Robots txt where is it
Learn how to use Robots.txt to control how search engines access and index your website. Includes example of a Robots.txt file.
A robots.txt file is a text file located in the root directory of a website. It is used to give instructions to web crawlers and other web robots, usually to restrict their access to certain parts of the website. For example, a robots.txt file on a website might look like this:
User-agent: *
Disallow: /admin
Disallow: /private
Allow: /The syntax of the robots.txt file is straightforward. The first line identifies the type of user agent (web crawler) that the instructions apply to. In this example, the asterisk (*) is a wildcard character, meaning the instructions apply to all user agents. The next two lines tell the user agent to not crawl the admin and private directories. Finally, the last line tells the user agent to crawl the root directory.
What a robots.txt File Can Do
A robots.txt file can be used to:
- Prevent web crawlers from indexing certain parts of your website.
- Prevent web crawlers from accessing certain files on your website.
- Set a crawl-delay.
- Include sitemap locations.
In the example above, the robots.txt file is telling web crawlers not to index the admin and private directories. This may be done to prevent sensitive data from being indexed and exposed. It is important to note that a robots.txt file is not a replacement for secure authentication and authorization. It is intended to be used as an additional layer of security.