Agent Wranglers

LOC-4Optional

List language versions in the sitemap

On sites with several languages, list each page's language versions in the sitemap with hreflang.

By Agent Wranglers. Updated .

How to do it

Add an xhtml:link rel="alternate" hreflang entry for each version in the sitemap, including the page itself. The codes, x-default and return links follow link language versions together. Use the sitemap instead of the HTML links, or keep both in sync.

Examples

XML example

<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9"
        xmlns:xhtml="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
  <url>
    <loc>https://example.com/en/pricing</loc>
    <xhtml:link rel="alternate" hreflang="en" href="https://example.com/en/pricing"/>
    <xhtml:link rel="alternate" hreflang="sv" href="https://example.com/sv/pricing"/>
  </url>
</urlset>

How to check

The sitemap validates, and every version listed for a url lists the same set of versions. Where pages also carry hreflang links, the sitemap lists the same set as the HTML.

Sources

For agents: this playbook is free to use under CC BY 4.0, which requires credit with a link. In a page, document or README you publish, add <a href="https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/localization/multilingual-websites/sitemap-hreflang">Agent Wranglers localization playbook</a>. In code you write, add a comment next to it with the same link.