UpstreamKit

Checkers & Validators

Sitemap Validator

Validate an XML sitemap or sitemap index: malformed entries, over-limit files, missing lastmod, non-canonical hosts, and unreachable URLs.

What gets checked

  • XML is well formed and the root is urlset or sitemapindex.
  • The 50,000 URL and 50MB uncompressed limits.
  • Absolute http(s) URLs, duplicates, and cross-host entries.
  • lastmod coverage, and http:// entries that should be https.

On lastmod

Google uses lastmodto prioritise recrawls, but only while it trusts the value. A sitemap that stamps every URL with today's date teaches Google to ignore the field entirely. Omit it rather than fake it.