XML Sitemap Validator

It checks that the file is well-formed XML, uses a <urlset> or <sitemapindex> root with the sitemaps.org namespace, gives every entry a <loc>, and that each URL is absolute, escaped and under 2,048 characters. It also checks lastmod dates, changefreq and priority values, duplicates, URLs on other hosts, and the 50,000 URL and 50 MB limits.

Errors break the sitemap protocol, so search engines may reject the file or skip the affected URLs. Warnings are allowed by the protocol but usually point to a mistake, such as duplicate URLs, a lastmod date in the future or a mix of http and https URLs.

The score starts at 100. Each failed error check removes 15 points and each failed warning check removes 5, with a minimum of 0. A file that isn't valid XML, or has the wrong root element, scores 0 because search engines can't read it.

Google has said it ignores changefreq and priority, and only uses lastmod when it is consistently accurate. Other search engines may still read them, so invalid values are reported, but you can safely leave both out.

Yes. The index itself is checked, and you can then validate up to 50 of its child sitemaps in one go and open the issues for each one.

Pasted and uploaded sitemaps are checked in your browser and never leave your device. Sitemap URLs are fetched through Hypello's server because browsers block reading other sites directly. Nothing is stored.