Create site map html by using shortcodes to display a filtered list of posts, grouped by category/tag, with optional thumbnails. provides additional shortcodes to include a list of posts within another post or page.
Key features are:
- Filter posts by a search query
- Filter posts by category, via an inclusion or exclusion list of categories
- Filter posts by tag, via an inclusion or exclusion list of tags
- Order posts by a post field of your choice
- Limit number in list, e.g. to show 10 most recent posts
- Group posts by category or tag, with subheadings displayed for category or tag
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Full control to configure list CSS styles, HTML per post and HTML at start and end
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Upload the plugin files to the
/wp-content/plugins/fubaby_fastpostlists directory, or install the plugin through the WordPress plugins screen directly.
- Activate the plugin through the 'Plugins' screen in WordPress
- Use the 'Settings->Html sitemap Lists' screen to configure the plugin
Shortcode Usage
The shortcode to use in your posts or pages is:
[htmlsitemap_postlister]
By default this will query all posts and sort by post title.
Below are some examples as to how each of the parameters can be used:
List only posts that match the search keyword 'stuff'
[htmlsitemap_postlister search='stuff']
List only posts that match the search keyword 'stuff' but don't have the keyword 'rubbish'
[htmlsitemap_postlister search='stuff -rubbish']
List only posts within the single category 'Spiders'
[htmlsitemap_postlister cat='Spiders']
A single category can be listed by name or by id.
List posts within the categories Spiders or Dogs
[htmlsitemap_postlister cat='Spiders,Dogs']
List posts within the categories Spiders and Dogs
[htmlsitemap_postlister cat='Spiders+Dogs']
List posts not within the categories 10 or 12
[htmlsitemap_postlister notcat='10,12']
Categories to exclude must be listed as a comma separated list of id's.
List posts with either the tags 'rain' or 'shine'
[htmlsitemap_postlister tag='rain,shine']
List posts with both the tags 'heavy' and 'metal'
[htmlsitemap_postlister tag='heavy+metal']
List posts without the tag 'trouble'
[htmlsitemap_postlister nottag='trouble']
Limit the number of posts listed to 10
[htmlsitemap_postlister maxposts=10]
A value of -1 or the parameter omitted entirely mean all.
Group posts by category. The category name will be inserted as a subheading at the start of the group
[htmlsitemap_postlister groupby=cat]
Group posts by tag
[htmlsitemap_postlister groupby=tag]
Order posts by post title (default behaviour)
[htmlsitemap_postlister orderby='title']
However you may order by 'ID', 'author', 'name' (post slug), 'date', 'rand' etc.
Of course you can mix an match many of these parameters to your hearts content.
According to Google webmaster guidelines - a sitemap for users still has some value:
Offer a site map to your users with links that point to the important parts of your site. If the site map has an extremely large number of links, you may want to break the site map into multiple pages.
I agree with Patrick that now most people don't bother to consult sitemaps - if they need to consult it to find their way on your site you probably have a UX problem.
For SEO purposes - it still can have some advantages:
- it can ensure that your site becomes flatter (content is less clicks away from the homepage)
- Google wants that "Every page should be reachable from at least one static text link." .A HTML sitemap can help with that as well - especially if you have a highly dynamic site where a lot of content is only accessible by (product) search
Sites like Linkedin still use these HTML indexes (although they are not called sitemaps but member lists) - as you can check when you visit the site in "Incognito" mode in your browser.
From the user standpoint, it can help users understand the structure of your site more, if they click to it. From the SEO standpoint, it can help a bit with moving search and link equity through your site, but it's not a huge factor. Basically, if you have the XML setup and it's crawling fine, a HTML sitemap won't make a huge difference - Google and search engines want the XML sitemap. If you have a huge site, a HTML sitemap can be a big undertaking, but if you're site isn't that large, you have the bandwidth, and you want to create one, then feel free - it won't immensely help or hurt you.
I personally feel that XML sitemaps are more beneficial and are a better use of your time. As a user, I don't often use onsite sitemaps - I feel that if your navigation is set up properly, and you have an internal search, that you are doing the user enough justice to find your content in a quick and efficient matter that it eliminates the need. But again, it's totally upto you.
I just want to chime in on the "most people don't bother to consult sitemaps - if they need to consult it to find their way on your site you probably have a UX problem" statement.
I agree, but a lot of sites DO have a UX problem, and for that reason I use HTML sitemaps. If you're in a hurry, and let's face it, everyone is, you can go directly to the HTML sitemap and search for whatever it is you're looking for. And yes, a lot of sites still DON'T have search either b/c they think their UX is fine and therefore don't need search. Can't tell you how many times I've had that conversation with site developers....
Sitemaps come in two flavors: HTML and XML. Each has different uses and values for search engine optimization.
HTML sitemaps are primarily designed to help guide shoppers. XML sitemaps are used solely to ensure that search engine crawlers can index the URLs listed on a site. Each sitemap has unique strengths and weaknesses when it comes to SEO. So it’s important to understand their roles when mapping out your SEO plans.
XML Sitemaps and SEO
Because XML sitemaps are more straightforward and typically less understood in the marketing world, I’ll start there. XML stands for Extensible Markup Language. It’s similar to HTML and defined by the same governing body. But XML is used primarily to make information machine readable, while HTML is used primarily to mark up text files with formatting and linking tags, to form the basis of the web pages. XML is typically used for lists of URLs and the data associated with them.
An XML sitemap is a type of list marked up with XML so that search engines can easily consume information about the URLs that make up a site. This is what an XML sitemap looks like.
One of the XML sitemaps for Menards, a midwestern U.S. home improvement brick-and-click retailer.
One of the XML sitemaps for Menards, a midwestern U.S. home improvement brick-and-click retailer.
Search engines and other crawlers are the only consumers of XML sitemaps. For SEO, an XML sitemap is an invitation to crawl the URLs listed. It’s a way of asking the search engines to crawl and index the pages listed.
There are some important limitations to XML sitemaps.
XML sitemaps do not guarantee indexation. They merely recommend the URLs you would like the search engines to crawl and index.
XML sitemaps do not convey authority. The URLs listed do not pass link authority, like an HTML link on your web site would.
XML sitemaps are not a strong asset in improving rankings. If the only place a search engine encounters a URL is the XML sitemap, it’s highly unlikely that that URL will rank. It may get indexed, but it will not have the authority that HTML links pass to a page. In essence, the page will still be orphaned — unlinked — in the site and will not perform well.
XML sitemaps follow very precise markup rules and are typically produced by developers. Ideally, the XML sitemap is generated and pushed live automatically on a weekly basis without any human intervention. This functionality would be enabled at the platform level via a built-in feature, a plugin, or some other piece of third party software. When XML sitemaps require manual effort to generate, update, or post, they tend to become low priorities or forgotten about.
To learn more about how to generate XML sitemaps for SEO, see the Google Search Console help file “Learn about sitemaps.”
HTML Sitemaps and SEO
Conversely, HTML sitemaps are the ones you’re likely used to seeing as a standard part of the site. They tend to be linked from the footer and are usually included more as a nod to legacy website practices than anything else.
The HTML sitemap for Menards.
The HTML sitemap for Menards.
Before the rise of rollovers in navigation, which enabled many more navigation options right from the header on every page, HTML sitemaps were a necessary way of quickly navigating deeper into the site, thereby enabling them to perform more strongly for SEO. Today, an HTML sitemap is usually nothing more than a regurgitation of the links in the header and footer.
However, an HTML sitemap is limited in its ability to pass link authority because it is just one page. If the HTML sitemap was linked to in the footer, as it typically is, then every page on the site passes a little bit of its own authority to that HTML sitemap. In turn, the HTML sitemap then passes a little of its own link authority to every page that it links to.
Modern rollover navigation typically links directly to the pages that would be found on an HTML sitemap. The image below shows Menards’ HTML sitemap overlaid with the header navigation rollover for the “Paint” category. Note how the same links are shown in the HTML sitemap and the header rollover.
Menards HTML Sitemap with Navigation
The HTML sitemap for Menards with its header navigation overlaid.
As a result, every single page on the site is linking directly to the pages that in the past would only have been linked to from that single XML sitemap page. In the process, the links in the header navigation pass much more link authority than a single HTML sitemap would.
That’s not to say that HTML sitemaps have no value. They can be valuable if:
Your current navigation is limited in the number pages to which it can link;
Your current navigation or a section of the site is inaccessible to search engines based on the way it has been developed;
The pages linked to are important enough to merit a more visible link higher up in the site but would otherwise be buried deeply in the navigational structure — FAQs pages, support pages, and articles are the most common beneficiaries;
You have clear evidence from your analytics or testing showing that visitors are using the HTML sitemap.
mobile app However, if they are using it you may also want to observe what isn’t working on the site that forces them to use the HTML sitemap to navigate.
There’s no harm to SEO in having an HTML sitemap. Because it’s another form of internal linking, it will do some small amount of good. Just beware of placing too much priority on optimizing that HTML sitemap. If you really want a page to drive natural search traffic and conversions, it needs to be linked to in the site’s navigation — as well as included in the HTML sitemap.
In summary,
mobile app both HTML and XML sitemaps serve their purposes. But neither is the single tactic that drives your SEO performance to new heights. Sitemaps alone will not drive traffic and conversions. Navigational links are required to pass the relevance and authority signals required for SEO visibility. Understanding the differences and the amount of value each type of sitemap brings will help you prioritize limited resources.
- Upload the plugin files to the
/wp-content/plugins/fubaby_fastpostlists directory, or install the plugin through the WordPress plugins screen directly.
- Activate the plugin through the 'Plugins' screen in WordPress
- Use the 'Settings->Html sitemap Lists' screen to configure the plugin
The options page allows you to manually enter some HTML to include at the start and end of the list, plus the exact
format of each list item. Additionally CSS styles can also be added through the options page as required.
The configured HTML per post uses a number of key values that will be substituted with data from each post. These are:
- [title] - the post title
- [permalink] - the post's permalink
- [img] - the first image attachment for the post (if any).
Shortcode Usage
The shortcode to use in your posts or pages is:
[htmlsitemap_postlister]
By default this will query all posts and sort by post title.
Below are some examples as to how each of the parameters can be used:
List only posts that match the search keyword 'stuff'
[htmlsitemap_postlister search='stuff']
List only posts that match the search keyword 'stuff' but don't have the keyword 'rubbish'
[htmlsitemap_postlister search='stuff -rubbish']
List only posts within the single category 'Spiders'
[htmlsitemap_postlister cat='Spiders']
A single category can be listed by name or by id.
List posts within the categories Spiders or Dogs
[htmlsitemap_postlister cat='Spiders,Dogs']
List posts within the categories Spiders and Dogs
[htmlsitemap_postlister cat='Spiders+Dogs']
List posts not within the categories 10 or 12
[htmlsitemap_postlister notcat='10,12']
Categories to exclude must be listed as a comma separated list of id's.
List posts with either the tags 'rain' or 'shine'
[htmlsitemap_postlister tag='rain,shine']
List posts with both the tags 'heavy' and 'metal'
[htmlsitemap_postlister tag='heavy+metal']
List posts without the tag 'trouble'
[htmlsitemap_postlister nottag='trouble']
Limit the number of posts listed to 10
[htmlsitemap_postlister maxposts=10]
A value of -1 or the parameter omitted entirely mean all.
Group posts by category. The category name will be inserted as a subheading at the start of the group
[htmlsitemap_postlister groupby=cat]
Group posts by tag
[htmlsitemap_postlister groupby=tag]
Order posts by post title (default behaviour)
[htmlsitemap_postlister orderby='title']
However you may order by 'ID', 'author', 'name' (post slug), 'date', 'rand' etc.
Of course you can mix an match many of these parameters to your hearts content.