Sitemap validator
Paste a sitemap.xml URL to check whether it is reachable, parseable, and ready for search engines. Sitemap Watch validates response status, sitemap type, URL count, child sitemap count, duplicate warnings, and XML parse errors before Google Search Console submission.
What this sitemap validator checks
Use this free sitemap validator when you already have a sitemap URL and want to confirm it can be fetched, parsed, counted, and reviewed before Google sees it. It is designed for quick pre-submit checks before you add a sitemap to Google Search Console or troubleshoot a sitemap that search tools rejected.
Sitemap index vs URL set
A sitemap index points to multiple child sitemap files. A regular XML sitemap lists page URLs directly. This validator reports which structure it finds so you know what to inspect next.
URL set
A regular XML sitemap that lists page URLs directly inside loc entries.
Review the URL count, duplicates, HTTPS usage, and whether the URLs are canonical.
Sitemap index
A file that points to multiple child sitemap files, often split by posts, pages, products, languages, or dates.
Open important child sitemaps and validate those files before submission.
Common sitemap errors and how to fix them
Most sitemap validation failures come from a small set of response, routing, or XML generation issues. Use this table to translate a sitemap checker result into the next fix to try.
404 Not Found
The sitemap URL is wrong, missing, unpublished, or blocked by a route rewrite.
Check the exact sitemap path, regenerate the sitemap in your CMS, and make sure the file is publicly reachable.
403 Forbidden
A firewall, CDN, bot rule, or server permission setting is blocking automated requests.
Allow sitemap requests through your security rules and confirm the URL works in an incognito browser.
HTML instead of XML
The server is returning a webpage, login screen, error page, or SPA fallback instead of sitemap XML.
Serve the sitemap with the correct route and content type, then validate the direct XML URL again.
Malformed XML
The XML contains broken tags, invalid characters, bad escaping, or truncated output.
Regenerate the sitemap, remove invalid characters, and verify the XML opens cleanly before submission.
Empty sitemap
The file has no URL entries or the CMS generated an empty sitemap section.
Check indexable content rules, noindex settings, plugin filters, and canonical URL settings.
Duplicate URLs
The same URL appears multiple times because of CMS output, pagination rules, or mixed canonical variants.
Deduplicate the sitemap and keep one canonical version of each URL.
Wrong hostname
The sitemap includes URLs from another domain, subdomain, protocol, or environment.
Regenerate the sitemap with the canonical production hostname and validate it again.
Google Search Console troubleshooting
If Search Console reports a sitemap issue, validate the file first, then check whether the live sitemap URL is accessible, correctly formatted, and filled with canonical indexable URLs.
How to use this sitemap checker
FAQ
Comparing formats? Read XML sitemap vs HTML sitemap.