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Reckoneer / Stage 4
Stage 4CaptureAutomatic

Sitemap Analysis

Stage 4 uses the competitor's sitemap.xml (or crawls their navigation if no sitemap is available) to understand their information architecture — how the site is organized, what page types exist, and how navigation is structured.

Reckoneer records: all page URLs and their types (homepage, collection, product, blog, static page), the navigation structure (main menu items and hierarchy), and any notable URL patterns.

This analysis informs which templates need to be built in Stage 7 and how the theme's navigation should be structured. Output is stored in the run record.

Terms
Sitemap

An XML file (sitemap.xml) that lists all the URLs on a website, often including metadata like last-modified dates. Used by search engines to discover content and by Reckoneer to map a competitor's page structure.

AnalogyThe table of contents and index of a book, combined. It tells you every page that exists and where to find it, without having to read the whole book.
OriginSite: from Latin 'situs' (position, location). Map: from Medieval Latin 'mappa' (cloth, sheet). A structured representation of locations.
Information architecture

The structural design of a website — how content is organized, labeled, and navigated. Includes page hierarchy, menu structure, and URL patterns.

AnalogyThe floor plan of a building. It doesn't tell you what color the walls are — it tells you where the rooms are, how they connect, and how you move between them.
OriginArchitecture: from Greek 'arkhitekton' (master builder). Applied to information: the structural design of how knowledge is organized and accessed.
Page type

A category of page based on its purpose and structure: homepage, collection (product listing), product (individual item), blog, article, or static page (about, contact). Each type uses a different Shopify template.

AnalogyLike room types in a building. A kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom all serve different purposes and have different fixtures — even though they're all rooms in the same building.
OriginType: from Greek 'typos' (impression, model). A category defined by shared characteristics and purpose.