Site Maps for a website

[wbmkk]

Hello

I recently read that I should really have a site map for my website.

However, it seems there are two ways ..

option 1, use an online site to produce an xml file

option 2, use plain old html to produce a standard type file, using simple coding and unordered lists.

Which is better ? as far as SEO is concerned.

I feel I would before option 2, simply because i could do everything myself and could easily change things when pages change.

Any thoughts would be appreciated

Regards from the UK

 

[Paultbk]

Well either would do...you could always just redo it using the online tool...btw if your on a CMS like wordpress or Joomla there are plugin/components that can generate and submit sitmaps automatically

 

[wwag]

Do Both

You're gonna want a XML sitemap and you're gonna want a HTML sitemap on your site not only for visitors but for linking.

 

[mrandrei]

I would personally opt for an XML sitemap. For one, it's easier to generate. There are many tools out there that can help you create that. Making an html sitemap is more time-consuming.

 

[starcomputersup]

There is a brilliant tool which is called xml-sitemap generator from here;

http://www.xml-sitemaps.com/standalone-google-sitemap-generator.html

There is a free version which you run from their site, or the paid version which runs from your webserver automatically (you never have to touch it). the paid version IMO is well worth $19.99

If however your site is wordpress, joomla or some other sort of CMS, you might be able to get a simple plug-in which takes care of the sitemap for you.

 

[RenaissanceMan]

You're talking about sitemaps for very different purposes. An HTML sitemap is purely for your visitors, whereas an XML sitemap is for search engines.

To be honest, unless you have a large, complicated site (for which you should really be using a CMS which can automatically generate site maps), there's no real need for a HTML site map - if your visitors are getting lost on a simple site, you need to redesign your navigation and information architecture.