Google’s John Mueller Says HTML Sitemaps Should Never Be Needed
John Mueller of Google has always downplayed the importance of HTML sitemaps over the years, he is a fan of XML sitemaps, but HTML sitemaps, not so much. On Mastodon the other day, he really showed his dissatisfaction with HTML sitemaps by saying that HTML sitemaps “should never be needed.”
He wrote, “I changed my mind on HTML sitemaps over the years, they should never be needed. Sites small & large should always have a clear navigational structure. If you feel the need for a HTML sitemap, spend the time improving your site’s architecture instead. HTML sitemaps fit into the same bin with HTML loading spinners.”
Did he just equate sites using HTML sitemaps on the same level as sites using HTML loading spinners? Maybe that is Mastodon humor?