Managing Your Sitemaps

#Overview

CMS Max provides two types of sitemaps: an XML sitemap for search engines, and an HTML sitemap for visitors. Both are maintained automatically, but understanding how they work helps you get the most out of them.

#XML Sitemap

#What It Is

An XML sitemap acts as a roadmap for search engines like Google. It tells them which pages exist on your site, how important each page is, and how often the content changes. This helps search engines discover and index your content faster.

#How It Helps Your Business

• New pages and products appear in search results sooner
• Search engines prioritise your most important pages
• Your content is crawled more efficiently, which can improve rankings
• More visibility in search results means more potential customers

#How CMS Max Organises Your Sitemap

Your XML sitemap is split into separate files by content type, all listed under a master sitemap at yoursite.com/sitemap.xml. Separate files are maintained for pages, products, categories, blogs, store locations, and events (where applicable).

Keeping sitemaps split by content type means updates are faster, large product catalogs are handled efficiently, and it is easier to identify any issues with a specific content type.

#Default Priority and Update Settings

CMS Max applies sensible defaults to each content type so search engines understand how to treat your pages:

These settings follow industry best practices. Search engines treat them as guidance rather than strict instructions, using them alongside other signals to determine how often to visit your pages.

#Pages Automatically Excluded

CMS Max excludes pages that should not appear in search results:

• Search result pages
• Cart and checkout pages
• User account pages
• Thank you pages
• Admin pages

#When Your Sitemap Is Generated

Before a sitemap is created for your site, three things must be true:

• The SEO Max plugin is active. The sitemap is part of SEO Max — if the plugin isn't installed and active, no sitemap is generated.
• Sitemaps are enabled. The "Sitemap enabled" setting must be turned on (see Customising Sitemap Settings below).
• Your site is on its own custom domain. Sites still using their temporary setup subdomain do not get a sitemap yet — the sitemap is only generated once you've gone live on your own domain, and it always points at that domain.

Once those conditions are met, your sitemap is regenerated automatically:

• When you add, edit, or remove any content
• On a daily or weekly schedule depending on content type
• Immediately when you trigger a manual update

If your site is connected to Google Search Console, your sitemap is automatically submitted there as well.

If any of the conditions above stops being true — for example SEO Max is deactivated, sitemaps are switched off, or the site moves back to a temporary subdomain — the sitemap is no longer served, and any previously generated files are cleared during routine maintenance.

#Checking Your Sitemap

Once your site meets the conditions above, you can view your sitemap by visiting yoursite.com/sitemap.xml in your browser. (Sites still on a temporary subdomain will see a "not found" response until they go live on a custom domain.) You can also check indexing status and any reported errors in Google Search Console, which will notify you automatically if any issues are detected.

#Customising Sitemap Settings

The default settings work well for most sites. If your business has unusual update patterns, or your SEO consultant has recommended specific priority levels for certain pages, these settings can be adjusted — contact your support team to discuss customisation options.

#HTML Sitemap

#What It Is

An HTML sitemap is a page on your website that lists all your publicly accessible pages in a structured, easy-to-read format. It serves two purposes: helping visitors find content they are looking for, and giving search engines a clear view of your site structure.

#Which Pages Appear

Only pages that meet both of the following conditions will appear in the HTML sitemap:

1. The page's Publish Setting is set to Public
2. The page's Crawl Setting is set to Crawl Page

#Which Pages Are Excluded

The following pages are always excluded:

• Password-protected pages — listing these publicly would defeat their protective purpose
• Draft pages — unpublished, work-in-progress content
• Logged-in user pages — content that requires authentication to access
• Pages marked "Don't Crawl" — pages you have intentionally excluded from search engine indexing

#How to Add a Page to the HTML Sitemap

1. Open the page in your admin panel
2. Set the Publish Setting to Public
3. Set the Crawl Setting to Crawl Page
4. Save the page

The HTML sitemap updates automatically to reflect your changes.

#How to Remove a Page from the HTML Sitemap

Choose one of the following:

• Change the page's Publish Setting to Draft, Password Protected, or Logged In Users
• Change the Crawl Setting to Don't Crawl

This keeps the page accessible via its direct URL while removing it from the sitemap listing.

#Does the HTML Sitemap Affect SEO?

Yes, positively. An HTML sitemap improves search engine discovery and helps ensure all your important pages are indexed. Because you control which pages appear through the publish and crawl settings, you have full authority over what is promoted to both visitors and search engines.