University at Buffalo (UB)
Transforming UB’s digital communications.
Site Map Component
Generate a dynamic index of your site.
On this page:
Last reviewed: May 23, 2022
The component as it is first displayed on the page. It will initially show the entire content of your site.
Using This Component
This component has only one tab.
When you add the component, a list of links is automatically created that displays the page structure of your entire website (see the example listed in the right sidebar).
Root Path: Click the magnifying glass on the right of the field to browse to the directory where the Site Map should start. All activated child pages will be listed.
Technical Restrictions
- Pages that are set as 'Hide in Navigation' are not shown. (However, pages set as 'Hide in Lists' are listed.)
- Secure pages will only be shown if the visitor has access to them and has already logged in through Shibboleth (see Advanced Use below for a workaround).
Configure - Main Settings
The component opened for editing.
Click the wrench icon to 'configure' these settings.
When you add the component, a list of links is automatically created that displays the page structure of your entire website (see the example listed in the right sidebar).
Root Path: Click the magnifying glass on the right of the field to browse to the directory where the Site Map should start. All activated child pages will be listed.
Advanced: How To Reveal Secure Pages in Lists or Navigation
Secure pages are by design only accessible to a user once they have successfully logged in through Shibboleth. In some cases, like the Site Map Component, the UBCMS is smart enough to not even reveal a link to a secure page unless the user should see the link, but this makes it difficult to naturally reveal these pages in lists to users who may not have logged in, or in cases where you do wish the public to know the secure page exists.
- Using Page Properties, conceal the secure page (in page properties, set "Hide In Lists" and "Hide in Navigation").
- Build a matching new page in the same folder using the Redirect Template. Open this new page, and select the secure page as what to "Redirect to".
- Build your list normally.
The redirect page will instead be shown in the site map and take users to the secure page, but the secure page will only be displayed if they successfully authenticate with authorization to view the page.
Advanced: XML formated sitemap
An XML formated sitemap can be useful for SEO work. The UBCMS can create this tool automatically for you. Change the page's URL as follows.
YOU DO NOT NEED TO CREATE A SITEMAP FIRST.
Note: the longer extension is required for top level sites (e.g. law.buffalo.edu).
- Take your normal live URL (confirm this loads in your browser).
- Adjust the tail end of the URL from abc.html to abc.sitemap.xml.
- If that doesn't work, try changing the URL from abc.html to abc/jcr:content.sitemap.xml. This is also required for top level sites (e.g. Nursing, Law, Management).
- If that still does not work, double check your page is not set as 'Hide in Google XML Sitemap' in its Properties.
If you're having trouble getting the XML Sitemap to work, double check 'Hide in Google XML Sitemap' is not set in the page's Properties.
See an Example
Below is an automated sitemap of the UBCMS Basics section of this website.