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| Analyze Website | |
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| Organize Website | |
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| Develop Website | |
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| Implement Website | |
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| Maintain Website | |
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| Resources | |
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Something a little different |
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Sitemap Construction
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The importance of your sitemap and website navigation You wouldn't think of going on a vacation trip without a map or guide to refer to but many websites present a rich source of information without a sitemap. When a visitor enters your website they are looking for some specific information. By making it easy for them to find what they are looking for you have enhanced their search.
By providing your visitors a sitemap you help them to focus on the subject matter that they are most interested in. Your sitemap is an important element of your website navigation scheme. It is the road map to your website. Every website should have a comprehensive sitemap that complements website navigation. See: How to Map a Good HTML Site Map If your customer can not navigate your site to find what they want, they will go elsewhere. Provide a clearly defined link, on every one of your webpages, to your sitemap. |
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The sitemap is a table of contents for your websiteLike a table of contents in a book you should construct your sitemap as an outline of what's inside. Constructing a good sitemap takes effort, patience and a thorough understanding of the website. Devote a fair amount of time to designing and implementing your sitemap and it will pay dividends. The steps given below provide an outline of how to construct a sitemap. |
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Be sure to cover the scope of your websiteUnderstand the complete scope of the website. Have a clear picture in your mind of the structure of your website and what you are trying to present to your visitors.
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Use the sitemap as your default error pageBy using your sitemap as your default page you increase the exposure of your website. By default page I am referring to the error page that is served up when you click on a badurl. Your webhost should have this feature available to you to modify as you see fit. |
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| Use your sitemap for this default error page and you will get visitors that you otherwise would have missed. Anything is better than a "404 not found" error when you are following a link.
A sitemap displays a birds eye view of your site. Also, your sitemap will help to guide search engine spiders through your website. Sitemap construction final thoughtsI hope that I have impressed upon you the need for a sitemap on every website. Without it a visitor to your website is lost and at the mercy of whatever links they might find on the individual pages. A sitemap is a focal point for searching a website, both for your visitors and the search engines. |
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