Sitemap Explorer helps you visualize your XML sitemap as an interactive tree, making it easy to spot issues, find stale content, and understand your site structure.
In this guide, we'll use coloringcircus.com as an example to show you how it works.
Step 1: Enter your Sitemap URL
First, navigate to the Tool page. Enter the full URL of your sitemap (e.g., https://coloringcircus.com/sitemap.xml) into the input field.
Step 2: Fetch and Visualize
Click the FETCH button. The tool will download and parse your sitemap. If it's a Sitemap Index (a sitemap of sitemaps - see guide), you'll see a list of sub-sitemaps. If it's a standard sitemap, you'll see the tree view immediately.
Step 3: Navigate the Tree
The left sidebar shows your site structure. You can expand folders to see their contents. This is perfect for checking if your URLs are organized logically.
Here, we've expanded the collections folder to see the product categories.
Step 4: Analyze Page Details
Click on any file (white icon) to view its details in the right panel. You'll see:
- Full URL: Displays the complete page link.
- Last Modified Date: See when the page was last updated.
- Change Frequency & Priority: Check if these are set correctly (read about common myths).
- Referenced Images: See any images linked in the sitemap entry (learn more about image sitemaps).
In this example, we've selected the geometric-and-pixel-primates collection.
Step 5: Filter and Sort
Large sitemaps can be overwhelming. Use the Filter URLs... box in the top right to instantly find specific pages.
You can also sort the table by clicking on the headers. Want to see the oldest pages? Click Last Mod. to sort by date.
Step 6: Export Data
Need to work with the data in Excel or Google Sheets? Click the Export CSV button to download the full sitemap data, including all your filters and sorting.
Working with Sitemap Indexes
If you enter a Sitemap Index (like https://www.google.com), the tool will show you a list of all the sub-sitemaps it contains.
Simply click on any sitemap in the list to "drill down" and explore its contents. You can navigate back up using the breadcrumbs or by entering a new URL.
Ready to try it?
Launch the App and start exploring your own sitemap today.