap using only a keyboard, without a mouse
- Check that clickable targets are large enough for touchscreens (smartphones and tablets)
- Make sure no fixed element (banner, cookie bar) covers an active link during navigation
- Check the contrast between link text and the background
Keeping the sitemap up to date without sending misleading signals
An outdated sitemap sends conflicting signals. Broken links on the HTML page frustrate visitors. In an XML sitemap, an artificially updated “lastmod” date (with no actual content changes) will eventually be ignored by Google.
Update the “lastmod” field only when a significant change has been made, such as editing text, adding structured data, or redesigning a block of internal links. Simply changing the copyright date doesn’t count.
On the HTML side, every page added or removed should be reflected in the sitemap. On sites with more than a few hundred pages, automatically generating the sitemap (through the CMS or a dedicated plugin) helps prevent omissions. Once a quarter, manually check that the categories still reflect the actual site structure and visitor journeys.
A sitemap isn’t a static document that you publish at launch and then forget about. It’s a living tool, aligned with the site’s actual structure and the needs of the people who use it, both humans and crawlers.
