Published is only the beginning. Start with your sitemap.
A practical checklist for turning a collection of published pages into a clean, maintainable URL inventory.
Start with the pages you want people to find
A sitemap helps a search engine discover the pages you consider important. It does not reserve a place in search results. Treat it as your publishing inventory, with a clear owner and a repeatable review process.
Before submitting anything, pick a handful of representative pages: your homepage, one new article, an older article, and a page from each important template. Open each URL in a signed-out browser. Note anything that sends visitors somewhere unexpected.
Review the file as part of a release
Keep the sitemap review close to the work that changes your routes. A successful deployment can still publish an old hostname or leave out a new section. Compare the inventory against the pages that actually shipped.
In GetIndexed, sync your sitemap into a URL inventory before reviewing engine responses. Keep your own small release checklist alongside it: what changed, which URLs matter, and who will investigate an unexpected result.
Record discovery separately from indexing
Google describes sitemaps as a discovery aid, not an indexing guarantee. Record the sitemap submission result, then use Search Console to investigate individual URLs. That distinction keeps an accepted submission from becoming a misleading success metric.
After a release, keep a dated note of what you submitted and the observations that followed. If an important page is still missing, investigate the page itself before repeatedly submitting the same file.
Go to the source
For provider requirements and current technical details, start with the official documentation.