Sitemap Glossary

What is HTML Sitemap?

A human-readable webpage that lists links to all important pages on a site, unlike XML sitemaps which are for search engines.

Written by SitemapKit Editorial TeamUpdated: Jul 21, 2026

Key takeaways

  • Interpret HTML Sitemap in its sitemap XML context; the detailed definition below explains its role and constraints.
  • Validate HTML Sitemap against a real XML example instead of relying on the field or tag name alone.

An HTML sitemap is a regular webpage (usually at `/sitemap` or `/site-map`) that provides a structured, human-readable list of links to the main pages on a website. Unlike XML sitemaps which are designed for search engine crawlers, HTML sitemaps are designed for human visitors.

HTML sitemaps help users navigate a website by providing an overview of its structure. They're particularly useful for large sites with deep hierarchies.

From an SEO perspective, HTML sitemaps provide internal links to all listed pages, which can help distribute PageRank and ensure all pages are crawlable. However, they're not a substitute for XML sitemaps.

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Sources and further reading

Work with sitemaps programmatically

SitemapKit's API discovers and parses XML sitemaps into structured JSON, including fields such as HTML Sitemap.

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