Free Robots.txt Checker

Check specifik domains and see the robots.txt file.

  1. Enter the domain or URL
  2. Select user agent
  3. Click 'Check if URL is Blocked by robots.txt'

What is robots.txt?

Robots.txt is a text file webmasters create to instruct web robots (typically search engine robots) how to crawl pages on their website.

The file is placed at the root of the website and is one of the primary ways of managing and directing the activity of crawlers or bots on a site. The robots.txt file follows the Robots Exclusion Standard, a protocol with a small set of commands that can restrict or allow the access of web robots to a specified part of a website.

This file is publicly available and can easily be accessed by adding "/robots.txt" to the end of a domain name in a web browser. For example, to view the robots.txt file for example.com, you would go to "http://www.example.com/robots.txt".

How robots.txt works

When a robot wants to visit a website, it will first check the robots.txt file to see which areas of the site are off-limits. The file contains "User-agent" directives, which specify which bot the instruction applies to, and "Disallow" or "Allow" directives, determining what files or directories the bot can or cannot request from the server.

Here is a simple example of what the contents of a robots.txt file might look like:

User-agent: *

Disallow: /private/

Allow: /public/

In this example, all robots (User-agent: *) are prevented from accessing anything in the "private" directory but can access content in the "public" directory.

Importance of robots.txt in SEO

Robots.txt plays a critical role in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) by allowing webmasters to control which parts of their site should be indexed and which should remain invisible to search engines. By carefully configuring the robots.txt file, a site can:

  • Prevent duplicate content from appearing in search engine results.
  • Block private or sensitive areas of the site from being crawled and indexed.
  • Manage the crawl budget to ensure that important pages are prioritized by search engine bots.

However, it's essential to use robots.txt wisely to avoid accidentally blocking search engines from indexing your site's main content, which could negatively impact its visibility.

How to create and use robots.txt

To effectively manage web crawler access and ensure your website's content is indexed correctly, it's essential to create a robots.txt file with precision.

Here's a guide to create the file:

  1. Utilize a text editor to generate a new robots.txt file, ensuring it's UTF-8 encoded for compatibility with major search engines.
  2. Define the user-agent, which represents the specific web crawlers you wish to instruct. You can target individual bots or use an asterisk (*) to address all crawlers.
  3. Implement directives such as "Disallow" to prevent access to certain areas of your site, or "Allow" to grant access. Remember to use a forward slash (/) to denote the path relative to the root domain.
  4. If applicable, include the location of your sitemap by adding a "Sitemap" directive with the full URL, aiding search engines in efficient content discovery.
  5. Upload the robots.txt file to the root directory of your domain, ensuring it's placed at www.yourdomain.com/robots.txt and not within a subdirectory.
  6. Test the functionality of your robots.txt file using tools like Google's robots.txt Tester or other third-party validators to confirm that your directives are correctly interpreted by crawlers.

By following these steps, you'll create a well-structured robots.txt file that guides web crawlers effectively, safeguarding your site's SEO integrity.

Guidelines for using robots.txt effectively

To use robots.txt effectively and ensure it supports your SEO efforts:

  • Be specific: Use precise paths and be mindful of the difference between using a trailing slash (indicating a directory) and not (indicating a file).
  • Use with caution: Remember that disallowed pages can still appear in search results if they are linked from other sites; robots.txt does not prevent links from being indexed.
  • Regularly review: Your website changes over time, so it's important to update your robots.txt file as your site evolves.
  • Avoid blocking CSS and JavaScript files: Google's bots want to render your pages as users see them, which includes accessing CSS and JavaScript files.

How to use robots.txt for WordPress

Robots.txt plays a crucial role in managing the crawling and indexing of your WordPress website. By properly configuring your robots.txt file, you can control which parts of your site are accessible to search engine bots. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to use robots.txt for WordPress:

Creating a Robots.txt File for Your WordPress Site

Step 1: Create the File

  • Open a text editor (like Notepad or TextEdit).
  • Start with a blank document.

Step 2: Encode in UTF-8

  • Make sure to save the file with UTF-8 encoding to avoid issues with search engines.

Step 3: Define User-agent

  • Specify which crawlers the file applies to:
    • For all crawlers, use User-agent: *
    • For a specific crawler, use User-agent: [NameOfBot]

Step 4: Add Directives

  • Use Disallow to block access:
    • Example: To block the /wp-admin/ directory, add Disallow: /wp-admin/
  • Use Allow to grant access:
    • Example: To allow access to theme CSS files, add Allow: /wp-content/themes/

Step 5: Handle Special Cases

  • Do not block essential WordPress directories like /wp-login.php and /wp-admin/ unless necessary.

Step 6: Test Your File

  • Use Google's robots.txt Tester or similar tools to check for errors.

Step 7: Upload the File

  • Place the robots.txt file in the root directory of your WordPress site.
  • Verify by visiting www.yourdomain.com/robots.txt in your web browser.
  • Specify which crawlers the file applies to:
    • For all crawlers, use User-agent: *
    • For a specific crawler, use

Remember: The robots.txt file is a public document. Do not use it to hide sensitive information.

By creating and properly utilizing a robots.txt file in WordPress, you can effectively manage search engine access to your site, optimize crawling, and enhance your website's SEO performance.

As your WordPress site evolves try to regularly review and update your robots.txt file.

Try our other free SEO and AI tools

We have gathered some of our free tools that might help you in your SEO efforts.

Filter what tools to see

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

AI Content Detector

Tool to assess likehood of text being AI-generated

Content Generation

AI Keyword Tool

AI-powered keyword research and suggestions

Keyword Research

Staff Pick

AI Paragraph Generator

Get AI assistance for rewriting your sentences

Content Generation

AI Paragraph Rewriter

Quickly reshapes text while preserving its context

Content Generation

AI Paraphrasing Tool

Transform any text with AI paraphrasing

Content Generation

AI Product Description Generator

Easy AI-Powered Product Description Generator

Content Generation

AI Title Generator

AI-driven content-based title suggestions

Content Generation

AI Topic Cluster Tool Generator

Let AI generate Topic Clusters based on a keyword

Content Generation

Article Rewriter

Quickly rewrite articles while maintaining its context

Content Generation

Backlink Audit

Evaluate link quality with a thorough backlink audit

Analysis and Tracking

Backlink Checker

Get insights into domain backlinks to enhance SEO

Analysis and Tracking

Backwards text generator

Reverse text or words in content

Content Generation

Blog Title Generator

AI-driven keyword-to-title generation for SEO blog posts

Content Generation

Broken Link Checker

Find broken backlinks of a given domain

Analysis and Tracking

Check SEO Ranking

Check domains performance for any given keyword

Analysis and Tracking

Competitor Keywords

Find out what keywords you and your competitors are ranking for

Keyword Research

Convert Google Sheet to HTML Table Tool

Create HTML tables based on Google or Excel Sheet data

Miscellaneous

Dead Link Checker

Get a list of all dead links from a given domain

Analysis and Tracking

Domain Authority Checker

Input a domain and get its domain authority score

Analysis and Tracking

Domain Rating

Get Domain Rating and backlink profile of a given domain

Analysis and Tracking

Google SERP Simulator

Preview how your titles and meta descriptions appear in Google

Analysis and Tracking

Google Website Rank Checker

Check the ranking of a website for different keywords

Analysis and Tracking

Internal Linking Tool

Boost topical authority with our free SEO tool for internal links.

Staff Pick

Analysis and Tracking

JSONL Formatter

Reformat a Google Sheets file to JSONL

Miscellaneous

Keyword Cannibalization

Check if keywords compete by comparing Google SERP Similarity

Analysis and Tracking

Staff Pick

Keyword Density Tool

Quickly assess keyword frequencies in content

Analysis and Tracking

Keyword Finder

Find keywords based on a short description utilising AI

Keyword Research

Keyword Generator

Find hundreds of valuable keywords in seconds

Keyword Research

Keyword Intent Checker

Understand keyword intent and enhance your content

Analysis and Tracking

Keyword Rank Checker

Keyword ranking of domain within top 100 results

Analysis and Tracking

Staff Pick

Keyword Search Volume

Get search volume for up to 800 keywords at a time

Analysis and Tracking

Staff Pick

Keyword Stuffing Checker

Get insight for stuffed keywords for any given text

Analysis and Tracking

Long Tail Keyword Generator

Generate a list of long tail keywords from a seed keyword

Keyword Research

Meta Description Generator

AI-powered Meta Description Generator based on your content

Content Generation

Meta Title Generator

Get suggestions for meta titles based on your text

Content Generation

Noindex Checker

See whether or not a URL has a noindex tag

Analysis and Tracking

Ranking SEO Check

Get insight in rankings for any given domain for specifik keywords

Analysis and Tracking

Reference Finder

Find out what keywords you and your competitors are ranking for

Keyword Research

Robots.txt Checker

Check the robots.txt file for different domains

Miscellaneous

SEO Analyzer

Get key SEO metrics on any website

Analysis and Tracking

SERP Checker

A neutral SERP, unaffected by your IP or search history

Analysis and Tracking

Search Intent Tool

Determine the intent behind short-tail keywords searches

Analysis and Tracking

Sentence Rewriter

Get AI assistance for rewriting your sentences

Content Generation

Sitemap Checker

Find the sitemap of a domain

Analysis and Tracking

Title Capitalization Tool

Automatically capitalize titles to different formats

Content Generation

Un-Personalized Search

Make a un-personalized search in different countries

Keyword Research

Website Ranking Checker

Track domain's visibility in Googles SERP

Analysis and Tracking