The playbook
Website Sitemap Planning: Checklist
Use this website sitemap planning checklist before a new release, a handoff, or a scheduled review. Its purpose is to verify the decisions that affect approved pages with clear purpose. Check an actual page or interaction record; a box marked complete without evidence does not show that the customer journey works.
Put the task in context
Add a one-sentence purpose beside each proposed page. If two pages need the same explanation, examine whether they should be combined. Include supporting destinations such as confirmation pages and error states in the production plan even when they are not main navigation items.
Before you use the checklist
Name the exact item being checked and its purpose. Gather page name, purpose, parent, content owner. If one of those details is unknown, mark it as unknown and assign a way to resolve it. An invented value makes the checklist look complete while weakening every later decision.
Working checklist
| Check | Evidence to keep | Responsible role |
|---|---|---|
| Inventory current content and planned offerings | A dated observation showing how page name was verified | website lead |
| Assign a purpose and parent to each proposed page | A dated observation showing how purpose was verified | designer or developer |
| Remove duplicate pages before production | A dated observation showing how parent was verified | site owner |
Check the failure path
- Look specifically for this failure: confusing a planning sitemap with a technical XML sitemap.
- Use the plan to define human navigation and create XML separately. Record the actual correction, not just the intention to make it.
- Repeat the affected task after the correction and check content owner.
- Make sure the next owner can find the decision and supporting evidence.
Use three outcomes for each check
Mark an item as complete only when the expected behavior or information has been observed. Mark it as incomplete when a required condition is absent. Use not applicable when the condition genuinely does not belong to the chosen scope, and write a short reason. These states keep a review useful without forcing every process into an identical mold.
For example, if the check is “Inventory current content and planned offerings,” a meeting about the subject is not the evidence itself. Retain the relevant page name and purpose, the decision made from them, and the result of checking that decision. The record should allow someone who missed the meeting to understand what changed.
Decide what must be resolved first
An incomplete item that prevents plan the pages and relationships required for a new website deserves attention before a cosmetic improvement. Assign an owner and a next action to that issue. Keep optional refinements visible, but do not let them obscure a failure in the core process.
Close the review
Recheck corrected items and note anything still uncertain. The checklist is finished when the next owner understands what was verified and what remains open. Follow approved pages with clear purpose using a consistent definition so later reviews can connect execution quality with useful results.
Design recovery as part of the experience. People enter incomplete information, use slow connections, and return to interrupted tasks. A clear error and a preserved input are often more useful than another decorative element.
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