If you run a website – even just a simple personal blog – chances are you‘ve heard about robots.txt files before. But you may still be fuzzy on what exactly they do or why it matters if your site has one configured properly.
Don‘t worry – after reading this guide, you‘ll fully grasp robots.txt at a beginner level. I‘ll cover everything from answering common beginner questions to step-by-step configuration tutorials tailored specifically for first-timers.
Let‘s start by building a foundation of understanding what robots.txt is all about…
Robots.txt Basics Every Beginner Should Know
Before diving into creating a robots.txt for your site, it‘s important as a beginner to learn what this file actually is and why it can be useful. Many novice webmasters don‘t have clear answers to questions like:
What is a robots.txt file? Who uses it? Where does it go? Why is it significant for my site?
Let‘s cover the basics!
1. What is a Robots.txt File?
A robots.txt file is simply a text file that gives instructions to automated crawlers and bots that index the web (like Googlebot) telling them which pages or files they can or cannot access on your website.
Think of it like a traffic sign for web robots, guiding them away from areas you don‘t want indexed.
2. Who Uses Robots.txt Files?
Robots.txt files are intended for automated bots and crawlers operated by major search engines like:
- Googlebot
- Bingbot
- YandexBot
- BaiduSpider
As well as smaller engines, SEO tools, researchers, and more.
Legitimate crawlers are expected to obey the crawling and indexing restrictions specified in any site‘s robots.txt file per long-established standards.
However, keep in mind not all bots adhere to these rules. More malicious bots may still ignore robots.txt restrictions in attempts to scrape or hack sites.
3. Where Does Robots.txt Go?
All websites place their robots.txt file in the top-level root directory. This means it will be accessible from:
http://yoursite.com/robots.txtSo it‘s just a simple text file that sits in the main folder of your site.
4. Why Have a Robots.txt File?
There‘s no absolute requirement to have a robots.txt. However, implementing disallow rules in this file for certain sections of your site can provide benefits like:
- Conserving bandwidth/resources from excessive crawling
- Preventing search indexing of unnecessary pages
- Blocking unauthorized access to confidential assets
- Supplementing sitemaps to highlight key pages for bots
For small personal sites, a basic robots.txt file ensures search engine spiders focus efforts on what matters most to be indexed for your content.
Getting Hands-On: Create Your First Robots.txt
Enough background basics – it‘s time to actually create a real live robots.txt file for your own website!
We‘ll step through an easy tutorial from start to finish covering:
- Where to Create robots.txt
- Editing and Uploading Your File
- Robots.txt Syntax and Rules
- Testing Your Robots.txt Works
- Troubleshooting Common Beginner Issues
Ready? Let‘s get hands on!
Step 1: Where Should You Create robots.txt?
You essentially have 2 options for creating your new robots.txt file as a beginner:
Option 1: Use a plain text editor like Notepad on your computer
Option 2: Create the file directly on your web server
Either way works fine, but let‘s use Option 1 and create it locally using Notepad which is likely more comfortable for web hosting beginners.
Pro Tip: Always back up any existing robots.txt file before overwriting it with new rules just in case you need to revert back!
Step 2: Edit and Upload Robots.txt
Launch Notepad or any plain text editing app. You want plain text – not formatted text from Word and the like.
Paste this starter robots.txt template:
User-agent: *
Allow: /
Sitemap: http://www.yourwebsite.com/sitemap.xmlSave the file on your computer as "robots.txt" making sure the .txt extension is all lowercase.
Next, login to your web hosting account‘s file manager and upload this text file to the root folder of your site.
You should now have a live robots.txt file configured!
Tip: Ensure file permissions are public read-only for robots.txt before closing the file manager.
Step 3: Edit Robots.txt Rules
Most beginners will only need pretty basic robots.txt rules starting out.
At minimum, make sure these 3 things are covered:
-
Allow all bots access – By default allow full access with
Allow: / -
Reference sitemaps – List path to your XML sitemaps if you have them
-
Smallcrawl delay – Add a crawl delay of 5-10 seconds between requests
Here‘s an example robots.txt containing the above:
User-agent: *
Allow: /
Disallow: /thank-you/
Crawl-delay: 5
Sitemap: http://www.yourwebsite.com/main-sitemap.xmlNotice I‘ve also shown how you can start adding Disallow rules to block parts of your site.
Step 4: Test Your Site‘s Robots.txt
It‘s critical after setting up your robots.txt file to validate everything is working correctly using online checker tools.
Some options to test and debug your site‘s robots.txt include:
Google Robots Testing Tool
Bing Webmaster Tools
Robotstxt.org
Run your URL through at least a few of these handy tools, verifying:
- Robots.txt can be crawled at root domain
- No crawl errors surface
- Your rules are validating correctly
Fix any issues that pop up before search engines attempt to crawl your live site.
Step 5: Troubleshoot Common Robots.txt Beginner Issues
Even following the steps above, sometimes beginners run into problems like:
- Webmaster tools warning of crawling issues
- Changes not being reflected
- Important content blocked accidentally
Here is a quick troubleshooting checklist:
Verify Correct Filename
Make sure the file is called "robots.txt" – not Robots.txt or robots.TXT. Capitalization and spelling must be exact.
Check Paths to Disallow Rules
Double check folder/file paths set to Disallow follow your site‘s URL structure correctly.
Review Crawl Access Logs
Check crawler access logs in analytics for signs of permissions errors or blocks.
Stuck troubleshooting? Post questions in webmaster forums with robots.txt details for help from pros.
Intermediate Robots.txt: Advanced Rules and Techniques
Once you grasp the basics, there are various advanced configurations you may want to explore as you become a more seasoned webmaster.
1. Target Specific Bots
Rather than use User-agent:* to match all bots, call out specific ones like Googlebot:
User-agent: Googlebot
Disallow: /tmp/ This allows finely tuned crawling rules tailored for each.
2. Block Dynamic URLs
Sometimes you want to block URLs with varying dynamic parameters:
Disallow: /*?*Disallows URLs with any parameters following.
3. Rate Limiting Crawlers
Prevent crawler overload and conserve bandwidth by enforcing minimum crawl delays:
Crawl-Delay: 20 Sets 20 second minimum wait time between requests.
4. Group Similar Directories
Use wildcard syntax to easily block categories of related directories:
Disallow /tmp/*
Disallow /temp/*Matches any subdirectories under parent paths like /tmp/logs/ or /temp/cache/
Have some specific use cases for your site?
Post questions below and I‘m happy to provide examples for more advanced robots.txt rules!
Getting Help from Webmaster Community Resources
As you continue learning how best to configure robots.txt for your website over time, leverage these handy webmaster community resources when you need help:
Google Webmaster Forum – Discuss robots.txt strategies with pros
Moz Beginner‘s Guide to Robots.txt – Examples and best practices for novices
/r/webdev Subreddit – Troubleshoot robots.txt issues with fellow beginners
Google Webmaster YouTube – Video tutorials covering robots.txt tutorials
Don‘t forget as a beginner it‘s totally okay to ask lots of questions! The webmaster community was filled with novices once too.
Key Takeaways: What All Beginners Must Know
Let‘s wrap up with a quick recap of the key beginner takeaways:
- Robots.txt gives crawling/indexing instructions to automated bots
- Goes in your root website directory at /robots.txt
- Start simple – focus rules on bandwidth, security, sitemaps
- Validate frequently with online tester tools
- Leverage starter templates and webmaster forums for help
Still have some lingering questions? Drop them below!
