A site map (or sitemap) is a graphical representation of the architecture of a web site. It can be either a document in any form used as a planning tool for web design, or a web page that lists the pages on a web site, typically organized in hierarchical fashion. This helps visitors and search engine bots find pages on the site.

A hierarchical diagram of the pages on a Web site, starting with the home page at the top. A site map helps visitors navigate large, complicated sites by showing its entire structure. It is also used as a master diagram of the Web site for Web designers.

A sitemap is an XML file that contains a list of site URLs and related attributes detailing what should be indexed within a specific site. It must be UTF-8 encoded. The following XML elements are required in the sitemap file:

Sitemaps provide a way for Web sites to specify what pages within the site should be indexed and what new content has been added. Basically, it provides a communication channel between the search engine and the site.

The webmaster can generate a sitemap containing all accessible URLs on the site and submit it to search engines. Since Google, MSN, Yahoo, and Ask use the same protocol now, having a sitemap would let the biggest search engines have the updated pages information.

•Site maps can improve search engine optimization of a site by making sure that all the pages can be found.

•This is especially important if a site uses Macromedia Flash or JavaScript menus that do not include HTML links.

•Most search engines will only follow a finite number of links from a page, so if a site is very large.

•The site map may be required so that search engines and visitors can access all content on the site.