Sitemap Validator
Fetch and validate the XML sitemap for any domain — count URLs, check for lastmod dates, and detect sitemap indexes.
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How to use this calculator
- 1
Enter the domain name (the tool will check https://domain.com/sitemap.xml).
- 2
Click "Check Now" to fetch and parse the sitemap.
- 3
Results show the sitemap type, number of URLs, lastmod data, and a sample of the first 8 entries.
- 4
If no sitemap is found at /sitemap.xml, check robots.txt for the actual sitemap URL.
Frequently asked questions
Which URL does the validator fetch?
Always https://<host>/sitemap.xml. Only the host name is taken from your input, so typing https://example.com/sitemap_index.xml or a page URL still checks /sitemap.xml on that host. If your sitemap lives elsewhere, find its address in the Sitemap lines of robots.txt or in Search Console, because this tool cannot be pointed at it.
What are the limits?
The server allows 10 seconds, follows up to 8 redirects, and reads at most 2 MB of the response; larger files are cut off and the counts reflect only the part read. Only public hosts are allowed, and each client address may make 15 requests per minute, counted together with the other page-fetching tools.
What does the Summary report?
Type is Sitemap Index if the text contains <sitemapindex and URL Sitemap otherwise. “URLs / Sitemaps” is the count of plain <loc> elements. Has <lastmod> is Yes if at least one lastmod element exists. File size is the length of the text read, in KB. Below that, a table lists the first 8 <loc> values.
Does it follow the child sitemaps in a sitemap index?
No. For an index it counts the child sitemap entries and lists the first 8 of their addresses; it does not open them, so it cannot give a total for the site or confirm that each child loads.
Does it check the protocol limits of 50,000 URLs and 50 MB?
No. The sitemap protocol allows up to 50,000 URLs and 50 MB uncompressed per file, with larger sites using several files and an index, but the tool does not compare its counts with those limits. The count is also partial for files over 2 MB, and the File size row would read at about the 2 MB read limit.
What does it not validate?
Whether the XML is well formed or uses the correct namespace, whether each URL belongs to the same host, returns a successful status, is canonical or duplicated, and whether lastmod values are valid dates. A response that is not XML, such as an HTML page returned with status 200, simply shows as zero URLs.
What does a non-successful response show?
The status code with a note that sitemap.xml was not found and a tip to check robots.txt. A network error or a refused host shows an error message instead.
What the sitemap validator fetches and what it counts
The request and its limits
Enter a domain and the server requests https://that-host/sitemap.xml, using only the host name from whatever you type. The request times out after 10 seconds, follows up to 8 redirects, validates every hop as a public host, and reads at most 2 MB. The request runs on the server, so a sitemap that is only reachable from inside your network cannot be validated. Expect to be limited to 15 requests a minute per client address, counted together with the site’s other page-fetching checkers. If nothing is served at that exact path, the result is a not-found status with a tip to look in robots.txt, so the robots.txt checker is a useful first step for sites whose sitemap has another name.
Input forms and the URL they produce
Anything after the host name is dropped, which is easy to miss if your sitemap has a custom name.
| Input | URL requested |
|---|---|
| example.com | https://example.com/sitemap.xml |
| https://example.com/sitemap_index.xml | https://example.com/sitemap.xml |
| www.example.com/blog/post | https://www.example.com/sitemap.xml |
| 192.168.1.10 | Refused: private address |
What the Summary reports
The Summary has four rows. Type is Sitemap Index when the text contains <sitemapindex, otherwise URL Sitemap. The URLs / Sitemaps row counts <loc> elements, which are page addresses in a URL sitemap and child sitemap addresses in an index; image or video extension tags with prefixes are not counted. Has <lastmod> says whether any lastmod element exists at all, not whether it is accurate. File size is the size of the text read. A table of the first 8 <loc> values follows, which is enough to spot a wrong host, a staging domain or a stray parameter.
Reading the numbers
A URL Sitemap showing a count that is far lower than the number of pages you expect suggests missing sections, or a file truncated at 2 MB. A Sitemap Index count tells you how many child files exist, not how many pages. A count of zero on a successful fetch usually means the response is not an XML sitemap: a redirect to a home page, an HTML error page, or a compressed or differently named file. The sample table helps here: if the entries are not URLs from your site, you are not looking at what you think.
What it does not do
The validator does not check XML syntax, the namespace, duplicate URLs or whether the listed pages respond, and it does not compare totals with the protocol’s 50,000-URL and 50 MB per-file limits. It also cannot submit anything to a search engine. Submission is done in each engine’s webmaster tools or by adding a Sitemap line to robots.txt. After confirming the structure here, spot-check a handful of the listed URLs in a browser.
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Results are estimates for informational purposes only and do not constitute professional financial, medical, legal, or technical advice. Read full disclaimer →