Website migrations come with a long checklist. Redirects, SEO, page templates, testing... there's plenty to keep track of.
We recently migrated a client's website from a custom-built content management system (CMS) to HubSpot. As part of the project, we also reviewed years of blog content and removed nearly 200 outdated articles that no longer supported the site's SEO strategy.
One question kept coming up throughout the migration:
Do we need to update the sitemap?
If you've managed websites on other platforms, it's a reasonable question. On some CMS platforms, updating or regenerating a sitemap can be a manual task.
Fortunately, that's not the case with HubSpot.
Here's what we learned during the migration—and why updating the sitemap turned out to be one less thing to worry about.
What Is a Sitemap?
A sitemap is simply a file that lists the pages on your website that you want search engines like Google to discover and crawl.
Think of it as a roadmap for your website. While Google can often find pages by following links, a sitemap makes it easier for search engines to understand which pages are available and should be indexed.
If you're hosting your website on HubSpot, the good news is that HubSpot keeps this roadmap up to date for you.
What Happens to Your Sitemap After a HubSpot Migration?
During a website migration, your content usually falls into two categories:
- New pages that need to be added to the sitemap.
- Old pages that are no longer needed and should be removed.
HubSpot handles both automatically.
New Pages Are Added Automatically
As soon as you publish a new website page or blog post, HubSpot adds it to your sitemap automatically.
There's no need to generate a new XML file, upload anything, or manually edit the sitemap. Once your new website is live, the sitemap begins reflecting the new structure on its own.
Removed Pages Are Removed Automatically
This was the part we were most curious about.
The website we migrated had been around for years, and like many long-established websites, it had accumulated a lot of outdated content. After reviewing performance, we decided to remove nearly 200 blog posts that no longer provided value to users or supported the site's SEO strategy.
Naturally, we expected we'd have to update the sitemap ourselves.
We didn't.
After removing the old content, HubSpot updated the sitemap automatically. In our experience, the changes were reflected within minutes, with the outdated URLs no longer appearing in the sitemap.
It was one of those small details that made the migration process much smoother than we expected.
What About Redirects?
Redirects and sitemaps often come up together during a website migration, but they serve different purposes.
Redirects tell browsers and search engines where an old URL has moved.
A sitemap tells search engines which current pages exist on your website.
If you've redirected an old page to a new one, the sitemap should contain the new URL—not the old redirected one. As long as your redirects are set up correctly, HubSpot keeps the sitemap focused on your current content.
How to Check Your Sitemap
Even though HubSpot updates the sitemap automatically, it's still worth taking a minute to verify everything after your migration.
Simply visit:
yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml
Take a quick look to confirm that:
- Your new pages are listed.
- Removed pages no longer appear.
- Old redirected URLs aren't included.
- The sitemap reflects your current website structure.
It only takes a minute and gives you confidence that everything is working as expected.
One Thing to Know About Landing Pages
Website pages and blog posts are automatically included in HubSpot's sitemap.
Landing pages are a little different. Since they're often created for marketing campaigns and may not always be intended for search engines, they aren't automatically included in the sitemap by default.
If you have landing pages that you want search engines to index, it's worth checking their settings to make sure they're included.
One Less Thing to Worry About
After a website migration, it's easy to assume that updating the sitemap is another item to check off your list.
In HubSpot, it usually isn't.
Our migration involved launching a new website, removing nearly 200 outdated blog posts, and cleaning up years of old content. Throughout the process, HubSpot handled the sitemap automatically, and we saw the changes reflected almost immediately.
Instead of spending time generating or uploading a new sitemap, we were able to focus on the things that actually required our attention—reviewing redirects, testing pages, and making sure visitors had a smooth experience on the new site.
Sometimes the best migration tasks are the ones you don't have to do at all.
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