XML sitemaps, as defined by Sitemaps.org, are a standard way to inform search engines about the content of your web site. While in many cases your site will be automatically crawled for new content, there may exist pages without any direct link. Using an XML sitemap is a way to let the search engine know about its existence.
XML sitemaps have another important role. They define how often the contents of the pages gets updated and how important a particular page is comparing to other pages on the same web site. Both data are very powerful Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tool which can help you achieve natural, high search engine rank.
Nowadays, many Content Management Systems (CMS) support generating XML sitemaps out of the box. Others provide plugins which generate XML sitemaps based on the available content.
So far all of our customers, for whom we have delivered a Web Content Management (WCM) solution based on Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, asked us for implementing support for dynamic XML sitemaps. We have noticed how important and desired this functionality is. For all of you who haven't developed your own solution yet: introducing the Imtech XML Sitemap Feature.
Imtech XML Sitemap is a SharePoint 2007 Feature. Upon activation it adds a custom HttpHandler which generates an XML sitemap as defined by sitemaps.org. The handler can be requested by adding sitemap.xml to the Site Collection's URL, for example: http://sharepoint/sitemap.xml or http://sharepoint/sites/wcm/sitemap.xml.
The Imtech XML Sitemap Feature is scoped to Web Application. This is because it doesn't provision any Site Collection or Site scoped resources and it modifies the web.config to hook up the custom HttpHandler. You can activate the feature either by using the STSADM -o activatefeature command or through Central Administration > Application Management > Manage Web Application Features.
The Imtech XML Sitemap Features provides the basic XML sitemaps functionality. It contains static change frequency and priority values. Because it is something you might want to customize I decided to provide not only the WSP but the complete Visual Studio 2008 solution so you can do the necessary modifications and build your own Feature.
The Imtech XML Sitemap Feature is free and can be used without any restrictions.
Download: Imtech XML Sitemap v1.0.0.0 Feature and Source code.
August 23rd, 2008 at 3:55 pm
[...] Kaushik advices you to "build some automated process" you might want to check out the Imtech XML Sitemap Feature I have made a while ago. It's better than starting from nothing if you ask me, and who knows [...]
November 22nd, 2008 at 9:20 pm
Hi, i wonder how i shall use this? I have install the solution and distrubuate it, but then? I cannot surf to it. Rgds
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:33 am
Have you activated the Feature? It modifies the web.config of your Web Application so that you can use the /sitemap.xml handler.
November 23rd, 2008 at 6:37 pm
Yes, thank you – i have activated the feature. But i dont know after then, how to practiacal use sitemap. How can i reach it, can i pick it up in a control i SPD or can i surf direct to it? Im not a coder.
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:10 pm
@John: Just as described in the article. Sitemap.xml is an HttpHandler – a kind of virtual URL. As soon as you type it in the browser you should see the XML sitemap of your website.
November 25th, 2008 at 11:14 pm
Thank Waldek for the SiteMap feature. I notice in the sitemap.xml that monthy (monhtly) is spelled incorrectly. Can you direct me to where I can change the xml file so the monthy is spelled correctly.
Thanks again.
November 25th, 2008 at 11:18 pm
@Norris Hughes: you're right. You can change it in XmlSitemapHandler.cs in the InitializeXslt() method.
April 24th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
I'm a little confused as to how to install the feature. Can someone provide the steps needed to get this feature loaded.
April 24th, 2009 at 11:27 pm
@Michael Geary: it's just an ordinary SharePoint WSP package. You need to add it to your Solution Store, deploy it to a Web Application and then activate the Site Collection Feature.
June 18th, 2010 at 10:08 am
I tried to to enter the web address u provide in order to see this sitemap but I get nothing. What could be a possible reason for this. My CA is http://sasa:800/default.aspx. and I want it to work here.
June 18th, 2010 at 1:18 pm
Great feature, I can't get it to add any of the pages from the root site \pages\* any idea?
June 20th, 2010 at 9:32 am
The mapping to the HttpHandler is registered in the web.config file, so if it doesn't work as expected, you can change the mapping there.
August 4th, 2010 at 1:39 pm
[...] two years ago I created a Feature for SharePoint 2007 which allowed you to generate an XML Sitemap for your site. XML Sitemaps are a standard way to notify search engines about the content on your website. And [...]