Google's John Mueller says an ecommerce site should not list all its products in an HTML sitemap. It should list the categories and let visitors pick products from there. That is a long way from the old footer page that dumps thousands of URLs nobody reads.
This guide shows you how to decide what belongs on the page, what to cut, and how to confirm it works for visitors and crawlers.
What Google Actually Said About HTML Sitemaps
On the Search Off The Record podcast, Mueller described an HTML sitemap as "almost like a map of your website for users." He said it does not replace an XML sitemap file. Crawlers can follow its links like any other links, which helps. But he said you can't submit an HTML sitemap as a sitemap file, and it is "basically a collection of links" (Search Engine Journal).
Site owners should act on his ecommerce example. He said, "you wouldn't list all of your products in an HTML sitemap file." You would list the categories so people can reach the right place, then choose individual products from there (same source).
That is the editorial rule for everything below: build a navigation aid organized around categories, not an inventory.
HTML Sitemap vs. XML Sitemap: Do You Need Both?
They share a name and little else. Keep them in separate workflows.
| | HTML sitemap | XML sitemap | |---|---|---| | Main audience | Visitors, and crawlers that follow links | Search engines | | Format | A normal web page with links | A structured file with a strict format | | Submitted to search engines | No | Yes | | Scope | Selective, category-level | Typically broad, covering the URLs you want crawled |
Mueller said the HTML version lacks the strict structure that lets a search engine process an XML file one-to-one. He called the two "similar, but not exactly the same."
My reading of his remarks is that you still need your XML sitemap. The HTML page is an optional extra that earns its place by helping people.
Step 1: Decide What Job the Page Does
Before touching the page, write one sentence: "A visitor who is lost can use this page to reach the right section of the site in two clicks." If a proposed link does not serve that sentence, it probably does not belong.
Search Engine Journal notes that older SEO practice was to fill these pages with every page considered worth ranking. Mueller's description points the other way, toward useful navigation paths rather than enormous collections of links.
Step 2: Apply an Include/Exclude Checklist
This checklist is editorial guidance built on Mueller's category-first principle. It is not a Google rule. Run each candidate URL through both lists.
Include a URL only if it meets the technical test and at least one of the purpose tests. See related: how to fact-check ai-generated metadata before publishing for additional background.
Technical test: the URL returns a 200 status, allows indexing, and sits at its canonical address.
Purpose tests:
- It is a top-level category or major section a visitor would browse.
- It is a subcategory that helps people narrow down within a category.
- It is a core service page, hub, or guide index that many visitors need.
- It is a key help page, such as contact, shipping, returns, or about.
Leave a URL out if any of these apply:
- It is an individual product, article, or location page that people reach through a category.
- It is a filtered, sorted, or paginated URL, or a parameter variation.
- It is a tag archive, internal search result, cart, account, or login page.
- It redirects, returns an error, or carries a noindex directive.
One caveat on the first exclusion: a handful of flagship products or evergreen guides can earn a link if they work as entry points. That is a judgment call, not a rule from Google.
Step 3: Audit a Bloated Sitemap (Illustrative Example)
This is a hypothetical example, not real data. Imagine a small store called Example Outdoor Gear. A plugin built its old HTML sitemap page and dumps everything onto it.
| Entry type on the old page | Illustrative count | Decision | Reason | |---|---|---|---| | Every product page, including discontinued items | Thousands | Remove | Visitors reach products through categories | | Filtered and sorted category URLs | Hundreds | Remove | Parameter variations add noise | | Tag archives | Dozens | Remove | Thin pages that rarely help navigation | | Cart, login, account | A few | Remove | No navigation value on a map | | Redirected old category URLs | A few | Remove, then link the new URL | Links should point to final destinations | | Top-level categories (Tents, Packs, Footwear, Apparel) | 4 | Keep | Core browsing paths | | Subcategories (Backpacking Tents, Trail Shoes) | Roughly 20 | Keep | Help visitors narrow down | | Help pages (Shipping, Returns, Contact, About, Size Guides) | 5 | Keep | Frequent visitor needs |
The rebuilt page has about thirty links under clear headings. Each top-level category gets an H2, its subcategories sit beneath it, and a short "Help and Company" group closes the page.
Every link is a plain anchor tag with descriptive text, such as "Backpacking Tents," not "click here." A visitor can scan the page in seconds, which was impossible with the bloated version.
The example makes no claim about traffic or ranking changes. Treat the after state as cleaner navigation that crawlers can also follow.
Step 4: Build and Place the Page
If your platform allows it, generate the page from your category structure so new categories appear without manual edits. Otherwise, update it by hand whenever you add or retire a category.
Keep the markup simple. Use headings for category groups and nested lists for subcategories. Use real links, not JavaScript click handlers, so any crawler can follow them.
Link the page from the site-wide footer. Search Engine Journal describes a footer link as the traditional setup, and it gives visitors a predictable place to look.
Step 5: Keep It Out of Your XML Workflow
Do not submit the HTML page as a sitemap in Search Console. Mueller said it can't be processed that way.
Keep maintaining your XML sitemap separately, and treat the HTML page as a normal URL on your site. If you want it indexed, make it crawlable, linked, and self-canonical like any other page.
Step 6: Verify the Page Works
After publishing, run this checklist.
- Crawl it. Run a crawler from your homepage and confirm it discovers the sitemap page through the footer link. Check its click depth and make sure it is not orphaned.
- Check status codes. Export every link on the page and confirm each returns a 200. Fix any 301, 302, 404, or 5xx response by linking to the final working URL.
- Check directives. Confirm robots.txt does not block the sitemap page, it carries no noindex tag, and its canonical points to itself.
- Check anchors. Confirm the links are standard anchor elements with href values that appear in the rendered HTML. Make sure the anchor text names the destination.
- Check internal links. Confirm the footer link appears on every template, including product, category, and blog pages. Confirm each listed category receives a link from the page.
- Inspect in Search Console. Use URL Inspection on the sitemap page to see whether Google can crawl and index it. If the page shows an exclusion, review the page indexing report for that URL.
- Confirm XML is untouched. In the Sitemaps report, check that you submitted only your XML file and that it still processes without new errors.
- Review server logs. After a few weeks, check whether Googlebot requests the sitemap page and the category URLs it links to. This is a practical check, not a Google requirement.
- Test with a human. Ask someone unfamiliar with the site to find a specific subcategory using only the page. If they struggle, regroup the headings.
What an HTML Sitemap Cannot Do
Be plain about the limits with your team and your boss.
- It does not replace an XML sitemap. Mueller said it lacks the structure for one-to-one processing.
- You cannot submit it as a sitemap file.
- It carries no guarantee of better rankings, faster indexing, or more traffic. Search Engine Journal suggests that easier navigation could lead visitors to use and recommend more pages, and that Google could pick up on those signals. It presents this as a possibility and offers no measurements. Mueller also did not say how Google weighs an HTML sitemap in any ranking system.
- It will not fix weak internal linking, thin pages, or a confusing category structure. If those are the real problems, address them first.
What to Expect Next
Once the page is live, the checks should show results first: clean status codes, a crawlable footer link, and a page Search Console can inspect.
Whether the page changes visitor behavior is something only your own analytics can tell you over time. Watch how often people land on the page and where they go next. Revisit it each time you add or retire a category, and rerun the checklist after any site migration.
