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Now Create Beautiful Sitemaps And Flowcharts For Free With SlickPlan was a September 27, 2009 SmashingApps introduction to a browser-based planning tool. The article reported free sitemap and flowchart creation, account-based project organization, HTML sharing, PDF export, HTML navigation generation, and “unlimited sitemaps,” but it does not verify that those features or free terms remain available today.

SlickPlan was presented as a planning application for web designers, developers, and anyone organizing a website or process. The historical article remains useful for understanding the product’s original promise, but it should not be treated as a current product review. The page displays a December 8, 2024 update date, yet that publisher metadata does not establish that the underlying product information was rechecked in 2024.

Key takeaways

  • The original SlickPlan article was published on September 27, 2009 and described a web-based tool for creating website sitemaps and flowcharts.
  • The historical feature list included account-based project organization, HTML sitemap links for clients, PDF sitemap exports, HTML navigation generation, and “unlimited sitemaps.”
  • The 2009 claim that sitemap and flowchart creation was free does not prove that SlickPlan is currently free or that current plans have unlimited projects.
  • A sitemap maps website hierarchy and navigation, while a flowchart maps process steps, decisions, inputs, outputs, or endpoints.
  • Before relying on SlickPlan today, verify current pricing, export rights, collaboration, privacy, project ownership, portability, and service availability on the live vendor site.

What was SlickPlan intended to do?

SlickPlan was intended to solve two related planning problems: organizing a website’s information architecture and representing a process visually. The original SmashingApps article about SlickPlan positioned the product primarily for web designers and developers, while also presenting it as useful for anyone working on a planning project.

In practical terms, a website sitemap helps a team decide what pages exist, how pages relate to one another, and how visitors should move through the site. A flowchart represents a sequence of actions or decisions, such as an editorial approval process, customer-support procedure, or technical handoff.

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What is the difference between a sitemap and a flowchart?

A sitemap describes the structure of a website; a flowchart describes the logic or sequence of a process. The two artifacts can support the same project, but they answer different questions.

Artifact Best for Typical structure Example question
Sitemap Website information architecture Parent pages, child pages, and navigation hierarchy Which pages belong under “Services”?
Flowchart Processes and decisions Steps, branches, inputs, outputs, and endpoints What happens when an approval request is rejected?
User-flow diagram Digital experience planning Screens, user actions, decisions, and transitions How does a visitor move from signup to checkout?
Wireframe Interface layout Page regions, controls, and content placement Where should the search control appear?

A sitemap is not the same as an XML sitemap for search engines. A visual sitemap is a planning document for people; an XML sitemap is a machine-readable file that can help search engines discover URLs. SlickPlan’s historical description concerned visual website planning and HTML navigation, not proof of a current XML-sitemap submission or SEO integration feature.

What features did the original SlickPlan article report?

The September 27, 2009 article reported the following capabilities. Each item is a historical claim from that article, not a confirmed description of the current SlickPlan product.

Create website sitemaps

The article described SlickPlan as a way to create visual sitemaps showing the hierarchy of a website. That type of document can help a team plan a new site, review an existing information architecture, or explain navigation to a client.

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Create flowcharts

The same article reported that users could create flowcharts. That broadened the tool beyond page hierarchy to processes, decisions, user journeys, and operational procedures.

Organize projects through an account

The historical description said users could create an account and keep projects organized online. The source does not establish current account rules, storage limits, workspace ownership, permissions, retention, or data-deletion controls.

Share HTML sitemap links with clients

The article said users could produce HTML sitemap links for client delivery. HTML output could be convenient for browser-based review, but the source does not explain whether such links were private, public, password-protected, expiring, or access-controlled. A client link should never be the only copy of a project.

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Export sitemaps as PDF files

PDF export was another reported feature. PDF can be useful for printing, presentations, approvals, and archival copies, although a PDF may preserve the appearance of a diagram without preserving an editable source structure.

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Generate HTML navigation

The article reported HTML navigation generation. That sounds useful as a planning aid or prototype, but the source does not explain whether the generated navigation was production-ready, accessible, responsive, compatible with a content-management system, or intended only for demonstration.

Maintain “unlimited sitemaps”

The original feature list used the phrase “unlimited sitemaps.” That wording should be treated as an unverified historical marketing claim. It does not tell us whether “unlimited” meant unlimited saved diagrams, pages, users, exports, or only a particular type of project, and it is not a current contractual guarantee.

Historical technology description

The article described SlickPlan as being developed with PHP, MySQL, and jQuery. Those technologies describe the product as presented in 2009; they are not evidence of SlickPlan’s current technology stack, security, browser compatibility, or performance.

Who benefits from a sitemap tool?

A sitemap tool is useful whenever a team needs to make website structure visible before implementation or during an audit.

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  • New website planning: Define major sections and page relationships before design and development begin.
  • Information-architecture audits: Examine whether the current hierarchy is logical, too deep, duplicated, or missing important content.
  • Client communication: Give stakeholders a readable picture of proposed navigation instead of discussing a page list in isolation.
  • Content migration: Map old URLs and content groups to a proposed structure before a redesign or platform change.
  • Content strategy: Connect page types, audiences, topics, and ownership to a visible hierarchy.
  • Cross-functional alignment: Give designers, developers, writers, marketers, SEO specialists, and project managers a shared planning artifact.

A good sitemap review can expose orphaned pages, duplicated sections, inconsistent labels, and excessive navigation depth. A visually attractive diagram does not automatically mean that the information architecture is understandable or usable; the hierarchy still needs to be tested against user goals and content requirements.

Who benefits from a flowchart tool?

A flowchart tool is useful when a project depends on a repeatable sequence, branching decision, or handoff between people and systems.

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  • User journeys and customer experiences.
  • Customer-support and escalation procedures.
  • Editorial review and publishing workflows.
  • Approval chains and project handoffs.
  • Technical deployment or troubleshooting processes.
  • Decision trees for staff, customers, or support agents.
  • Onboarding and internal documentation.

Use one action per step, make decisions explicit, label branch outcomes, and identify the start and end points. For a complex process, separate roles or systems into lanes and divide the diagram by phase rather than forcing every path onto one oversized canvas.

How should you use a sitemap tool effectively?

A tool-agnostic sitemap workflow is more reliable than assuming that a historical interface still has the same buttons or menus.

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  1. Define the scope: Decide whether the diagram represents a whole website, a section, a migration, or a proposed product area.
  2. List the top-level sections: Start with the primary navigation and major content groups rather than individual page details.
  3. Add child pages: Arrange pages from high level to low level and make parent-child relationships explicit.
  4. Clarify labels: Use names that reflect what users will find, avoiding internal project jargon where possible.
  5. Add useful details: Record URLs, page types, owners, notes, status, or migration decisions if the selected tool supports them.
  6. Review depth and duplication: Look for pages that are buried too deeply, repeated in several places, or disconnected from the main structure.
  7. Review with stakeholders: Ask content, design, development, marketing, and client representatives to check the proposed hierarchy.
  8. Export an archive: Keep a durable local copy in addition to any hosted or published version.

The expected result is a hierarchy that shows how pages relate to one another and gives the team a basis for navigation, content planning, wireframing, and implementation.

How should you use a flowchart tool effectively?

A practical flowchart workflow begins with a defined process boundary and ends with a diagram that makes decisions and ownership unambiguous.

  1. Set the start and end points: State what event begins the process and what counts as completion.
  2. Use one action per step: Short, specific labels are easier to review than paragraphs inside shapes.
  3. Make decisions visible: Use explicit questions and label each branch, such as “approved” and “needs changes.”
  4. Show inputs and outputs: Identify forms, files, systems, notifications, or customer responses that enter or leave the process.
  5. Separate roles or systems: Use lanes or grouped sections when responsibility changes between departments or applications.
  6. Reduce crossing connectors: Split the process into phases or linked diagrams when lines become difficult to follow.
  7. Test the diagram: Ask someone who did not create it to follow a normal path and an exception path.
  8. Publish a controlled version: Mark the approved diagram with an owner or review date and retain the editable source where possible.

Is SlickPlan still free?

The available evidence does not establish whether SlickPlan is currently free. The 2009 SmashingApps article described free sitemap and flowchart creation, but the inspected source does not verify current pricing, free-plan limits, trial duration, account requirements, export restrictions, commercial-use terms, or product availability.

Before creating an account or recommending SlickPlan to a client, check the vendor’s current SlickPlan website and SlickPlan pricing page. Confirm the terms that matter to the project rather than relying on the historical word “free.”

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What “free” might mean What to verify
Free account Whether registration requires payment details and whether an account remains usable after a trial
Free editor Whether diagram creation is free but storage, publishing, or exports are paid
Free projects How many diagrams, pages, collaborators, or workspaces are included
Free exports Whether PDF, HTML, image, CSV, or editable exports are available without watermarks or limits
Free collaboration Whether comments, guest access, multiple editors, approvals, and version history require payment
Free commercial use Whether client work, agency work, publishing, and team use are covered by the terms
Free hosting Whether shared links are persistent, private, access-controlled, and included in the free offering

What does the original SlickPlan article not establish?

The original article is too old and too brief to answer several questions a current buyer needs to ask. The source does not establish SlickPlan’s current ownership or operating status, current pricing, current free-plan limits, current export formats, or whether the original sitemap and flowchart functions remain separate products or are part of a broader platform.

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The source also does not establish whether SlickPlan currently supports collaboration, comments, mentions, approval states, version history, guest access, role permissions, imports, responsive or mobile workflows, content-management-system integrations, accessibility features, machine-readable exports, data deletion, or current browser and operating-system compatibility.

The article’s December 8, 2024 page-update metadata should be understood as the publisher’s update label. It does not prove that all historical product claims were reverified in 2024. The SmashingApps charts category and the site’s 2009 web-app search context help establish the article’s historical setting, not current product availability.

How should you evaluate SlickPlan or a modern alternative?

Choose a sitemap or flowchart product according to the artifact, team, and retention requirements rather than the visual appearance of its diagrams.

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Sitemap-specific capability

  • Hierarchical drag-and-drop organization.
  • Easy page renaming and reordering.
  • Expand and collapse controls for large structures.
  • Page notes, metadata, URL fields, or content-inventory support.
  • Duplicate-page detection or another way to identify repeated content.
  • Useful exports such as PDF, image, HTML, CSV, or an editable source format.
  • Client-friendly sharing with clear privacy controls.

Flowchart capability

  • Standard process shapes and attached connectors.
  • Decision branches with labels.
  • Templates and reusable components.
  • Swimlanes for roles or systems.
  • Cross-page links for complicated processes.
  • Readable print and presentation output.

Collaboration and governance

For team work, check for multiple editors, comments, mentions, approval states, version history, guest access, role permissions, and private-versus-public sharing. None of those capabilities should be assumed from the historical SlickPlan article.

Ownership and portability

Prefer a tool that lets the team download exports, retain reusable source files, delete data, assign ownership to a workspace rather than one employee, and migrate projects if the vendor changes its pricing or stops operating. A hosted link is convenient, but a hosted link alone is not a durable archive.

Cost and licensing

Ask whether billing is per user, workspace, or project; whether annual and monthly prices differ; whether guest viewers or clients incur charges; whether collaboration is paid; and whether publishing or hosting costs extra. Verify whether the free tier permits commercial client work.

Which type of tool is the best fit?

Tool category Strengths Trade-offs Best fit
Dedicated sitemap tool Fast page-tree editing, website hierarchy features, and client-focused information-architecture work May be weaker for complex business processes and may use a proprietary project format Website planning and navigation review
General diagramming platform Flowcharts, journey maps, org charts, wireframes, and broader collaboration Website hierarchy may require more manual work and large diagrams can become cluttered Cross-functional teams with mixed diagram needs
Free hosted service Low initial cost, no installation, and simple link sharing Possible limits on storage, exports, history, collaboration, privacy, or link duration One-off or low-risk planning
Local or open-source software Greater file and privacy control and less dependence on a subscription More setup, maintenance, manual publishing, and weaker real-time collaboration Teams prioritizing offline access and ownership

If you want to investigate specialist options, compare SlickPlan with FlowMapp for website planning and user-flow work. Compare Miro when collaborative workshops and mixed visual artifacts matter most, Lucidchart when formal process diagrams are central, and Creately when a shared workspace for several diagram types is more important than sitemap specialization. These links identify relevant product categories; current prices and plan limits were not verified in the available research.

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What should you do when a diagramming workflow fails?

Use a durable fallback plan whenever a hosted tool becomes difficult to use, too expensive, inaccessible, or unavailable.

  • The diagram is too large: Split it by website section, user journey, or process phase, and provide a map showing how the smaller diagrams connect.
  • Stakeholders disagree: Create separate “current state” and “proposed state” diagrams instead of mixing competing structures into one confusing chart.
  • A published link is inaccessible: Send a PDF or image export and preserve the editable source if available.
  • Export quality is poor: Shorten labels, increase readability, and divide the diagram into smaller canvases before exporting again.
  • The free tier imposes limits: Keep a local copy in a portable format and confirm the license before using the output for client work.
  • The service disappears: Recreate the structure in a general diagramming tool using PDFs or screenshots as references; do not rely on a single hosted copy.
  • Sensitive information is involved: Avoid public links until access permissions, retention, and privacy terms have been checked.

What is the verdict on SlickPlan?

Historically, SlickPlan was presented as a focused, browser-based tool that let users create website sitemaps and flowcharts for free, organize projects online, share HTML sitemap links, export PDFs, generate HTML navigation, and maintain unlimited sitemaps. Those are the capabilities the 2009 article reported.

For current use, SlickPlan should be treated as an unverified product lead rather than a confirmed free recommendation. Check the live product, pricing, export rights, collaboration limits, privacy controls, project ownership, and portability before depending on it. A dedicated sitemap product may suit information-architecture work, while a general diagramming platform may be better for broad workshops or formal business processes.

The safest decision is to choose the tool that preserves the team’s work and fits the required artifact. For one-off planning, a free general diagramming tool may be sufficient when sitemap-specific features are unnecessary. For client or organizational work, portability, permissions, and durable exports matter more than a historical “free” label.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is SlickPlan currently free?

The available evidence does not confirm that SlickPlan is currently free. A September 27, 2009 article described free sitemap and flowchart creation, but current pricing, plan limits, trial terms, and availability must be checked on SlickPlan’s live website and pricing page.

What is the difference between a visual sitemap and an XML sitemap?

A visual sitemap is a human-readable planning diagram showing website hierarchy and navigation, while an XML sitemap is a machine-readable file used to help search engines discover URLs. The historical SlickPlan article described visual sitemap planning and HTML navigation, not a current XML-sitemap feature.

What did the original SlickPlan article claim users could do?

The original article claimed that users could create sitemaps and flowcharts, organize projects through an account, share HTML sitemap links with clients, export sitemaps as PDFs, generate HTML navigation, and maintain unlimited sitemaps. Those claims are historical and do not establish current availability.

Should a client sitemap link be the only project backup?

No. A client sitemap link should not be the only copy of a project because the source does not establish whether historical HTML links were private, persistent, access-controlled, or exportable. Keep a local PDF, image, or editable source file whenever possible.

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The Bottom Line

Bottom line: SlickPlan was a promising free web-based sitemap and flowchart tool in the September 27, 2009 article that introduced it, but the available evidence is not a current product review. Treat the historical feature list as context, verify today’s terms directly, and choose based on exportability, privacy, collaboration, and project ownership.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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