How do I check a sitemap.xml file?
Open your sitemap in the browser, for example example.com/sitemap.xml, and save or copy it. Paste it into the input box, open the file with Open file… or drop it onto the tool; gzipped .xml.gz files work too. Press Check sitemap, or Ctrl+Enter (⌘+Enter on a Mac). On WordPress, the sitemap is /wp-sitemap.xml, or /sitemap_index.xml with Yoast SEO and Rank Math: see how to view a WordPress sitemap.
The Issues tab lists errors, warnings and notes, each with its line and a Go to button.
What does this checker look for?
First, the file must be well-formed XML, or no search engine can read it. Then come the rules of the sitemaps.org protocol: a <urlset> or <sitemapindex> root with the right namespace, at most 50,000 URLs and 50 MB, and a <loc> in every entry. Each URL must be absolute, use http or https and contain no spaces or unescaped characters. Dates must follow the W3C format, and changefreq and priority must use allowed values. Duplicates, mixed hosts and mixed http and https are reported too; image, video, news and hreflang tags are only counted.
Common sitemap errors and how to fix them
Relative URLs such as /about/ are the most frequent mistake: write the full address with https:// and the domain. Dates like 15/10/2026 are not W3C dates; write 2026-10-15, or 2026-10-15T10:30:00+00:00 with a time. An & in a URL must be written &. A wrong namespace, often https instead of http in the sitemaps.org address, can make the whole file unreadable. An XSL stylesheet does no harm: Google reads the XML, not the layout.
Why can't I paste a URL instead of the file?
This page never connects to other websites: its security rules block every network request. To check a live sitemap, save or copy it and bring it here. The XMLNest extension opens any live sitemap URL in Chrome, checks it with the same rules as this tool, and loads every child sitemap of an index from the same site.
Does this checker upload my file?
No. The check runs in this browser tab: your file is read on your device, and nothing is sent or saved. If the file is broken, the XML validator explains the syntax error, and the XML formatter makes a minified sitemap readable. Need JSON? Use the XML to JSON converter.
Questions
Is this an XML sitemap validator?
Yes. It checks that the file is well-formed XML and follows the sitemaps.org protocol: root, namespace, URLs, dates, values and size limits. It doesn't load the XSD schema; it checks the rules directly and explains each problem in plain English.
How do I check a WordPress sitemap?
Open /wp-sitemap.xml for WordPress itself, or /sitemap_index.xml with Yoast SEO or Rank Math. Both are sitemap indexes: check the index, then each sitemap it lists, such as post-sitemap.xml.
Can it check a sitemap from its URL?
No. This page can't connect to other sites. Open the sitemap in your browser, save or copy it, then open or paste it here. The XMLNest extension for Chrome checks a live sitemap URL with the same rules.
Is there a size limit?
A sitemap can list 50,000 URLs and weigh 50 MB uncompressed; the checker reports a file over either limit. It reads files up to 55 MB, .xml.gz included, and checks 50,000 URLs in a few seconds.
Does Google use changefreq and priority?
No. Google says it ignores both. It uses lastmod when the date is accurate, so keep that one up to date.
Why does Search Console say it couldn't fetch my sitemap?
It means Google couldn't download the file: a wrong address, a server error, a redirect or a robots.txt rule. This tool checks the file, not your server, so also open the address in a private window.