The whole idea of this post might sound crazy. After all, don't we want search engines to find our various websites? This is probably why you optimize it for search and why you are creating an XML sitemap to improve your ranking chances during the search.
That said, there are several reasons why you might be preventing Google from indexing your website:
- New installations of WordPress : It is not unlikely that a completely sterile and unoptimized website will be crawled and indexed by search engines after installing it in WordPress. Therefore, you still don't want to run the risk of someone bumping into your incomplete work while it is a work in progress.
- Development websites : development websites, test websites, staging websites: you have configured it so that team members or clients can test the new website in real time. You obviously don't want someone else to go to this website which obviously isn't ready to be shared with the world.
- Private websites : if you have created something like a corporate intranet or a private blog (or just some pages you do not want to make visible), you might also have good reasons for wanting to prevent Google from indexing your website.
- Non-essential pages : It's probably not a huge issue if someone should be through your "Thank you" page or some other non-essential item that isn't worth indexing, but be aware that there are ways to block them.
Enrich your reading by discovering How to protect your blog from content scrapers
So, once you've decided that you want to stop search engines from indexing your website, how do you tell them to stay away? This is what we will see in what follows.
1 Option: Protect the root with a password
This option will take you far from WordPress and in the control panel of your website. Here's how you'll do it:
Log into your web hosting account and open the control panel. You should see something called "Directory Password" or "Directory Privacy".
You will come to a page that will show you all of the directories on your website. Click on the root directory ("/"). Then you will be prompted to set your password.
This final step will then give you the ability to lock the root of your website, which essentially prevents Google (as well as everyone) to access your website.
You can then give the access agreement to specific members of your team who need to access the website.
See also the option on How to Hide WordPress Post and Page Titles
2 option: use the robots.txt file
Now, if you prefer not to block your entire website on search, but want to restrict it to certain parts of your website, you can go directly your robots.txt file in order to apply the restriction.
Here is the command to enter:
User-agent: * Disallow: / [slug] /
Remember to update the slug with the target url path that you want to block.
Option 3: use a plugin to block your entire website
The plugin Password Protected will do essentially the same as option # 1 if you are not comfortable blocking root access through the control panel.
Note however that this password protection prevents people from accessing your pages. This plugin will not prevent anyone (including Google) from getting links to your images or other uploaded files.
5 Option: Delete Search Data on Google
Ok, let's say your website was mistakenly indexed too early ou that you want to remove an old and outdated page from showing in search results. The options above will not allow you to remove this already indexed page from the search; you can only block future indexing.
For this option, you must use your Google search console or the corresponding search console tools for the other search engines that direct traffic to your website.
For Google, here's what you need to do:
- Go to Search Console and find your website.
- Click on Google Index and select the option "Remove URLs".
- Click “Temporarily Hide” and enter the URL of your website or the URL of the specific page or post you want to remove from the search. Make sure the URL you entered is correct as this will effectively eliminate your website from search for 90 days.
Read also: How to disable link transformation of URLs on WordPress
Heed Google's warning and also note their steps to permanently block a website or page from search (as already mentioned above).
Discover also some premium WordPress plugins
You can use other WordPress plugins to give a modern appearance and to optimize the connection to your blog or website.
We offer you here some premium WordPress plugins that will help you do that.
1. Saraagna | WooCommerce Login
Sarragna is a simple and lightweight premium WooCommerce plugin that allows users to login and register anywhere on the website with a simple pop-up window and without having to refresh the page. 
So what if you don't like WooCommerce's default login and register page design? Use the shortcode generated by this WordPress Plugin to create a page similar to your popup window using a different layout using style settings.
Its main features are: 10 styles available, more than 30 layout models, support for shortcodes, customization of the form background, protection by captcha, support for redirect URLs, a password strength indicator, the ability to translate it, and more.
Download | Demo | Web hosting
2. Yellow Pencil: Visual CSS Style Editor
Yellow Pencil is a visual style editor that you can use with any theme to personalize your website in minutes (fonts, colors, animations and more…).
Ce WordPress Plugin premium will create CSS styles by background while you play with the colors as if it were a game. It was designed for beginners as well as experienced users.
Discover also our 5 plugins WordPress to show notifications
No coding knowledge is required. However, the WordPress Plugin has a good CSS editor for those who like to code. You can code live with this editor and customize your CSS.
Download | Demo | Web hosting
3. Divi Builder
Divi Builder is a high quality page builder highly rated by Elegant Themes. Although usually used as part of the WordPress Divi theme, Divi Builder is also a standalone plugin that you can use on other WordPress themes.
Unlike the previous two builders, Divi Builder allows you to edit your content using a visual interface on the front-end as well as an interface on the back-end, although most users prefer the first interface. .
Also read our guide on: How to optimize your images and improve your SEO
Basically, instead of the sidebars, everything is in popups and floating buttons. It gives you access to 316 pre-designed templates spread across 40 different presentation packs, as well as the ability to save your own designs as templates.
Also discover our tutorial on: How to translate your WordPress blog into several languages
One of Divi's traits has always been the control of the styles he gives you. On three different tabs, you can configure various settings, including responsive controls, customizable spacing, and more.
You can even add custom CSS, as its CSS editor includes basic validation and auto-completion. One of the criticisms of Divi Builder has always been that it relies on shortcodes. Which means that if you disable it one day, it will leave a bunch of shortcodes in your content. Although this is a little depressing, it is less of a problem now that plugins like Shortcode Cleaner exist.
Download | Demo | Web hosting
Other recommended resources
We also invite you to consult the resources below to go further in the grip and control of your website and blog.
- How to integrate Facebook videos on WordPress
- How to add link preview on WordPress
- How to Improve Poor Blog Pages
- 10 WordPress plugins to create a photo gallery
Conclusion
So ! That's all for this tutorial, I hope it will allow you to prevent Google from indexing your blog. If you have some Comments or suggestions, do not hesitate to tell us in the section reserved for these.
However, you will also be able to consult our resources, if you need more elements to carry out your projects of creation of Internet sites, by consulting our guide on the WordPress blog creation or the one on Divi: the best WordPress theme of all time.
If you liked this article, ndo not hesitate to share on your favorite social networks.
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