Do you need to learn how to create a sitemap XML for your localhost website? Whether you are a novice user or a tech-savvy user sitemap .xml plays a vital role in indexing and SEO rankings. Today, within this digital column we are going to describe the most trustworthy solution to overcome your problem. Since a localhost website is not publicly accessible, therefore, the normal solutions will not work in our context.
To overcome the problem, you need some technically advanced solution or completely rely on the manual method. This blog will be going to explain both the DIY and expert methodologies in detail. So, it is recommended to read each blog section thoroughly to discover how to build sitemap XML for localhost website.
Perquisites When Building Sitemap for Localhost Website
Before you proceed with the manual or automated techniques to build sitemap XML for localhost website. Ensure you have the following prerequisites working on your desktop that are completely working and updated.
- A fully functioning localhost environment (e.g., XAMPP, WAMP, or MAMP).
- Access to your website’s root directory.
- A text editor (for manual sitemap creation)
DIY Method: How to Manually Build Sitemap for Localhost Website
If you are searching for a free method to manually build sitemap XML for your localhost website. Then you can use the sitemap XML template to manually build it. However, remember that link structures are different in localhost than live environment so you need to carefully adjust it on your desktop. Such as “yourdomain.com” can be written as “localhost:8080/index.html”. You can use the sitemap XML template mentioned below to get the sitemap ready for your localhost website.
<url>
<loc>https://www.yoursite.com/page</loc>
<lastmod>2024-11-06</lastmod>
<priority>1.0</priority>
</url>
Read Also: How to Build and Submit Sitemap to Search Engines?
Common Drawbacks Faced by Users in the DIY Approach
Time-consuming for Large Websites: Manually building a sitemap for a localhost website can be a daunting and time-intensive task. You need to review each URL manually and add it to Sitemap which makes the process more time-consuming. Since any wrongly entered URL may cause inaccuracy. Therefore, the DIY approach is not recommended for large localhost websites.
No Real-time Crawling Data or Insights: The manual approach lacks real-time crawling and core data insights. The DIY approach does not provide such insight data which restricts the user from scaling their website according to the data.
Risk of Human Errors While Entering URLs: There is always a risk of human errors while entering URLs in the sitemap, especially in a localhost website as the URL structure is different from the original. So, you need detailed URL planning and a good understanding of technicalities to manually create a sitemap XML for your localhost website.
Best Solution to Build Sitemap XML for Your Localhost Website
By keeping the SEO best practices in mind, the most recommended solution as per our research is the Sitemap Buddy Sitemap Generator. Secondly, this future-sighted solution comes with the ability to adjust sitemap settings based on several attributes. One famous sitemap setting of users is optimized for WordPress. You can optimize the sitemap XML for WordPress with a single button. Now, let’s discuss how to build a sitemap XML for the localhost website on your PC.
How to Create a Sitemap XML for Your Localhost Website Automatically?
- Initially, download this advanced utility from the official source.
- Next, install and run the software by following the on-screen instructions.
- Then, enter the URL of your localhost website in the URL column.
- Now, go to the Settings tab and adjust the settings according to your needs.
- Click on the crawl button to start the process of Sitemap building for localhost website.
- Finally, click on the Export As button to get the output sitemap downloaded in the chosen format based on the options XML, TXT, HTML, Video Sitemap, etc.
Preferred Method to Build Sitemap for Localhost Website – DIY Vs Automated
| Aspects | DIY Approach | Automated Approach |
| Ease of Use | Complex | Simple |
| Time Efficiency | Slow | Fast |
| Accuracy | Error Prone | Reliable |
| Customization | Limited | Advanced |
| Scalability | Low | High |
| Support for Complex Settings | Difficult | Easy |
To Sum Up
In conclusion, the above blog is on the topic of how to create a sitemap for your localhost website. We have initially discussed the prerequisite to build sitemap XML for the localhost website. Secondly, we have seen the DIY approach to overcome the problem i.e. sitemap template method. However, the DIY approach has lots of limitations that may be not suitable for users working on large localhost sites. Additionally, we have discussed in detail the automated utility along with its step-by-step guide. Finally, we have seen the comparison of manual and export solutions based on a few aspects.
