My site has more than 50,000 URLs. How do I upload the split sitemap files and the index so they point to the right place?
Upload every file from the ZIP into one folder, the very address you typed into 'Folder where you will upload the files', then submit only the index file to search engines. The index lists each part by a full URL built from that folder, so if the parts land anywhere else, the index points at files that do not exist.
When the tool splits the file
The protocol caps each file at 50,000 URLs and 50 MB uncompressed. If your list goes over either, the tool splits it into sitemap-1.xml, sitemap-2.xml and so on, adds an index file named sitemap-index.xml, and delivers them all in one ZIP. A note says the list was split and asks you to upload all files to the same folder.
A scaled-down example
Fifty thousand URLs will not fit in an article, so we ran the tool's own logic on five URLs with the limit lowered to two per file, just to show the shape. The folder address was https://example.com. The result: sitemap-1.xml with two URLs, sitemap-2.xml with two, sitemap-3.xml with one, and this index:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<sitemapindex xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
<sitemap>
<loc>https://example.com/sitemap-1.xml</loc>
</sitemap>
<sitemap>
<loc>https://example.com/sitemap-2.xml</loc>
</sitemap>
<sitemap>
<loc>https://example.com/sitemap-3.xml</loc>
</sitemap>
</sitemapindex>
Two things to notice: the tool added the / after the domain before each file name by itself, and the index carries no dates, because the tool cannot know when the files will change.
The folder field: the step that matters
'Folder where you will upload the files' appears only when a split happens, and the tool pre-fills it with the host of the first URL in your list. Change it if you will upload elsewhere. It must be a full URL starting with https:// or http://, with no parameters after a ?. Type https://example.com/sitemaps and the tool treats it as a folder and adds the trailing /.
But note: under the protocol, a sitemap placed in a subfolder normally covers only URLs inside that folder. So the natural home for the parts is the site root, unless you know the search engine accepts otherwise when you submit the index through its tools. Check its documentation.
Upload steps
- Paste the list or upload its file in the XML sitemap generator. An uploaded file can be up to 20 MB and 200,000 lines.
- Check the folder field and enter the address you will really upload to.
- Download the ZIP and extract it on your computer.
- Upload every file, index and parts, to that same folder without renaming them.
- Open the index address in your browser, then one of the addresses listed inside it, and confirm both load.
- Submit only the index address in your webmaster tools, or write it as the Sitemap line in robots.txt with the Robots.txt builder.
The tool uploads nothing and never visits your site, so it cannot know whether the files reached the place you typed. Step five is the only real check. And if your store is on a hosted platform, the platform usually handles the sitemap and you need none of this.
Common questions
Do I submit each part separately?
No need. Submit the index, which points to the parts.
Does the tool gzip the files?
No. It delivers plain XML files inside a ZIP for download only. Extract them before uploading.
Why is it called sitemap-index.xml rather than sitemap.xml?
Those are the tool's fixed names. Do not rename them after downloading, because the index refers to the parts by name.