You may already have an XML sitemap, but maybe you're looking to build an HTML sitemap for your WordPress website. It's important to understand the difference between the two and why you need them both.

<h2>What are the HTML and XML Sitemaps?</h2>

The XML sitemap is the most common choice and gives you a sitemap ready for the search engines. It's easily created with a plugin and allows the search engines to easily crawl your site. 

The HTML sitemap is quite different and provides something for your visitors. It's written in HTML code and it's usually just a list of your pages and posts. 

<h2>How to Add an HTML Sitemap with your Pages and Posts</h2>

<img src="https://itxdesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/HierarchicalHTMLSitemap.png" alt="Hierarchical HTML Sitemap" width="749" height="221" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8524" />

Before you do anything else, you will need to download the <A href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/hierarchical-html-sitemap/">Heirarchical HTML Sitemap plugin</a>. This will be used to create your new sitemap and will make it far easier to make sure you don't miss any posts or pages.

After you download and install the plugin, you won't have to adjust any settings. It works right out of the box and all you have to do is add a little simple shortcode to a new page or post. The shortcode is: [htmlmap showpages].

This plugin will create a sitemap, which will list all of the different categories you have and how many posts in each one. It will also list them individually with the date they were posted. 

<img src="https://itxdesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Sitemap.png" alt="Sitemap" width="597" height="651" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8525" />

When you create a sitemap like this, you make it much easier for users to find all of your posts and pages in one spot. 

If you want to make it easier on your visitors, use this plugin to create a sitemap listing all of your posts and pages by category. This will make navigating your site easier and your visitors will appreciate it.
