Xml Sitemaps Are Not All That, by our very own Torka! Options

[Jill]

Diane (Torka) Aull wrote a great article about XML sitemaps. This is a must read if you've been stressing out because you don't have one, or wondering if you've not created one correctly:

XML Sitemaps Are Not All That

Even if I did have indexing issues, I'm not sure creating an XML sitemap would be my first response. I mean, Google themselves note that simply submitting a sitemap does NOT guarantee your pages get indexed. So right off the bat, you can eliminate the argument that a sitemap is a sure-fire cure-all for incomplete indexing.

[Catz]

Remember the days when a good old fashion Site Map (IMG:style_emoticons/default/superman.gif) was common.

Too many developers in recent years automatically think when you say site map that you mean the Google sitemap, or an endless list of links automatically generated by whatever software they use to fill in the blank or cut and paste sites together.

A well planned, organized Site Map created for humans and linked to from your home page can really help visitors and the search engines find their way around your site.

[Randy]

Real site maps are going to go the way of the dodo bird I fear, as more and more take the lazy way out. Which really sucks since I use them all the time to find what I'm looking for on other peoples sites.

[1dmf]

Not sure they will Randy, site maps are part of accessibility guidelines, not having a sitmap is in breach of those guidelines.

Oops, silly me you don't do standards do you (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol.gif)

Bottom line: if you think your site could benefit from having an XML sitemap (or if you just want one because all the Cool Kids are submitting them),

wow does that make me a Cool Kid , aw thanks Torky baby! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/bighug.gif)

This post has been edited by 1dmf: Jan 13 2009, 05:13 AM

[Randy]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/hysterical.gif)

I may not do standards per se 1dmf, but one thing you can count on is that every e-commerce site I create will always have some type of functional site map. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink1.gif)

[torka]

If you want, you can be a Cool Kid in my book, 1dmf. I'm feelin' the love over here. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wub.gif)

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/giggle.gif)

I do loves me a good old-fashioned human readable sitemap. Like Randy, I use them frequently myself. I can't say every site I code has one, but then again, for instance, an eight-page site doesn't really need one. For that one, the site menu pretty much serves the purpose, and it's conveniently located on every page! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink1.gif)

--Torka (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mf_prop.gif)

[Randy]

pssst... Noticed out I copped out on that guarantee Torka? I said every e-commerce site, not every site. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/giggle.gif) For instance, my personal blog doesn't have one. Though it's been around long enough and getting large enough nowadays that I prolly should make a nice, human readable site map for it.

[torka]

I've got an e-commerce site that I didn't create a site map for, either... of course, it's only four pages... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/searchme.gif)

--Torka (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mf_prop.gif)

[Catz]

I'm with Randy, I look for a good site map created for humans on the sites I visit, so I can quickly find what I am seeking and try to get others to recognize their value as well. I prefer to have them on the majority of sites I create.

Real site maps are going to go the way of the dodo bird I fear, as more and more take the lazy way out.

Lazy site development is really getting out of control!

Simply being able to enter info into a database, fill in the blank or copy and paste info into a software program that creates the page for you does not make someone a professional website developer, no matter how much they charge.

The people they are "helping" are not really being helped at all, and are sometimes actually being hurt.

I know of a company where the area code was left out of the phone number and the email was left as mail@company.com for months, even though the site had supposedly been updated. The look had been changed but ended up worse than the original due to this and other factors such as pages missing, links not working, etc...

Can you imagine not even checking the work you have done to be sure it is showing up properly?

User friendly web design is becoming a lost art!

[zephyr]

Need em both HR & XML

Apple's sitemap is as usual with their design, clean, logical, & ez to use.
Arranged logically, not alphabetically

[1dmf]

Sitemaps can be usefull and as you say sometimes not even necessary, I have some sites which don't have them as everypage is available through the main navigation menu. I think the guidelines bend for such circumstances.

the email was left as mail@company.com for months

I'm confused, what's wrong with that?

Ours has been mail@domain.com for years, because that IS our company customer facing mail box.

Is there a problem with having this mailbox?

[Randy]

umm... I read that comment differently 1dmf. I think Catz may have meant the email address left on the revamped web site was literally a placeholder address of "mail@company.com" when neither the company name nor the domain in question was actually "company.com".

[1dmf]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/giggle.gif) oops, they had actually put 'company' , Catz wasn't changing the names to protect the innocent.

This post has been edited by 1dmf: Jan 14 2009, 09:23 AM

[Jill]

How 'bout those websites that actually link to their XML sitemap on their website. That cracks me up, cuz when you click on them, they are of course all code!

[1dmf]

Well that's an interesting thought Jill.

Is technically robots.txt and sitemap.xml part of your website?

should both be linked to from your HTML sitemap?

Though linking direct to XML files isn't so bad, IE is semi XML compatible, though i haven't worked out a use for it yet (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol.gif)