An XML sitemap lists URLs you want search engines to discover. It should reflect the website’s preferred public pages, rather than every file or temporary address the server can produce. It complements ordinary internal navigation and does not replace it.
A practical approach
Keep the file aligned with the deployed website. After adding articles or changing URLs, check that the listed pages exist and use the intended domain and protocol. Submitting a sitemap is a discovery step, not a guarantee that every listed page will be indexed.
Your checklist
- Include the intended canonical public URLs.
- Remove retired, redirected or unavailable destinations.
- Check the sitemap after a domain or structure change.
For example
A blog expansion needs its article URLs added alongside the existing service pages. Leaving only the original homepage and contact page in the sitemap makes the file an incomplete reflection of the public site.
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