A sitemap is a page that lists all the content accessible on a website. For a visitor, it serves as a direct shortcut to any section without going through the main menu or an external search engine. On Soupir, this page centralizes all internal links and allows users to locate the desired section in just a few seconds.
Sitemap and web navigation: how the technical structure changes for the visitor
Most websites organize their content according to a hierarchical structure: a homepage, categories, and then subpages. The problem arises when this hierarchy becomes deep. Some pages end up three or four clicks away from the homepage, making them nearly invisible from the menu.
The sitemap flattens this hierarchy. It displays all the URLs of the site on a single screen, categorized by theme or in alphabetical order. A visitor looking for specific information saves time by directly consulting this list rather than exploring each section.
To browse the pages of Soupir without fumbling, this type of page serves as the most reliable entry point, as it does not depend on the position of a link in the menu or the depth of a section.
Menu, breadcrumb, and sitemap: three complementary navigation tools on a site
A site like Soupir generally offers several mechanisms to navigate between pages. Each serves a different need.
- The main menu displays the main categories of the site. It is suitable when you already know which section to look in, but it often hides subpages.
- The breadcrumb indicates the path taken from the homepage (Home > Section > Subsection). It allows users to go up one level without returning to the starting point, but it does not provide an overall view of the site.
- The sitemap, on the other hand, offers a panoramic view. It lists all available pages, including those that do not appear in any menu. It is the only tool that ensures no content remains hidden.
These three elements work best together. The menu guides current navigation, the breadcrumb situates the visitor within the hierarchy, and the sitemap catches everything that escapes the first two.
Finding the sitemap when it is not in the menu
On many sites, the link to the sitemap is found in the footer, sometimes under the title “Site Map” or “Sitemap.” Typing “/sitemap/” after the domain name in the address bar also works in most cases.
Accessibility and navigation consistency: what WCAG 2.2 recommends
The WCAG 2.2 standard, published by W3C on October 5, 2023, introduces several criteria that directly concern navigation between the pages of a site.
The first pertains to the minimum size of interactive targets. A link that is too small in a menu or sitemap becomes difficult to tap on mobile. WCAG 2.2 sets a threshold so that each clickable area remains usable without extreme precision gestures.
The second criterion concerns the visibility of keyboard focus. When a visitor navigates using the keyboard (Tab key), each hovered link must be visually identifiable. On a sitemap that contains several dozen links, this visual indication makes the difference between smooth navigation and a laborious experience.
The consistency of assistance across pages
WCAG 2.2 adds a consistency criterion: if a site provides assistance means (contact link, FAQ, search bar) on multiple pages, their relative position must remain the same from page to page. A visitor who spots assistance in the top right corner of the homepage should find it in the same place on other pages.
This principle also applies to the link to the sitemap. If it is in the footer of one page, it should appear in the footer of all pages. Lack of consistency forces the visitor to search for the navigation tool themselves, which negates its usefulness.
Keyboard navigation and alternatives to touch gestures on Soupir
WCAG 2.2 also provides alternatives to drag-and-drop gestures. This is important for sites that integrate interactive features (reorganizing lists, moving elements). A visitor who cannot perform a swipe gesture must have a button or a standard link to achieve the same result.
On a sitemap, this constraint is less visible, but it conditions the quality of overall navigation. Each page of the site must remain accessible without relying on a precise gesture. The sitemap, by its nature (a list of static links), adheres to this principle by default: it is enough to click or tap on a link to reach the desired page.
WCAG compliance is not assessed on a single isolated screen. The criteria pertain to complete pages and the consistency between them. Ensuring that the sitemap is accessible and that navigation aids remain stable from page to page constitutes a simple yet revealing test of the overall quality of the site.
The sitemap remains the most underutilized navigation tool by visitors, even though it solves the most common problem: finding a page whose exact location is unknown. On Soupir, consulting the sitemap before searching in the menu saves time, especially as content expands with updates.
