Check XML structure
Identify malformed XML, unexpected root elements, missing locations, and an absent or incorrect sitemap namespace.
XML Sitemap Validator
Check sitemap XML and sitemap index files for structural problems, invalid URL entries, duplicate locations, and common metadata issues. Extract the URLs or export a report for your next SEO review.
Validate your sitemap XML
Paste XML or upload a file to inspect its contents.
This tool validates XML pasted or uploaded locally. It does not fetch live sitemap URLs, test page responses, or confirm Google indexing. For remote checks, obtain the XML file first and load it here.
Validation report
Validation complete
Checked
Entries found
Valid URL locations
Errors
Warnings
Duplicate locations
Namespace status
Findings and recommendations
Extracted URL locations
| # | URL / Sitemap location | Entry status | Last modified |
|---|
Scope limitation: A valid XML structure does not prove
that a listed page is online, crawlable, canonical, indexable, or indexed by Google.
This report examines the supplied XML only.
How to validate an XML sitemap
A sitemap provides search engines with a list of URLs that a site wants them to discover. Validating the XML before deployment can help you catch common formatting problems and duplicate entries.
Find common issues
Inspect invalid URL locations, repeated entries, mixed hosts, malformed last-modified values, and out-of-range priority values.
Extract and export URLs
Copy the discovered locations or download them as a text file. Export findings as CSV for documentation and subsequent checks.
Sitemap XML formats
Standard sitemaps use the sitemap protocol namespace
http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9.
A URL set contains URL entries; a sitemap index contains references
to other sitemap files.
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
<url><loc>https://example.com/page.html</loc></url>
</urlset>
<sitemapindex xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
<sitemap><loc>https://example.com/sitemap-1.xml</loc></sitemap>
</sitemapindex>
The examples above illustrate the structure. Replace the sample URLs with real locations on your own website.
The official sitemap protocol permits up to 50,000 URLs per sitemap and an uncompressed file size of 50 MB. This browser tool deliberately limits pasted or uploaded input to 5 MiB for responsiveness. That is a tool limitation, not a change to the sitemap protocol.
Frequently asked questions
What is an XML sitemap validator?
It checks supplied sitemap XML for formatting and common structural issues. This tool also checks URL locations, duplicates, some optional metadata values, and extracts the listed URLs.
Can this tool validate a sitemap index?
Yes. It recognizes both standard URL sets and sitemap index documents. It checks the index entries but does not automatically download and validate the child sitemap files.
Does this tool check whether every URL is online?
No. It validates URL syntax and other properties visible in the XML. It does not request each page or determine its HTTP response, canonical tag, robots directive, or Google indexing status.
What is the difference between a URL set and a sitemap index?
A URL set contains individual page locations. A sitemap index contains references to other sitemap files. They have different root elements and different entry types.
Why are duplicate sitemap URLs a problem?
Repeated entries are usually unnecessary and may indicate a sitemap generation or maintenance issue. This tool identifies repeated normalized locations in the submitted document so you can review and remove unintended duplicates.
Is the lastmod tag required?
It is optional in the standard sitemap format. When provided, it should represent the page's actual modification date or time. An inaccurate date is not useful simply because the field exists.
Can a valid sitemap guarantee that Google indexes my pages?
No. A sitemap can help search engines discover URLs, but it does not guarantee crawling, indexing, or improved rankings. Page quality, access, canonicalization, indexing directives, and other signals also matter.
Does this tool upload my XML?
The validation runs locally in your browser, and the page's tool code does not transmit the submitted XML to a validation server. Website hosting, analytics, and advertising services configured separately may have their own data practices.