Written by Admin on 2025-05-06

Downloading the WordPress Robots.txt File: A Beginner's Guide

If you're new to website development and management, you might have heard of the WordPress Robots.txt file. This file plays an essential role in controlling what content search engine crawlers can access on your site. By default, WordPress generates a virtual robots.txt file that search engines use as a guide to crawl and index your site's pages.

While you can use plugins to customize your WordPress robots.txt file, it's still a wise idea to download the default one and keep it backed up for reference. Here's a simple guide on how to download the WordPress Robots.txt file:

Step 1: Access Your Website's Root Directory

To download the Robots.txt file, you'll first need to access your website's root directory. You can do so by using an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) client like FileZilla or any other preferred application, or use the File Manager utility available in cPanel, Plesk, or any other web hosting control panel.

Step 2: Locate Robots.txt File

Once you're in the root directory of your website, look for the robots.txt file. If you're using WordPress, the default robots.txt file should be located here:

/public_html/robots.txt

If you can't find the robots.txt file, you can create it by following these steps:

1. Create a new notepad file and name it robots.txt.
2. Add the following lines of text to your robots.txt file to get you started:

User-agent: * Disallow: /cgi-bin/ Disallow: /wp-admin/ Disallow: /wp-includes/ Disallow: /wp-content/languages/ Disallow: /wp-content/plugins/ Disallow: /wp-content/themes/ Disallow: */feed/*

Step 3: Download the Robots.txt File

Once you've located the robots.txt file, right-click on it and select the "Download" option. You can save the file to your computer as a text file or any other preferred format.

Conclusion

In conclusion, downloading the WordPress Robots.txt file is a straightforward process that can help you safeguard your website's SEO. It's always a good practice to keep track of the default robots.txt file as it can serve as a reference when customizing it for your website's specific needs. With this easy guide, even beginners can quickly download their website's robots.txt file and store it for safekeeping.