// SEO Guides
Sitemap Index vs Standard Format: When to Split Your URLs
When your website grows beyond a simple blog or portfolio, you will eventually hit the technical limits of a standard XML file. Search engines like Google have strict rules about how much data they will process in a single file.
If you are dealing with large websites, it is highly recommended to use a sitemap index checker to inspect how competitors organize their files. You will quickly notice that large sites use a "Sitemap Index" instead of a standard sitemap.
The Official Limits
According to the official sitemaps.org protocol, a standard XML file has two hard limits:
- Maximum URLs: It cannot contain more than 50,000 URLs.
- Maximum File Size: It cannot exceed 50MB (uncompressed).
If your website exceeds either of these limits, Googlebot will reject the file, and your new pages will not be indexed.
What is a Sitemap Index?
A Sitemap Index acts as a directory or a "master map". Instead of listing individual page URLs (like /about-us or /contact), an index file lists the URLs of other XML files.
For example, an e-commerce store might split its URLs into categories:
products-sitemap.xmlblog-sitemap.xmlcategories-sitemap.xml
The Sitemap Index simply tells Google: "Hey, I have too many links. Here is a list of my three smaller sitemaps. Go read them."
How to Create an Index File
You can easily generate both standard files and index files using our free XML generator. Simply toggle the setting to output an index format if you are dealing with massive lists of URLs.
When submitting to Google Search Console, you only need to submit the URL of the master Sitemap Index. Google will automatically discover and process all the child files listed inside it.