You wouldn't think of going on a vacation trip without a map or guide to refer to but many websites present a rich source of information without a sitemap.

When a visitor enters your website they are looking for some specific information.

By making it easy for them to find what they are looking for you have enhanced their search.

Content Site Development Strategies - Creating A Website Blueprint

Beginners Guide to Sitemaps

By providing your visitors a sitemap you help them to focus on the subject matter that they are most interested in. Your sitemap is an important element of your website navigation scheme. It is the road map to your website. Every website should have a comprehensive sitemap that complements website navigation.

If your customer can not navigate your site to find what they want, they will go elsewhere. Provide a clearly defined link, on every one of your webpages, to your sitemap.

Website Navigation

Website Navigation and Theme

Building the sitemap

Like a table of contents in a book you should construct your sitemap as an outline of what's inside. Constructing a good sitemap takes effort, patience and a thorough understanding of the website. Devote a fair amount of time to designing and implementing your sitemap and it will pay dividends. The steps given below provide an outline of how to construct a sitemap.

Cover the scope of the website

Understand the complete scope of the website. Have a clear picture in your mind of the structure of your website and what you are trying to present to your visitors.

Find websites which have similar content and view their sitemap. Take notes to add to your website journal.
Make a list of all the main categories that make up your website. This would be your site index.
From your main categories break down your subcategories. This is where your visitors will find the detailed content of your website.
Write a short description of each category and sub-category. Add these to your sitemap outline.
Once you are satisfied with your sitemap build the webpage and upload it to your website.

How to Organize a Website

How to Develop a Website Outline

Tips for Improving Website Navigation

Use the sitemap as your default error page

By using your sitemap as your default page you increase the exposure of your website. By default page I am referring to the error page that is served up when you click on a badurl. Your webhost should have this feature available to you to modify as you see fit.

Use your sitemap for this default error page and you will get visitors that you otherwise would have missed. Anything is better than a "404 not found" error when you are following a link. A sitemap displays a birds eye view of your site. Also, your sitemap will help to guide search engine spiders through your website.

Sitemap Construction

I hope that I have impressed upon you the need for a sitemap on every website. Without it a visitor to your website is lost and at the mercy of whatever links they might find on the individual pages. A sitemap is a focal point for searching a website, both for your visitors and the search engines.