---
title: Understanding Sitemap Checker Scan Results
description: "The **Sitemap Checker** displays results in a clear **2x2 grid layout**, making it easy to interpret key findings. ### Top Left – Status Card - Overall status with a **color-coded icon** - Quick stats: Accessibility, Total URLs, Issue count -…"
url: "https://ssh-assistant.com/docs/understanding-sitemap-checker-scan-results/"
updated: "2025-12-10"
category: Site Load Tester / Sitemap Checker
---

# Understanding Sitemap Checker Scan Results

The **Sitemap Checker** displays results in a clear **2x2 grid layout**, making it easy to interpret key findings.

### Top Left – Status Card

- Overall status with a **color-coded icon**
- Quick stats: Accessibility, Total URLs, Issue count
- Visual indicator (✅ green / ⚠️ orange / ❌ red)

### Top Right – Sitemap Overview

- Sitemap URL and discovery method
- Type (Standard or Index)
- File sizes (index file + total size for indexes)
- Last modified date
- Total URL count (including child sitemaps for indexes)
- Child sitemap count (for indexes)

### Bottom Left – Child Sitemaps (Index Only)

- Detailed table of each child sitemap
- URL count per child sitemap
- File size per child sitemap
- Last modified date per child sitemap
- Accessibility status for each child

### Bottom Right – Issues

- All detected issues with detailed explanations
- Color-coded by severity: **Error / Warning / Info**
- Actionable recommendations for each issue
- Clear descriptions of why each issue matters

## Status Indicators

- **Working Perfectly** – All checks passed, no issues
- **Working (Minor Issues)** – Accessible and valid, but with recommendations
- **Issues Found** – Critical problems that need fixing

The tool explains **not just what’s wrong, but why it matters** and how it impacts search engine discovery.

## Common Issues & Explanations

### Accessibility Issues

- **404 Not Found** – Sitemap file missing at the specified location
- **403 Forbidden** – Server blocking access
- **500 Server Error** – Server-side problem preventing access
- **Other HTTP errors** – Explained with context

### Content Issues

- **Invalid XML** – Syntax errors preventing parsing
- **Empty sitemap** – No URLs found
- **Empty sitemap index** – Index file has no child references
- **Inaccessible child sitemaps** – Some child sitemaps cannot be reached

### Size & Structure Issues

- **Too many URLs** – Exceeds 50,000 per sitemap
- **Large file size** – Exceeds 50MB
- **Very few URLs** – May indicate missing pages

### Freshness Issues

- **Outdated sitemap** – Not updated in over a year
- **Not recently updated** – Last updated 90+ days ago
- **Missing lastmod dates** – Optional but recommended

Each issue includes:

- Clear title & severity level
- Detailed description of impact
- Specific fix recommendations
- Context on search engine discovery

**Note:** `priority` and `changefreq` values are ignored by search engines. If present, the tool highlights that they can be safely removed to reduce file size.