site map

noun

variants or less commonly sitemap

ˈsīt-ˌmap 

plural site maps also sitemaps

1

: a map showing the locations of features (such as buildings or parking) on a site

a festival site map

The developer's site map shows a retail shopping plaza along U.S. 98, which has a traffic count of 44,500 cars per day.

—Paul Nutcher

2

a

usually sitemap : an XML file that lists links to all of a website's pages and typically includes some information about each (such as when the page was most recently modified)

Note: This kind of sitemap is designed to help search engines find each page of a website.

A sitemap is another file that lives in your root directory. It serves as a roadmap for search engines with direct links to every page on your site.

—Brian Frederick

b

often sitemap : a web page or section of a web page that lists links to usually all of the web pages on that website

Note: This kind of sitemap is designed to help visitors to the site find what they are looking for.

Although somewhat out of fashion, the goal of the HTML sitemap is a noble one: to allow users to find any major page of the website with a single click. Many websites will have links to these sitemaps in the footer navigation, but you can list them anywhere your users will find them. Once a user navigates to your sitemap, they should see an easy-to-read list of every major page of your site.

—Jeffrey Bayram

Examples of site map in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Cook Children’s Medical Center this week submitted preliminary site maps to city officials for a 3.6 acre complex about a block away from its main campus on Cooper Street and Eighth Avenue. —Jaime Moore-Carrillo, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 May 2024

The complete lineup and the new site map is available via the Stagecoach mobile app, including music happening inside the Toyota Music Den and Guy’s Smokehouse. —Kelli Skye Fadroski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Feb. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1881, in the meaning defined at sense 1