Is it necessary to have a sitemap on the site (for its good indexing in Yandex)?

Question

Search Engine Optimization

We argue with the site developer: he believes that his site is perfectly indexed without a sitemap, they say everything on it is well structured - the catalog is thought out. However, the goal is to make the resource more or less indexed in Yandex with minimal investment (as usual, there is no money). Site type - online store. It has a catalog, plus articles are laid out. Standard costs each season only for Direct. The site is down during the winter.

Answer 1

In general, the developer is correct. If the site is simple, the structure is clear, and the depth from the main one is no more than 3 levels (although search engines eat more), then you can really do without a sitemap, search robots will gradually bypass and index all pages. With the growth of the site, it is better to start it. But in general, the argument is not worth it, IMHO he's just lazy))