How to Create a Sitemap in Squarespace (Even If Tech Makes Your Head Spin!)
TL;DR
To find your Squarespace sitemap, just add /sitemap.xml to your site’s URL. Submit it to Google Search Console to help search engines crawl your site faster. Since Squarespace auto-generates and updates your sitemap, it’s always current. Use clean URLs, descriptive titles, and mark any hidden pages as “noindex” to keep things SEO-friendly!
Oh the sitemap, your website’s behind-the-scenes guidebook for search engines. If you’re using Squarespace, the good news is that you don’t need to manually create a sitemap because Squarespace does the heavy lifting for you. But knowing how to find it and use it correctly can make a world of difference for your SEO.
First Off, What Exactly Is a Sitemap?
Think of a sitemap as your website's table of contents for search engines. It's like giving Google a guided tour of your site, pointing out all the important stops: your About page, your services, that blog post about chakra balancing, and yes, even your online course sales page.
Here's why this matters for your naturalistic business: A properly submitted sitemap can be the difference between your dream clients finding you or scrolling right past to your competitor.
The beautiful thing about Squarespace? It automatically creates and updates your sitemap every time you add new content. No coding required, no tech headaches - it just works!
How to Create a Sitemap in Squarespace (It's Easier Than You Think!)
I’ve got great news — Your sitemap is already created! Squarespace has been quietly creating and maintaining it behind the scenes. Here's how to find it:
Step 1: Locate Your Existing Sitemap
Open your web browser
Type your website URL (like: https://www.[yourdomain].com)
Add /sitemap.xml to the end, so it looks like: https://www.[yourdomain].com/sitemap.xml
Hit Enter
Voilà! You have a neat list of all your pages that Google can easily read.
Step 2: Submit Your Sitemap to Google (This Is Where the Magic Happens!)
Having a sitemap is great, but telling Google about it? That's where you start seeing real results in your search rankings.
Here's how to submit your Squarespace sitemap to Google Search Console:
Head to Google Search Console (it's free!)
Select your website property (or add it if you haven't set this up yet)
Look for "Sitemaps" in the left menu
Enter
/sitemap.xmlin the submission boxClick "Submit"
Pro tip: If you don't have Google Search Console set up yet, don't panic! It's one of those "scary" tech things that's actually pretty straightforward. Think of it as your website's SEO health dashboard.
What's Actually IN Your Squarespace Sitemap?
Your sitemap automatically includes all the good stuff:
Main pages: Your Home, About, Services pages
Blog posts: Every wellness tip and client success story
Product pages: Your courses, consultations, or physical products
Event pages: Workshops, retreats, group sessions
Squarespace is smart enough to exclude the boring backend stuff (like login pages) that would just confuse search engines.
Make Your Sitemap Work Harder for Your Wellness Business
1. Use Clean, Descriptive URLs
Instead of: www.yoursite.com/page-123 Go with: www.yoursite.com/reiki-healing-sessions
Your URLs should make sense to both Google AND your potential clients browsing your site. Bonus if you implement an SEO keyword strategy, where you’ll use your page’s keyword in the URL.
2. Create SEO-Friendly Page Titles
Your page titles are like mini advertisements in search results. Make them count!
Instead of: "Services"
Try: "Holistic Healing Services | Reiki & Energy Work in [Your City]"
3. Handle Pages You Don't Want Google to Find
Got a "Coming Soon" page for a new program? Or maybe a private client portal? You can hide these from search engines:
Go to Page Settings
Click SEO tab
Toggle "Hide from Search Results"
This keeps your sitemap clean and focused on pages that actually help your business.
4. Keep Your Content Fresh
That’s the beauty of Squarespace, every time you publish a new blog post about wellness tips or add a new service page, your sitemap updates automatically. Google loves fresh, relevant content and so do your potential clients!
Create a Human-Friendly HTML Sitemap
While your XML sitemap is for search engines, a human-friendly version (HTML sitemap) can help real-life visitors navigate your site better.
Create a new page called “Site Map”
Use a Summary Block or manual links to list your top pages, posts, and services
Add it to your footer or main navigation if helpful
This isn’t required, but it’s a lovely bonus for usability and internal linking!
Troubleshooting Common Sitemap Issues
Even though Squarespace does most of the heavy lifting, here are a few things to watch for:
Error Message: “Couldn't fetch” or “Sitemap could not be read”
What it means: Google couldn’t access the sitemap URL
How to Fix: Double-check the URL you submitted. It should end in/sitemap.xml.Error Message: “Sitemap can be read, but has errors”
What it means: There’s something off inside the sitemap file
How to Fix: Review Google’s report for details, then see issues belowError Message: Invalid date error
What this means: Sometimes Squarespace generates broken <lastmod> tags like <lastmod>54619-10-29</lastmod>
How to Fix: Contact Support and ask them to regenerate your sitemapError Message: Blank or empty sitemap
What’s this mean: Your site may be too new, or the sitemap hasn’t generated yet
How to Fix: Wait 24 hours. If it’s still empty, reach out to Squarespace Support and ask them to manually generate your sitemapError Message: Sitemap shows an error
What’s this mean: Your domain might be offline or protected
How to Fix: Double-check your domain is live and not password-protectedError Message: Pages missing
What’s this mean: Some pages aren’t showing up in your sitemap
How to Fix: Make sure they aren’t hidden or set to “noindex” in the SEO settingsError Message: Sitemap isn’t updating
What’s this mean: Your sitemap may not have caught the latest changes
How to Fix: Wait a few hours. Squarespace can take up to 24 hours to refresh. If it still doesn’t update, contact SupportError Message: Search Console shows crawl errors
What’s this mean: Google ran into problems indexing your pages
How to Fix: Use the Coverage Report in Google Search Console to review issues, then fix broken links or incorrect page settings
Why Your Sitemap is a Non-Negotiable for SEO
I know this might feel like just another tech task on your never-ending to-do list. But the things is,
“A properly optimized sitemap is often the difference between a wellness practice that’s booked solid and one that’s struggling to fill appointments.”
When your sitemap is submitted and optimized:
Your ideal clients can actually FIND you when they search for your services
Google understands what you offer and shows your content to the right people
You spend less time worrying about "why isn't my website working?" and more time with your family
Your business starts making money while you sleep (yes, really!)
The Bottom Line
You don’t need to be a tech wizard to optimize your website for Google Search Console. The goal is to make sure your healing work reaches the people who need it most. And with Squarespace doing the heavy lifting for you, the hardest part is just clicking "submit" in Google Search Console!
Is your website secretly sabotaging your wellness business? Beyond sitemaps, there are other critical SEO elements that could be keeping your ideal clients from finding you. Get my free SEO Audit Checklist and discover exactly what's holding your website back from ranking on Google.
Feeling overwhelmed by all the moving pieces of website optimization? You don't have to figure this out alone.
Book a free consultation and let's chat about how a professionally optimized website can transform your wellness practice from DIY stress to dream-client magnet.
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