Squarespace: How to Add or Edit Your robots.txt File
- The AI Guide
- Oct 6, 2025
- 4 min read
Control How Search Engines Crawl Your Site for Better Visibility
Welcome to your guide on managing SEO settings and robots.txt for your Squarespace website. While Squarespace handles most technical SEO automatically, understanding and correctly using robots.txt helps you guide search engines away from pages that are not useful to index and towards the content that matters. This guide walks you through Squarespace’s built-in SEO controls, how robots.txt works on Squarespace, and the practical steps to make sure your most important pages get crawled efficiently.
What Is robots.txt (And Why It Matters)
The robots.txt file tells search engine crawlers which parts of your site they can and cannot access. Think of it as a polite set of instructions for bots:
Allow: Pages and folders you want crawled
Disallow: Admin areas, duplicate content, or thin pages you don’t want indexed
Crawl-delay and other directives: Guidance for specific bots (not always supported by all search engines)
Important: robots.txt is a guideline, not a security barrier. Sensitive information should never rely on robots.txt to remain private—use proper authentication or remove the content from public access.
How Squarespace Handles robots.txt
Squarespace automatically generates a robots.txt file for every site, which usually includes sensible defaults (disallowing system paths and non-public assets). You can view your robots.txt at:
You cannot directly edit robots.txt in Squarespace, but you can control what gets indexed by:
Managing page visibility (Password Protected, Not Linked, etc.)
Using page-level SEO settings (search engine indexing toggles)
Removing low-value or duplicate pages from navigation and internal links
Using noindex where appropriate (via page SEO settings)
When You Should Use Noindex vs. Rely on robots.txt
Use Noindex (preferred for individual pages): When you want a published page to be accessible to users but excluded from search results (e.g., thank-you pages, internal resources, gated downloads).
Rely on robots.txt (automatic): Squarespace’s default disallows for system paths are normally sufficient. Since robots.txt cannot be edited directly, use noindex and page visibility to fine-tune crawling.
Step-by-Step: Core SEO Settings in Squarespace
Step 1: Site-Wide SEO Settings
From your dashboard go to Settings > Website > SEO - see our guide to Core SEO for more detail.
Set Site Title and Site Description for search display
Configure default page title format (e.g., Page Title | Site Name)
Review “Hide site from search engines” (use only for staging)
Step 2: Page-Level SEO Controls
Navigate to a page and click the gear icon (Settings)
Open the SEO tab
Set a unique Page Title and Meta Description
Toggle Search Engine Visibility
Step 3: Control Indexing of Utility/Thin Pages
Pages commonly set to not be indexed:
Thank-you/confirmation pages
Internal resources or utility pages
Duplicate/in-progress pages
Tag-only archive pages (if thin)
Understanding Squarespace URL Structures and Crawl Paths
Squarespace uses clean URL structures by default (good for SEO). To keep crawl paths efficient:
Use short, descriptive slugs (e.g., /web-design-manchester)
Avoid orphan pages (make sure important pages are linked internally)
Use internal links and navigation to surface important content
Avoid creating multiple pages serving the same purpose
Practical Use Cases: What to Allow and What to Exclude
Allow (Normal, Valuable Content)
Product and service pages
Portfolio/case study pages
Blog posts and category pages (when rich enough)
About/Contact pages
Noindex (Published but not for search)
Thank-you/checkout confirmation
Internal resource pages
Landing pages for paid ads (if desired to avoid duplicate content)
Thin tag archives
Avoid Publishing/Crawling
Draft or duplicate pages (keep unpublished)
Password-protected content (not for SEO)
Auditing Your robots.txt and Crawlability
Check Your robots.txt
Go to https://yourdomain.com/robots.txt and review default directives. Squarespace manages this automatically and typically includes:
Disallow rules for system paths
Allow rules for public content
Use Google Search Console
Verify your site in Google Search Console (see our Core SEO guide for more detail)
Check “Page indexing” report for reasons pages aren’t indexed
Inspect specific URLs to see if they’re blocked or noindexed
Review Crawl Stats to understand how Googlebot navigates your site
Test Individual URLs
Use the URL Inspection tool in Google Search Console to:
Confirm index status
Validate robots.txt access
See canonical and mobile usability
Handling Common Scenarios
Staging or Rebuild in Progress
If you’re redesigning and don’t want the new site visible in search yet:
Use “Hide site from search engines” (temporary)
Keep staging content unpublished or behind passwords
Don’t link to staging pages from public pages
Duplicate/Near-Duplicate Content
Consolidate content into a single canonical page
Remove or noindex duplicates (e.g., older promo pages)
Update internal links to point to the canonical page
Tag and Category Archives
If category/tag pages are rich (curated, unique copy), leave indexed
If they’re thin, consider noindex but keep useful navigation for users
Advanced Tips (Within Squarespace Limits)
While you cannot directly edit robots.txt in Squarespace, you can still influence crawling and indexing:
Use noindex at the page level for any page you don’t want indexed
Keep navigation and internal links focused on priority content
Avoid thin pages (short tag-only archives, empty categories)
Keep a clean URL structure with descriptive slugs
Use Social Sharing imagery for better link previews (improves CTR from social, indirectly helping SEO)
Monitoring and Maintenance
Monthly: Review Page Indexing in Google Search Console
Quarterly: Audit site navigation and remove/merge thin pages
New content: Always set title, meta description, and confirm search visibility
After structure changes: Re-run GSC inspection and submit updated sitemap
Troubleshooting: Why Isn’t My Page Indexed?
Common reasons and fixes:
Noindex is toggled on: Turn off “Hide from search results” in page SEO
Page is new: Allow time; submit URL in GSC for faster discovery
Not linked internally: Add to navigation or link from authoritative pages
Duplicate content: Consolidate and use a single authoritative page
Blocked by password or “Hide site from search engines”: Remove once ready
Low value/thin content: Improve copy, add media, and internal links
Key Takeaways
Squarespace’s default robots.txt is usually enough; you can’t edit it directly
Control indexing primarily via page-level SEO (noindex) and strong internal linking
Keep URLs clean and avoid thin/duplicate pages
Use Google Search Console to validate crawling and indexing
Focus bots on your highest-value pages by curating navigation and links
We’re confident that with Squarespace’s sensible defaults and your strategic use of page-level SEO controls, your site will be easy for search engines to crawl and index—getting your best content in front of the right audience.
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