Sitemap & SEO Configuration

Overview

Your Next.js application now generates a dynamic XML sitemap automatically during the build process, which is essential for Google Search Console and other search engines.

What’s Generated

Sitemap.xml

  • Location: https://patttterns.com/sitemap.xml
  • Auto-generated: Yes, during npm run build
  • Includes:
    • Homepage (priority: 1.0, weekly updates)
    • All pattern pages from Notion database (priority: 0.8, monthly updates)
    • Last modified timestamps

Robots.txt

  • Location: https://patttterns.com/robots.txt
  • Purpose: Instructs search engines about sitemap location and crawling rules
  • Current settings: Allows all bots, points to sitemap

Files Created

  1. src/app/sitemap.ts - Dynamic sitemap generator
  2. public/robots.txt - Robots directives

How It Works

Automatic Generation 

// src/app/sitemap.ts
export default async function sitemap(): Promise<MetadataRoute.Sitemap> {
  // Fetches all pages from Notion database
  // Generates sitemap entry for each pattern
  // Returns XML that Next.js automatically formats
}

The sitemap is:

  • ✅ Generated at build time
  • ✅ Served at /sitemap.xml
  • ✅ Automatically formatted as valid XML by Next.js
  • ✅ Includes all dynamic routes with proper priorities

Setup in Google Search Console

  1. Go to: Google Search Console
  2. Select your domain: patttterns.net
  3. Navigate to: Sitemaps (left sidebar)
  4. Add new sitemap: https://patttterns.com/sitemap.xml
  5. Submit: Google will crawl and index your patterns

Sitemap Structure 

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
  <url>
    <loc>https://patttterns.com</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-01-31</lastmod>
    <changefreq>weekly</changefreq>
    <priority>1.0</priority>
  </url>
  <url>
    <loc>https://patttterns.com/grid-pattern-abc123</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-01-31</lastmod>
    <changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.8</priority>
  </url>
  <!-- ... more pattern pages ... -->
</urlset>

Priority Settings

Page Priority Change Frequency Rationale
Homepage 1.0 Weekly Entry point for all content
Pattern Pages 0.8 Monthly Content doesn’t change frequently

Verification

Local Development 

# Build the project
npm run build

# The sitemap is automatically generated at .next/server/app/sitemap.xml

Production 

# After deployment, verify sitemap is accessible
curl https://patttterns.com/sitemap.xml
# Should return valid XML with all your patterns

Dynamic Updates

The sitemap is regenerated on each build:

  • ✅ New patterns automatically included
  • ✅ Removed patterns automatically excluded
  • ✅ Last modified dates updated
  • ⚠️ Requires new deployment for changes to be live

Additional SEO Features

Robots.txt

Accessible at https://patttterns.com/robots.txt and includes:

  • Allow all bots to crawl
  • Reference to sitemap location
  • No disallowed paths

Meta Tags (Already Configured)

In src/app/layout.tsx:

  • Title tags
  • Meta descriptions
  • Open Graph images
  • Twitter cards

Troubleshooting

Sitemap shows 0 URLs

  • ✅ Check NOTION_HOMEPAGE_ID is set in .env.local
  • ✅ Verify Notion API key has access to database
  • ✅ Check console output during build for errors

Google Search Console reports errors

  • ✅ Verify all URLs in sitemap are accessible
  • ✅ Check that pages return 200 status codes
  • ✅ Ensure trailing slashes are consistent

Next Steps

  1. Submit to Google Search Console (see setup steps above)
  2. Monitor coverage in Google Search Console
  3. Check indexing status for your patterns
  4. Review search queries to optimize content
  5. Track impressions & clicks over time

Resources