RANT: Why aren’t Site Maps easier to make?

[robertskelton]

It is commonly believed that if you use Google’s Site Maps, (aka Webmaster Tools), your site will be more frequently indexed, and more accurately indexed. To get started all you need to do is use Google’s Python script, or a 3rd party solution.

Problem is, most 3rd party solutions just crawl your site, as Google does, so there’s nothing to gain. And the python script, what is that? something from the eighties? At the very least have a php script for us to use!

The way I see it:

* Every site should have a site map, not just for Google, but for visitors
* Site maps generated from crawling your site miss the page you forgot to link to
* Site maps should be generated automatically

Solution:

Hosting companies provide loads of scripts today (like Fantastico). Why not a server-based, Google-friendly, publishable sitemap generator? And make it a once-a-week cron job. And install it by default, but let us know how to turn it off.