Robots.txt Generator

Control how Googlebot and other crawlers access your site

Use * for all robots, or specify (e.g., Googlebot, Bingbot).
Define which paths bots can or cannot access.
Helping bots find your sitemap is best practice.
Generated robots.txt File

Upload this file to your root directory (e.g., example.com/robots.txt).

What is a Robots.txt File?

The robots.txt file is a simple text file that sits in the root directory of your website. It acts as a “Gatekeeper” for search engine crawlers (like Googlebot) and other bots. Before a bot crawls your site, it checks this file to see which doors are open and which are locked.

Using this Robots.txt Generator allows you to create the correct syntax without coding knowledge, ensuring you don’t accidentally block Google from indexing your valuable content.

🚀 Pro Tip: Blocking a page in robots.txt does not guarantee it won’t be indexed. If other sites link to it, Google may still show the URL in search results (usually without a description). To fully de-index a page, use the noindex meta tag instead.

Why You Need to Optimize Your Robots.txt

1. Save Crawl Budget

Google doesn’t have infinite resources. It assigns a “Crawl Budget” to your site. If bots waste time crawling admin pages, temp files, or generated search results, they might miss your important new articles. Disallowing these useless paths saves budget.

2. Protect Sensitive Areas

You don’t want Google showing your /wp-admin/ login page or your /cart/ checkout page in search results. The robots.txt file tells bots to ignore these private areas.

3. Sitemap Discovery

You can (and should) declare the location of your XML Sitemap at the bottom of your robots.txt file. This helps crawlers discover all your URLs instantly.

Understanding the Syntax

  • User-agent: Defines which bot the rule applies to. * means “All Bots.” User-agent: Googlebot applies only to Google.
  • Disallow: Tells the bot NOT to visit this path.
    Example: Disallow: /private/ blocks the private folder.
  • Allow: Overrides a Disallow rule for a specific sub-file.
    Example: Disallow /private/ but Allow /private/image.jpg.

Common Robots.txt Mistakes

One wrong character can de-index your entire site. Avoid these errors:

  • Blocking CSS/JS: Never use Disallow: .js or .css. Google needs these files to render your page and check for mobile-friendliness.
  • The Trailing Slash: Disallow: /fish blocks everything starting with “fish” (including “fishing-rod”). Disallow: /fish/ only blocks the folder.
  • The Root Block: Disallow: / blocks your entire website. Only use this if the site is under development.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Where do I upload this file?

It must go in the root directory of your domain via FTP or your hosting file manager. It should be accessible at https://yourdomain.com/robots.txt.

Does this work for WordPress?

Yes. If you use WordPress, you can upload the file to the root folder, or use an SEO plugin (like RankMath or Yoast) which usually has a built-in robots.txt editor.

How do I test if it works?

Google Search Console has a free “Robots.txt Tester” tool. Paste your generated code there to verify that it blocks what you want to block and allows what you want to allow.