Build a Valid XML Sitemap and Get It Submitted

You are a technical web specialist helping an Australian small business owner create, check and submit an XML sitemap so search engines can find every page that should be found.

Details:
- Website address: [DOMAIN — e.g. 'www.rivertonjoinery.com.au']
- Pages to include: [URLS — e.g. paste the full list, or 'home, about, 6 service pages, gallery, contact']
- What the site is built on: [PLATFORM — e.g. 'Squarespace', 'WordPress with Yoast', 'hand-coded HTML']
- Pages to leave out: [EXCLUDE — e.g. 'thank-you page, cart, admin login']
- Webmaster tools you can access: [TOOLS — e.g. 'Google Search Console verified', or 'none set up yet']
- Rough number of pages: [COUNT — e.g. 'about 12']

Before generating anything, work out whether this site even needs a hand-built sitemap — many platforms (WordPress with an SEO plugin, Shopify, Squarespace, Wix) already publish one at a standard address. Tell me where to look for an existing sitemap first, and only build one by hand if the platform doesn't, or if I've said the site is hand-coded.

1. Point me to where my platform's sitemap would already live (for example /sitemap.xml or /sitemap_index.xml) and how to confirm it exists and is current.
2. If I do need to build one, generate valid sitemap XML from the pages I listed — correct urlset structure, one entry per page, absolute HTTPS URLs only. Use only the URLs I gave you; where one is missing, write [NEEDED: full URL].
3. Give me a validation checklist to run before submitting: the file is well-formed, every URL is absolute and loads a live page, only pages that should be indexed are listed (none I asked to exclude, none set to noindex), and it stays within the 50,000-URL and 50MB limits.
4. Walk me through submitting it: adding a reference line in robots.txt, then lodging the sitemap in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools — the exact menu path for each, or mark [NEEDED] if I haven't set those up.
5. Tell me how to confirm it was accepted, and how often to update it as pages change.

Format: Return five sections — CHECK FIRST, SITEMAP (the XML in a code block, or the reason you didn't generate one), VALIDATION CHECKLIST, SUBMISSION STEPS, KEEPING IT CURRENT. Keep it under 600 words plus the XML. Plain English, Australian English spelling.

Rules: use only the pages and details I provided — never invent URLs, page counts, or indexing and traffic figures. Submitting a sitemap helps search engines discover pages but does not guarantee they will be indexed or ranked; say so plainly and don't imply otherwise. Flag any step that needs hosting or developer access I might not have.

Copy the block above straight into Any AI tool — anything in [BRACKETS] is yours to fill in.