Robots.txt Generator

What is Robots.txt?

Robots.txt is a text file that tells search engine crawlers which pages or files they can or cannot request from your website. It's the first thing search engine crawlers look for when visiting your site, making it a crucial SEO tool.

Why Use Robots.txt?

A properly configured robots.txt file offers several important benefits:

• Control Crawl Budget: Prevent search engines from wasting crawl budget on unimportant pages
• Protect Sensitive Areas: Block access to admin areas, private directories, and test environments
• Improve SEO: Direct crawlers to important content and away from duplicate or thin content
• Prevent Indexing Issues: Avoid accidental indexing of pages you don't want in search results
• Speed Up Crawling: Help search engines crawl your site more efficiently

Common Directives

Best Practices

1. Place robots.txt in your website's root directory
2. Use a single robots.txt file per domain
3. Test your robots.txt with Google Search Console
4. Don't use robots.txt to hide sensitive information (use authentication instead)
5. Keep the file under 500KB (most search engines limit file size)
6. Use comments (starting with #) to document your rules
7. Update your robots.txt when you change your site structure
8. Always include a Sitemap directive if you have one

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Blocking CSS and JavaScript files (can hurt SEO)
• Using incorrect path formats
• Forgetting that robots.txt is publicly accessible
• Not testing changes before deploying
• Using robots.txt for access control (it's advisory, not mandatory)
• Missing or incorrect capitalization in directives

Testing Tools

Always test your robots.txt file before deploying:

• Google Search Console: Robots.txt Tester tool
• Bing Webmaster Tools: Robots.txt Validator
• Online Validators: Various free online tools
• Command Line: Use curl to test accessibility