Wix: How to Edit Your robots.txt File

Making robots.txt Management Simple and Effective

Welcome to your guide on the robots.txt file for your Wix website! The robots.txt file gives instructions to search engine crawlers about which pages on your site to crawland which to ignore. In this guide, we'll explain how Wix handles this file and what you can do to manage it, in a way that's easy to understand, even if you're not a technical expert.

How Wix Manages Your robots.txt File

Wix automatically generates a robots.txt file for your site with default rules that are optimised for most websites. For the vast majority of users, no changes are needed. However, you can add custom rules if necessary.

Viewing Your robots.txt File

You can view your site's robots.txt file by adding /robots.txt to the end of your domain (e.g., yourdomain.com/robots.txt). This will show you the default rules that Wix has set up for you.

Can also view it by going to your Dashboard > Sites & Mobile App > Website & SEO > SEO & GEO. At the bottom of the page in the Tools and settings section is Robots.txt Editor - here you can make changes - please see the detailed explanation below to understand what content to change.

Editing your robots.txt File

Please refer to this article from Wix as it is important that you do not edit in such a way that harms your sites visibility to search engines.

What is Robots.txt and Why It Matters for Your Website

Robots.txt is a simple text file that acts like a polite notice on your website's front door, telling search engines which areas they can explore and which they should avoid. Think of it as giving directions to Google's crawlers: "Please index my shop pages and blog posts, but don't bother with my admin area or private customer files."

Why you need to care:

• Controls what appears in Google search results

• Prevents embarrassing or irrelevant pages from being indexed

• Helps search engines focus on your important content

• Can improve your website's overall SEO performance

Common Robots.txt Uses for Business Websites

What to Block

• Admin areas: Login pages, dashboard areas, private sections

• Duplicate content: Print versions, staging areas, test pages

• Sensitive information: Customer portals, internal documents

• Irrelevant pages: Thank you pages, error pages, temporary content

What to Allow

• Main website pages: Homepage, about us, services, contact

• Blog content: All published articles and posts

• Product pages: Everything you want customers to find

• Important resources: Downloads, guides, helpful content

  
  

Real-World Examples

E-commerce Site:

User-agent: *

Disallow: /admin/

Disallow: /customer-login/

Disallow: /checkout/

Allow: /products/

Allow: /blog/

Allow: /case-studies/

Professional Services:

User-agent: *

Disallow: /private/

Disallow: /client-portal/

Disallow: /thank-you/

Allow: /services/

Allow: /case-studies/

Local Business:

User-agent: *

Disallow: /staff-only/

Disallow: /booking-confirmation/

Allow: /menu/

Allow: /events/

Allow: /gallery/

Key Benefits of Proper Robots.txt

Better Search Results: Only your best content appears in Google Improved Crawling: Search engines spend time on pages that matter Privacy Protection: Keep sensitive areas out of search results Professional Appearance: No random admin or error pages in search results

Quick Setup Principles

Start simple: Block obvious private areas first Be specific: Use exact folder names and paths Test regularly: Check what's actually being blocked Keep it updated: Review when you add new sections to your site

Robots.txt isn't about hiding from search engines—it's about showing them your best content whilst keeping private areas private.

Key Takeaways for Success

Keep it Simple: You don't need to be a tech wizard to make meaningful improvements to your site.

Trust the Defaults: Wix has optimised the default settings for you.

Use Page-Level Controls: For most needs, hiding individual pages is the safest option.

We're confident that with these clear instructions, you'll understand how the robots.txt file works on your Wix website. Keep up the great work, and trust that Wix is handling the technical details for you!