Creating an online store is one of the most popular startups at the moment. Thousands of entrepreneurs around the world create online stores and corporate websites for their companies every day, repeatedly facing various difficulties. One of the main stumbling blocks for creating an online store is the creation and design of the file Robots.txt. When creating an online store you need to develop Robots.txt for the correct display and analysis of the site by search algorithms. But what is it Robots.txt? What you should consider when creating an online store and how the information is in the file Robots.txt may affect the promotion of the site? You can find out about all this by reading this article to the end, but for now, let's figure out what it is Robots.txt.

Robots.txt - this is an ordinary text file containing important elements for creating an online store. The file itself is built on the UT-8 encoding and is suitable for use with http, https, and FTP. The task of this file is to indicate to the search algorithms of the system the pages that should be scanned. If the document contains characters of a different encoding, this may negatively affect scanning and indexing, as search algorithms will incorrectly interpret the code and information.

In addition to recommendations regarding the pages that should be scanned - using a text file Robots.txt you can restrict the access of search robots, thereby hiding data that can negatively affect the success of the promotion. Despite this possibility, when creating an online store, try to get rid of unnecessary characters in the code and files that can spoil the site statistics as much as possible.

Scanning restrictions do not always work, and if the search algorithms find it necessary to analyze all the files on your site — your site will not be able to resist. We recommend that you store such data on separate media outside the site, their indexing may negatively affect the success of the promotion and as a result, you will not achieve the expected results.

In order for the online store you created to start working effectively — you should take an extremely responsible approach to the process of creating this file. Creating an online store will require you not only to know the sequence of actions, but also to understand what each individual character in the code and their totality means. If you have never had experience in creating online stores, or you think that your skills may not be enough to create a file correctly Robots.txt and in the future to develop the structure and design of the site-order the creation of an online store from the professionals of the web studio Gloss. You can order an online store, a corporate website, or a landing page at any time by leaving a request on our website. Web studio Gloss has been creating online stores for more than 12 years, and during this time we have collected an impressive portfolio of sites and Internet resources of any complexity. In order to make sure of the highest quality of our work — read the portfolio and reviews of cooperation with us. Order an online store today and get the perfect resource in no time.

If you want to create an online store yourself, then we will tell you how to create a file Robots.txt? How do I set it up? And what instructions should be used when creating it. If creating an online store with your own hands is your goal — read this article to the end and learn how to create Robots.txt independently.

Features and functions Robots.txt

Before you start creating an online store and developing it Robots.txt it is worth finding out what this file is capable of. Usage Robots.txt in the created online store, it will allow you to restrict or grant search algorithms access to individual pages or all pages of the online store. There are three different instructions available, namely:

• Access is partially allowed

In this case, the search algorithms can only scan certain pages of the created online store. This type of access is used if the site pages are not yet fully optimized and you need time for final optimization. In this case, you can prevent search algorithms from accessing pages that are still fully optimized, while the optimized pages will consistently promote the online store you created and attract new users to it.

• Free access

By choosing free access, you will give permission to search algorithms to scan all the pages of the online store you created without any restrictions. Choose this type of access only if you have already fully optimized your online store site and each page is ready for scanning. This access allows you to use the resources of the achieved optimization in full. If you have not completely finished optimizing the created online store or the online store is still at the creation stage-it is not recommended to open full access for scanning. It is possible that search algorithms will index the pages of the online store before you fill them with content, which will lead to low ranking and an increase in the duration of promotion.

• Scanning is prohibited

This access blocks any possibility to scan the site pages for search algorithms. This type of access is useful to you at the stage of creating an online store, when the pages are not yet optimized, and the design is not adjusted. Despite the categorical nature of this type of access, it is not possible to completely prohibit the scanning of the pages of the created online store. As practice shows, search algorithms have learned to make their way even through such categorical prohibitions, so we recommend that you do not keep unnecessary files on the site of the created store and clear the code from unnecessary characters in advance. In this way, you can not only positively affect the speed of indexing and scanning the pages of the created online store, but also increase its chances of successful promotion and good ranking. This is very important if you want to cope with the competition in the online trading market.

You may need each separate type of access at different stages of creating an online store site. But it is worth noting that they do not always work as you would like. To maintain a good potential in promotion, we recommend that you understand all the files and code symbols of the created online store in advance. This way you will eliminate the negative impact of such errors on the further promotion and success of your resource.

Why it is necessary to prohibit scanning of some pages of the site in the file Robots.txt
In addition to incomplete optimization, there are many reasons why certain pages of the created online store should be closed from scanning. Do not forget that in addition to information about products and pages, the site files also store passwords and logins for admin panels and other confidential information that you would like to avoid leaking. Pages that should be banned from scanning include:

• Pages with confidential data usernames and passwords of resource users
• Pages that contain blocks for collecting and sending this or that information
• Mirror sites
• Pages with search results

The existence of these pages and their scanning can lead to a deterioration in the ranking of the created online store, which in the future will definitely affect the success of the promotion. In addition, scanning the personal data of users, their usernames and passwords, can lead to the fact that customer data is leaked to the network. Such an outcome can become not just a problem, but also a reason for legal proceedings, so every entrepreneur tries to keep this kind of data secret from search algorithms, but how do they circumvent the ban specified in the Robots.txt?

The fact is that even if you prohibit the access of search algorithms to the pages of the created online store — but somewhere in the network there will be a link to the forbidden page — search algorithms will still be able to analyze it. In order to avoid such a situation, we recommend that you closely monitor the links and data that you publish on the network, since such a link can lead to files not only by search algorithms, but also by hackers. A large number of complaints about your site for spam or data leakage may result in its deletion or ban, from which it will be extremely difficult for you to get out.

Creation process Robots.txt: Where to start and how to create this file

Robots.txt one of the most important files in the online store you created. In order for the creation to be successful in the end and your site to be displayed correctly in the search results and directly on the screens of users — you should take a serious approach to the design of the file Robots.txt. Its creation is not as complicated as it seems. Nevertheless, an error made in this file can lead not only to indicators that are far from expected, but also can deprive the online store you created of its original potential. In order not to make a mistake when creating, carefully read the following information or order the creation of an online store from professionals.

Web studio Gloss can create an online store in accordance with all your requirements and wishes in the shortest possible time. This will allow you not only to quickly and efficiently launch your business, but also free you from the need to learn all the subtleties of developing online stores. If you want to order a turnkey online store from the specialists of the Gloss web studio, leave your request on our website and after processing it, the manager of the Gloss website creation studio will contact you to clarify all the wishes and requirements for the resource.

How to create a file Robots.txt

Despite the importance and weight of this file, its creation is carried out in a regular Notepad. For the created online store to work correctly, the User-agent instructions and the Disallow rule must be written in the file. In addition to these rules, you need to add a few more minor ones, but we'll talk about them later. What is the User-agent and Disallow rule for?

User-agent

This instruction is addressed to search robots that explore the pages of web resources. At the moment, we know about 302 robots, but there is no need to specify each of them. Using these instructions, when creating an online store, you can specify which works are covered by the rules specified in Robots.txt.

Disallow

This rule places restrictions on the scanning of certain pages. If your site is currently at the stage of creation or completion — you can prohibit the scanning of all pages. Thus, the created online store will not appear in the search results until you allow the search algorithms to scan. It is worth noting that in the case of a ban on scanning the pages of the created online store from the very beginning, indexing will not take place immediately after the scan is allowed. This process, as in the case of indexing a site with ordinary permissions, will take some time, depending on both the size of your site and its optimization. If you want to speed up the indexing of the pages of the created online store as much as possible, we recommend that you think about SEO optimization.

If the online store you created requires optimization — you can ask for help from the specialists of the Gloss web studio. The team of our design studio will help you optimize each page of the created online store, and if necessary — will develop a contextual advertising company that can develop your resource and attract more potential customers to it. To learn more about the services of the Gloss website creation studio and to order a suitable service, you can visit the “services" page on our company's website.

What instructions should be included in the file Robots.txt

In addition to the main User-agent and Disallow rules, in Robots.txt it contains a number of other instructions, whose activities are aimed at configuring the scanning and indexing of the created online store. List of rules and instructions that can be included in the file Robots.txt the created online store looks like this:

• Allow-this rule allows the system's search robots to scan specific files, pages, or directives. This rule is useful if you need search algorithms to scan a specific directive while the rest of the pages are being moderated by the editor or filled with content.
• Sitemap is another vital file for a website. The sitemap is a map of the online store you created, with all the pages and content available on the resource. Thanks to Sitemap, search algorithms can scan the pages of your resource many times faster, since they do not need to search on the resource themselves in order to find the information the user needs. The presence of this rule in the site file will also allow you to achieve better ranking of the created online store, since it is much easier for search robots to find the necessary information on the site map than to scan the entire sites. Thus, your resource will be in priority, which will definitely be useful if you plan to launch an effective promotion of the created online store in the future.
• Crawl-delay is a parameter that will come in handy if you have a weak server. This parameter is nothing more than a stopwatch that allows you to adjust the speed of the page display. In the case of setting this parameter, it is worth considering that the measurements are carried out in real time.
• Clean-param is a universal assistant for dealing with duplicate content. With this option, you can get rid of dynamic links, unnecessary duplicates, texts, and product cards with different email addresses. The presence of duplicate content can slow down the promotion of the created online store, so it is so important to monitor their presence and get rid of them, if necessary. Such pages can confuse search algorithms and as a result, the created online store will receive less of the traffic. To avoid this situation, use
• Clean-param in the file Robots.txt. Each of these parameters can affect the effectiveness of the promotion of your site, so when creating an online store, pay attention to the development of the file Robots.txt. If the terms listed above seem complicated to you or you do not want to spend time studying the characters of the file Robots.txt and its design — order the creation of an online store from specialists.

Thus, you will not only be able to avoid wasting time on studying the issue, but also get a high-quality online store - in a short time. In order to order an online store from the specialists of the Gloss web studio, you just need to visit the corresponding page on our website and make an application. After receiving the application, you will be contacted by our specialist, to whom you can provide your wishes and requirements for the future online store.

Our specialists will create an online store in accordance with all your requirements and wishes. It will also meet all modern trends, which will definitely help you successfully promote your business. Submit an application to create an online store today and start your business-tomorrow.