HTML Sitemap Generator
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An HTML sitemap generator turns a list of your URLs into a single web page that links to every important page on your site, grouped into sections with readable anchor text. Paste URLs (with optional titles) into the tool above, set a page heading, and choose whether to group by section and sort A to Z. You get a live preview and clean, accessible HTML code you can paste into a WordPress page, Blogger post or any template.
What an HTML Sitemap Does
An HTML sitemap is a normal page on your website, usually at an address like /sitemap/, that lists links to your main pages and sections. Visitors can open it to see everything the site offers in one place. Search engine crawlers can follow its links to discover pages.
It solves two problems. For people, it is a fallback navigation: if the menu does not show what they need, or they want an overview of a large site, the sitemap page gives them a full index. For crawlers, it creates internal links to pages that might otherwise be buried deep in the site structure or have few links pointing to them, including orphan pages that nothing links to at all.
An HTML sitemap is especially useful on sites with lots of content in categories: blogs, documentation, service businesses with many location pages, ecommerce category trees and tool collections. It is less important on a small site where the main menu already links to every page.
The generator builds the page for you from a pasted list, so you do not have to hand-code dozens of links. It does not crawl your site; you decide exactly which pages to include.
HTML Sitemap Versus XML Sitemap
The two share a name but do different jobs.
An XML sitemap is a machine-readable file, usually at /sitemap.xml, written for search engines. It lists URLs with optional details like last modified date. You submit it in Google Search Console, and visitors never see it. It is the main way to tell search engines which URLs you want crawled, and for large sites it is often split into several files under a sitemap index.
An HTML sitemap is a human-readable page made of ordinary links with anchor text. It helps visitors navigate and passes internal links to the pages it lists. Search engines treat it like any other page.
You do not have to choose. Most sites should have an XML sitemap, and many benefit from an HTML sitemap too. The XML file makes discovery reliable; the HTML page adds navigation and internal linking. Build the XML version with the XML Sitemap Generator.
How the Generator Organizes URLs
Each line you paste is one page, written as URL | Title. The title is optional. If you leave it out, the generator builds one from the last part of the URL path, turning a slug like /keyword-density-checker/ into “Keyword Density Checker“. Duplicate URLs are skipped automatically, and lines that are not valid URLs are counted as invalid in the stats so you can fix them.
Grouping pages into sections
With “Group by section (first folder)” ticked, the generator groups pages by the first folder in their URL path. Pages under /blog/ go into a “Blog” section, pages under /services/ go into “Services”, and pages at the root of the site go into “Main pages”. Each section gets its own subheading in the output.
This works best when your URL structure already reflects your site structure. If all your pages sit at the root, untick grouping and you get one clean list. You can also edit the section headings in the code afterwards if you want different names.
Tick “Sort A→Z” to sort pages alphabetically by title within each section, or untick it to keep the order you pasted.
Why anchor text matters most
On an HTML sitemap, the link text is everything. It tells visitors where each link goes, and it gives search engines a description of the target page. A list of raw URLs or generic labels like “Page 12” helps no one.
Write titles that describe the page clearly and briefly, using the name people would search for. Usually the page’s main heading or a shortened version of its title tag works well. Keep the titles consistent with your menu and breadcrumbs so the same page is not called three different things across the site.
If you skip titles, check the generated ones in the preview. Slug-based titles are a good starting point but may need fixes for acronyms or brand names.
How to Build a Site Map Page in Four Steps
Collect your URLs. Export them from your XML sitemap, your CMS or a crawl. Include the pages you want visitors and crawlers to find: main pages, categories, key posts and tools. Leave out noindex pages, thank-you pages, login pages and filters.
Paste them in URL | Title format. One page per line. For example: https://example.com/services/seo-audit/ | SEO Audit. Add titles where you have them.
Set the heading and options. Enter the page heading, such as “Sitemap” or “All Tools”. Choose whether to group by section and sort A to Z. Click Generate HTML sitemap.
Check the preview and copy the code. Review the stats for pages, sections and invalid lines, scan the preview, then click Copy or Download to save sitemap.html.
The output is a nav element with an aria-label, a heading, section subheadings and unordered lists of links. It uses no inline styles, so your theme’s styles apply. In WordPress, create a page called Sitemap and paste the code into a Custom HTML block.
Where to Publish and Link the Page
Publish the HTML sitemap at a simple, predictable URL such as /sitemap/ or /site-map/. Make sure the page is indexable and not blocked by robots.txt or a noindex tag, otherwise crawlers will not follow its links.
Link to it from the site footer so it is reachable from every page. That is where most visitors expect to find it, and a sitewide footer link means crawlers find the sitemap quickly.
You can also link to it from your 404 page, since people who hit a broken link are exactly the visitors who need an overview of the site, and from a help or about page.
Do not hide the sitemap from your main navigation completely; if nothing links to it, it cannot help anyone.
How Many Links Is Too Many
There is no fixed limit. Google’s guidelines once suggested fewer than 100 links per page, later softened that to “a reasonable number”, and no longer give a figure. Search engines can crawl pages with many links.
The practical limit is usefulness. A page with a few hundred well-organized links in clear sections is easy to scan. A page with thousands of links in one block is not.
For large sites, split the sitemap. Create a main sitemap page that lists your sections, then a separate sitemap page for each section, such as one for the blog and one for products. Or list only categories and important pages, and let category pages link to the individual items.
Internal Linking and Crawl Depth Benefits
Crawl depth is how many clicks a page is from the homepage. Pages buried five or six clicks deep tend to be crawled less often and receive less internal link equity than pages near the top.
An HTML sitemap linked from the footer puts every listed page within two clicks of any page on the site: one click to the sitemap, one click to the page. That can help search engines discover new or deep pages faster, and gives orphan pages at least one internal link.
It does not replace good internal linking within your content. Contextual links from related articles carry more meaning than a list. Treat the sitemap as a safety net under your main linking structure.
Sitemap Page Mistakes to Avoid
Listing pages you do not want indexed. Noindex, redirected and error pages do not belong on the sitemap.
Letting it go stale. A sitemap full of deleted pages creates broken links. Regenerate it when you add or remove pages.
Using raw URLs as anchor text. Write descriptive titles.
Blocking the sitemap page. A noindex or robots.txt rule on the sitemap page undermines its purpose.
One giant unstructured list. Group by section and split large sitemaps.
Linking to JavaScript-only URLs. Use standard links with real URLs so crawlers can follow them.
Mixing up HTML and XML. Do not submit the HTML page to Search Console as your sitemap file.
When a Site Does Not Need One
A small site with a clear menu that already links to every page gets little extra value from an HTML sitemap. A five-page brochure site, a single landing page or a one-product store can skip it. If your navigation, breadcrumbs and internal links already make every page easy to reach in a click or two, focus on your XML sitemap and content instead.
Helping Every Page Get Found
Build your sitemap page here, then make sure the pages it lists are well connected. Use the Breadcrumb Schema Generator to clarify site structure and the Robots.txt Generator to keep crawlers on the right paths. Explore more free tools in the FHSEO Hub free SEO tools library.