How to Create a Visual Sitemap with WriteMaps

Updated

WriteMaps is an online visual sitemap builder for web professionals and website planners. You can use it to turn rough page ideas into a clickable sitemap, collect page content, and share or export the result for client signoff. The workflow below covers the core steps: start a sitemap, build the page hierarchy, add content, then share or export.

What you need before starting

  • A web browser and a WriteMaps account. The site offers a "START DESIGNING FOR FREE" entry point, but the available material does not state plan limits, so check the pricing page ("Plans") before committing a large project.
  • A rough list of the pages you expect the site to contain. You do not need a finished structure — the point of the tool is to move from vague ideas to a plan.
  • Anyone who will review the structure (client, copywriter, or team), if you plan to use sharing.

Step 1: Start a new sitemap

Open WriteMaps and begin a new sitemap from the builder. According to the site, the visual builder is designed so you can "jump from vague ideas to create sitemap plans with just a few clicks," with "zero time spent formatting your sitemap." In practice, this means you add pages as nodes and the tool handles layout and spacing rather than you drawing boxes manually.

Expected result: a blank or minimal canvas with a root page ready to branch from.

Step 2: Build the page hierarchy

Add pages under the root and nest child pages beneath their parents to represent the site structure. Each new page becomes a node in the diagram, and moving or re-parenting a node changes the hierarchy.

A simple example for a small business site:

  • Home
    • About
    • Services
      • Service A
      • Service B
    • Blog
    • Contact

Keep the first pass broad. You can rename, move, and delete pages as the structure becomes clearer, which is faster than trying to get the hierarchy perfect on the first attempt.

Step 3: Collect page content

Once the structure exists, WriteMaps lets you attach content to individual pages. The site describes this as creating a sitemap and then having "your client or copywriter fill it with content," skipping between sitemap pages to gather content as you go.

Use this for things like page titles, headings, notes, or copy blocks. This keeps structure and content in one place instead of splitting them across a diagram and a separate document.

Step 4: Share or export

WriteMaps supports two output paths:

Method What it gives you When to use it
Share via unique URL A link others can open to review and give input Getting feedback or signoff from a team or client
Export to PDF A static file of the sitemap and content Sending a fixed version, attaching to a proposal, or archiving

The site frames sharing as a way to "get input and signoff from your team and client without any fuss."

Common questions

Visual sitemap vs. XML sitemap

These are different artifacts, and WriteMaps builds the first kind.

  • XML sitemap — a list of URLs in your website, usually a file named sitemap.xml or sitemap_index.xml. It is for search engines, not for planning.
  • Visual sitemap — a diagram of the pages you want in your website, used to communicate the overall structure to people.

WriteMaps is a visual sitemap tool. If you also need an XML sitemap, the site notes that many modern platforms generate one automatically (it names Squarespace, Shopify, and WordPress via plugins), and that XML-Sitemaps can create a sitemap.xml file if your platform does not.

Do I need to format anything manually?

No. The builder is positioned around skipping manual formatting so you can focus on structure and content.

Where this fits in a project

WriteMaps is aimed at web professionals and website planners who need to agree on structure before design and development. A practical sequence is: build the hierarchy, have the copywriter or client fill in content, then share the URL for signoff and export a PDF for the record. If your platform already generates XML sitemaps automatically, you only need WriteMaps for the visual planning side.