---
title: "Mueller: HTML sitemaps still help, but don't replace XML"
url: https://seomadman.com/news/mueller-html-sitemaps-still-useful
section: news
language: en
published: 2026-10-09T00:00:00.000Z
modified: 2026-10-09T00:00:00.000Z
author: Adam Hafez
topics: ["Indexing", "Technical SEO"]
---
# Mueller: HTML sitemaps still help, but don't replace XML
## The short answer
Google's John Mueller said an HTML sitemap does not replace an XML sitemap, according to Search Engine Journal. It cannot be submitted as a sitemap file, but a crawler can follow its links like any others, so it still helps. He added that many HTML sitemaps list top-level categories rather than every page.
## Key takeaways
- Mueller described an HTML sitemap as almost a map of your website for users, not something that replaces an XML sitemap file.
- Mueller said an HTML sitemap cannot be submitted as a sitemap file or processed one-to-one, because it is a collection of links without strict structure.
- Mueller said a crawler that finds an HTML sitemap can follow its links like any other link on the site, which is why it is helpful.
- Mueller said many HTML sitemaps do not include everything, and an ecommerce site would list categories rather than every product.
- Google's own sitemap overview describes an XML sitemap as a file that search engines read to crawl a site more efficiently.
Google's John Mueller and Martin Splitt took up HTML sitemaps in the 1 October 2026 episode of
Search Off the Record, [Do sitemaps still matter?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDva5VoZJsE).
Search Engine Journal's Roger Montti
[covered that exchange](https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-explains-how-to-use-html-sitemaps-for-seo/)
and pointed to the 17 minute mark. We did not hear the episode, so what follows is Mueller's
wording as Montti reported it. The same episode's AI crawler and Couldn't fetch answers are in
[our earlier write-up](/news/mueller-sitemaps-ai-crawlers-couldnt-fetch).
## What is an HTML sitemap?
Per Montti, Splitt asked whether site owners are locked into XML sitemaps or whether HTML ones are
also fine. Mueller first noted that the two names confuse people, since many who open an XML file
see brackets and assume it is HTML or close to it. He then called an HTML sitemap "almost like a map
of your website for users", and said it is not something that replaces an XML sitemap file.
## Can you submit one to Google?
Not as a sitemap file, in Mueller's words as quoted by Montti. He said it "can't be processed
one-to-one" like an XML file because it lacks the strict structure, and that it is basically a
collection of links. Google's [sitemap overview](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/sitemaps/overview)
describes the XML side: a file where you give information about the pages, videos and other files
on your site, which search engines like Google read to crawl more efficiently. Check yours with the
[XML sitemap validator](/tools/xml-sitemap-validator).
## Do crawlers follow its links?
Yes, per Mueller. He said that if someone is crawling your website and finds an HTML sitemap, they
can crawl those links like any other link on the site, so that is helpful. Splitt followed up that
it still helps crawling, since all the links can be found from that page, only less structured than
XML. Mueller answered "Yes, absolutely", according to the transcript Montti quoted.
## What should it contain?
Mueller said many HTML sitemaps do not include everything. His example was an ecommerce site, which
would not list every product but maybe the categories, so people can go to the right place and pick
out a product individually. He called it similar to an XML sitemap, but not exactly the same.
Montti reads this as navigation for visitors: an HTML sitemap that gets people to top-level
category or topic pages, from which they drill down. That framing is Montti's interpretation, and
he adds that if visitors start using and recommending more pages, Google may pick up on those
signals. Treat both as his opinion, not a Google statement.
## What does this change?
Little, which is why this is a low impact item. Mueller did not announce a new feature or change a
guideline. The reported answer is that an HTML sitemap is a user-facing page whose links a crawler
can follow, and that the XML file is what you submit.
Montti also recalls how site owners used HTML sitemaps before the XML standard, linking one from
the footer of every page. That is his background, not something Mueller said. If you already have
a sitemap page, the reporting gives no reason to remove it or to treat it as your submitted
sitemap. Feeds are a separate route: validate one with the
[RSS feed validator](/tools/rss-feed-validator). The wider [indexing](/topics/indexing) and
[technical SEO](/topics/technical-seo) hubs cover crawling more broadly.
## Frequently asked questions
### Do HTML sitemaps still help SEO?
Per Search Engine Journal, Google's John Mueller said yes, in a limited way. A crawler can follow the links in an HTML sitemap like any other links on the site, so it is helpful, but it does not replace an XML sitemap.
### Can I submit an HTML sitemap to Google?
No, according to Mueller as reported by Search Engine Journal. An HTML sitemap cannot be submitted as a sitemap file or processed one-to-one like XML, because it is a collection of links without the strict structure.
### Should an HTML sitemap list every page?
Not necessarily. Mueller said many HTML sitemaps do not include everything. An ecommerce site would list categories so people can find the right place, then pick out products individually.
### Is an HTML sitemap the same as an XML sitemap?
No. Mueller said the two share a name but an HTML sitemap is almost a map of your website for users. Google describes an XML sitemap as a file search engines read to crawl a site more efficiently.
## Sources
1. [Do sitemaps still matter?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDva5VoZJsE) - Google Search Central (YouTube) (primary)
2. [Google Explains How To Use HTML Sitemaps For SEO](https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-explains-how-to-use-html-sitemaps-for-seo/) - Search Engine Journal
3. [Learn about sitemaps](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/sitemaps/overview) - Google Search Central