How to find the sitemap of any website

To find the sitemap of a website, open its robots.txt at https://domain/robots.txt and look for a line that starts with Sitemap:; that is where a site states its sitemap address. If there is none, try the common paths, /sitemap.xml first, then /sitemap_index.xml and /wp-sitemap.xml, or the default address of the CMS the site runs on. This guide covers each method, the defaults per platform, how to read what you find, and what it means when nothing turns up. For what a sitemap is for, see the XML sitemap guide.

Quick answer

• robots.txt first: open https://domain/robots.txt and look for Sitemap: lines.
• Then the usual paths: /sitemap.xml, /sitemap_index.xml, /wp-sitemap.xml, /sitemap-index.xml, /sitemap.xml.gz.
• Know the CMS: WordPress core uses /wp-sitemap.xml; Yoast SEO and Rank Math /sitemap_index.xml; Shopify, Wix, Squarespace and Webflow /sitemap.xml.
• Your own site: Search Console → Indexing → Sitemaps lists what you submitted.
• Let a tool do it: the sitemap checker reads robots.txt and /sitemap.xml for you and validates what it finds.
• Nothing found? The site may have no sitemap, or one submitted only in Search Console at an unusual address.

Method 1: read the site's robots.txt

robots.txt is the only public place where a site states its sitemap address, and every crawler reads it. Add /robots.txt to the domain:

https://example.com/robots.txt

Look for lines like these, anywhere in the file:

Sitemap: https://example.com/sitemap_index.xml
Sitemap: https://example.com/news-sitemap.xml

A site can list several. The address may be on another path or even another host, such as a CDN, which is why guessing paths alone can miss it. From a terminal, one command shows only the sitemap lines:

curl -s https://example.com/robots.txt | grep -i '^sitemap:'

If robots.txt answers 404 or has no Sitemap: line, move on to the common paths. The robots.txt guide explains the rest of the file, and the robots.txt tester reads it for you.

Method 2: try the common sitemap paths

Most sitemaps live at one of a handful of addresses. Try them in this order:

1. /sitemap.xml, the most common by far
2. /sitemap_index.xml, used by Yoast SEO and Rank Math
3. /wp-sitemap.xml, WordPress core
4. /sitemap-index.xml, used by Astro and some generators
5. /sitemap.xml.gz, a compressed sitemap; your browser downloads it rather than showing it
6. /sitemap.txt, a plain text list of URLs
7. /sitemaps/sitemap.xml or /sitemap/sitemap.xml, on some custom setups

A path that redirects to another sitemap is common too: WordPress core redirects /sitemap.xml to /wp-sitemap.xml, for example. Follow the redirect and use the final address.

Method 3: use the default for the site's platform

If you know, or can find out, which CMS or builder a site runs on, its default address is usually right:

To find out what a site runs on, the tech stack checker reads it from the page, and what is a CMS and how to tell which one a site uses shows the clues by hand. The platform guides go further: WordPress sitemaps and Shopify's sitemap.

Method 4: for your own site, check Search Console and the CMS

On a site you manage, two places are more reliable than guessing:

• Google Search Console → Indexing → Sitemaps lists every sitemap submitted for the property, with when Google last read it and how many URLs it found. A sitemap submitted there can live at any address, even one no robots.txt mentions.
• The CMS or plugin settings. Yoast SEO shows a link to the sitemap under Settings → Site features → XML sitemaps; Rank Math under Sitemap Settings; Shopify documents the address in its help centre; Webflow in Site settings → SEO.

Bing Webmaster Tools has the same list under Sitemaps if the site is verified there.

Method 5: let a tool find it

The sitemap checker finds sitemaps the way a crawler does: it reads up to three Sitemap: lines from robots.txt and tries /sitemap.xml, unpacks gzipped files, and parses each one. You see the address it found, whether it is a sitemap or an index, how many URLs it lists and any format problems, and a sample of up to 25 listed pages is checked for status 200. It works on any public site, yours or not.

Reading what you found

A sitemap index or a sitemap

If the file starts with <sitemapindex>, it is an index: a list of other sitemap files, often split by type (posts, pages, products) or by number. Open the child files to see the pages. If it starts with <urlset>, it lists pages directly. Sitemap examples shows both, annotated.

Why it looks like a web page

Many sitemaps look like a neat table in the browser rather than raw XML. That is an XSL stylesheet the CMS attaches for people; WordPress core and Yoast both do this. Crawlers ignore it. Use View Source to see the actual XML.

A sitemap on another host

If robots.txt names a sitemap on another host, for example a CDN or a storage bucket, that is allowed when the site owner has verified both hosts in Search Console or declares it in robots.txt, as here. It is the sitemap Google reads.

When you cannot find a sitemap

Four possible reasons, in order of likelihood:

1. The site has none. Plenty of small, hand-built sites do not. Google still finds their pages through links; Google's own guidance says a small, well-linked site may not need one.
2. It is submitted only in Search Console at an address nothing else mentions. Only the owner can see it.
3. It is switched off. On WordPress, "Discourage search engines from indexing this site" under Settings → Reading disables the core sitemap, and the whole site is then asking not to be indexed.
4. It is blocked. A firewall or bot protection may refuse your request, or the file sits behind a login. What you cannot open, crawlers often cannot either.

If it is your own site and you find nothing, create a sitemap and submit it to Google.

Common mistakes

• Assuming /sitemap.xml is the only address. Check robots.txt first; many sites use another path or host.
• Reading the styled table and missing the XML. View Source shows what crawlers see.
• Stopping at the index. An index lists files, not pages; open the children.
• Submitting a sitemap you found but did not check, such as an old uploaded file that still answers next to the CMS's current one. Validate it before you use it.

Questions people ask

How do I find a website's sitemap if it is not in robots.txt?

Try the common addresses in order: /sitemap.xml, /sitemap_index.xml, /wp-sitemap.xml, /sitemap-index.xml and /sitemap.xml.gz. Then use the default for the site's platform, such as /sitemap_index.xml for WordPress with Yoast SEO. If none of them answer, the site may have no sitemap, or its owner submitted one only in Search Console at an address nothing public mentions.

Can I see another website's sitemap?

Yes, if it is public, and almost all are: a sitemap exists so crawlers can read it, and anyone can open the same address in a browser. Look in the site's robots.txt or try /sitemap.xml. A sitemap tells you which pages the owner wants indexed and, through lastmod dates, which changed recently, which is useful for competitor and migration research.

Why does my browser download the sitemap instead of showing it?

Because it is compressed. A file ending in .xml.gz is a gzipped sitemap, which crawlers unpack but browsers usually save as a download. Open the downloaded file with any archive tool to see the XML, or use a sitemap checker, which unpacks it for you. The 50 MB size limit for sitemaps applies to the unpacked file.