Oh boy, Robots.txt file. Just the name sounds future-y and scary. Read on though, it’s not that bad! And, dare I say, kind of interesting! Learning about and properly using Robots.txt files can boost your website’s SEO and protect your private content.
So, if you’re a small business owner doing your own SEO, the Robots.txt file might sound like technical mumbo-jumbo—but it’s actually a simple and powerful way to control how search engines interact with your website.
At 212 Creative, LLC, we help business owners understand these essentials so their sites are not only attractive but search engine smart. Let’s break it down and learn a little about robots.txt files!
What Is a Robots.txt File?
Technically, the robots.txt file is a small text file that tells search engines which parts of your site they should index (add to search results) and which parts to ignore. It may seem strange that you would want a search engine to ignore parts of your website, but read on, and all will become clear!
Search engines like Google and Bing use bots—also called “crawlers” or “spiders”—to scan your site and collect information. The robots.txt file gives those bots instructions. It’s like when someone comes to your house, you greet them and tell them to put your coats in this room, but don’t go in that room, it’s a mess!
Here is an example of a robots.txt file that would tell the search engines not to crawl this page:
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User-agent: *
Disallow: /thank-you
That’s it. Not really long or complicated at all. This code tells all bots (that’s what the * means) not to crawl your thank-you page. That way, it won’t show up in search results.
Why You Might Want to Block Certain Pages
Blocking pages isn’t about hiding your website—it’s about focusing your SEO efforts where they matter and protecting private or duplicate content.
Here are a few smart and practical reasons to block certain pages:
- Private pages – Like a thank-you or download page that’s meant only for customers.
- Duplicate content – Search engines may penalize sites with repeated content.
- Sensitive directories – Like /cgi-bin/ or /wp-admin/, which don’t need to be crawled.
- Saving bandwidth – Prevent image folders or script-heavy sections from being unnecessarily indexed.
Here is an example of a robots.txt file that would tell search engines not to crawl your image directory and your scripts folder.
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User-agent: *
Disallow: /images/
Disallow: /cgi-bin/
How to Create a Robots.txt File (No Developer Needed)
Good news: you don’t need to know how to create computer code to create a robots.txt file. Here’s how to do it in 2025:
Step 1: Use Google Search Console (free)
- Go to https://search.google.com/search-console
- Add and verify your website
- In the left menu, go to Settings > Crawling > robots.txt Tester
- Use the interface to add rules like:
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User-agent: *
Disallow: /private
Disallow: /thank-you
Allow: /
You can test your rules right there to make sure they work.
Step 2: Download and Upload the File
Once you’ve created your file:
- Download it
- Upload it to the root directory of your website using your hosting control panel or FTP
- It should live at: https://yourwebsite.com/robots.txt
- It should live at: https://yourwebsite.com/robots.txt
If you’re not sure how to do that, you could always ask AI how for instructions. I put this prompt into ChatGPT: “How would i upload a robots.txt file to my websites root directory?” and this is what it gave me:
✅ If you’re using a hosting control panel (like cPanel or Hostinger File Manager):
- Login to your hosting dashboard.
- Open the File Manager.
- Navigate to the public_html or root folder of your domain (this is the top-level directory where index.php or index.html is located).
- Click Upload, and upload your robots.txt file.
- Ensure the file is named exactly robots.txt (all lowercase).
- Visit https://yourdomain.com/robots.txt in your browser to confirm it’s accessible.
✅ If you’re using an FTP client (like FileZilla):
- Open your FTP client and connect to your site using your FTP credentials.
- Navigate to the root directory of your site (usually /public_html/).
- Drag and drop your robots.txt file from your local computer into the root directory.
- Confirm upload and check via your browser: https://yourdomain.com/robots.txt.
✅ If you’re using a WordPress site with a file manager plugin:
- Install and activate a plugin like WP File Manager.
- Use it to navigate to the root directory (look for /public_html/ or just top-level WordPress files).
- Upload the robots.txt file using the plugin interface.
If this is a little too deep for you, just check with your friendly neighborhood web developer like 212 Creative. You may only do this once in your life, but since we do this kind of thing every day, this task would only that about 10-minute. Not bragging, just sayin’!
Bonus Tips for 2025
- Be careful not to block important content by accident. If you block your main pages or blog posts, they won’t show up in Google.
- Use robots.txt for blocking, not hiding. If you need to truly keep something private, consider password protection or meta noindex tags (that’s a whole other article!)
- Remember to update your robots.txt file whenever you add or remove key site areas.
When to Get Help
If you’re unsure about how to structure your file or worried about making a mistake that could hurt your rankings, the team at 212 Creative, LLC is here to help.
212 Creative, LLC specializes in web design and SEO for small businesses. We even offer a “no money down” website package that includes ongoing support.
📞 Call us at (248) 210-5125
🌐 Visit us at https://212creative.com
📧 Email:info@212creative.com
Call us. Let’s begin.