Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a vital element in the world of website development. It's the driving force behind increased website visibility and higher rankings on search engine results pages. At Vev, we provide you with default SEO optimization features like sitemap.xml and robots.txt. However, we understand that each website is unique, and you may want to customize your SEO settings further to achieve the best results. In this guide, we'll walk you through how to make the most of Vev's SEO settings.
Note: Please be aware that features such as disabling indexing, custom robots.txt, custom sitemap.xml, and HTTP headers are exclusively available for Professional and Organization users.
Meta Data
Customizing your website's metadata is a fundamental step in improving its SEO. This includes specifying the title and description that will appear in search engine results. To learn how to edit meta data, click here to learn how in your project settings.
Robots.txt
The robots.txt file is located in the top-level directory of your domain and will be generated by Vev when you publish your project for the first time. By default, search engine indexing is enabled for all projects published to your hosting. However, you have the option to enable or disable search engine indexing for your projects. When indexing is turned off, search engines won't crawl or index your hosting projects.
How to Disable Indexing
Navigate to Hosting under account settings.
Select the hosting you want to disable indexing for. Keep in mind that this is only available for our Standard Hosting option.
Go to SEO in the left side menu.
Under robots.txt, select "Disallow all" from the dropdown list.
The changes will automatically be updated. Look out for a success message in the lower right corner.
How to Enable Indexing
Unless disabled, all projects are enabled by default.
Navigate to Hosting under account settings.
Select the hosting you want to disable indexing for.
Go to SEO in the left side menu.
Under robots.txt, select "Allow all" from the dropdown list.
The changes will automatically be updated. Look out for a success message in the lower right corner.
Custom Robots.txt
For more control, you can create a custom robots.txt file to specify which pages search engines should crawl. Additionally, you can prevent search engines from crawling and indexing specific pages, folders, or your entire site. This is particularly useful for excluding pages like a 404 error page from search results.
To enable custom robots.txt:
Navigate to Hosting under account settings.
Select the hosting you want to disable indexing for. Keep in mind that this is only available for our Standard Hosting option.
Go to SEO in the left side menu.
Under robots.txt select "Custom robots.txt" from the dropdown list.
This enables the text field below, which allows you to enter your rules. Check out other useful robots.txt rules here
Click "Upload".
Custom Sitemap.xml
A sitemap.xml file provides information to search engines about your website's structure, including the pages and content available for crawling and indexing. Including a sitemap.xml file on your website can enhance its SEO. After publishing your website, Vev will automatically generate and fetch the sitemap.xml file. However, if necessary, you can manually modify the sitemap.xml file in your hosting settings.
To enable custom sitemap.xml:
Navigate to Hosting under account settings.
Select the hosting you want to disable indexing for. Keep in mind that this is only available for our Standard Hosting option.
Go to SEO in the left side menu.
Under Sitemap toggle on for custom sitemap.
This enables the text field below, which allows you to build your sitemap. For guidance on how to build a sitemap, click here.
Click "Upload".
HTTP Headers
Note: Unless you are experienced with HTTP headers, we advise against using this feature.
Set custom headers for cache control, domain verification, network rules etc with HTTP Headers.
How to add custom headers:
Navigate to Hosting under account settings.
Select the hosting you want to disable indexing for. Keep in mind that this is only available for our Standard Hosting option.
Go to SEO in the left side menu.
Under HTTP Headers, click "Show more" to expand the settings.
Click "Add custom header"
Enter the Header key and Header value in their respective fields.
Click "Upload".
SEO Settings is only available for our Standard Hosting option, and for hostings created after March 15, 2023.
FAQ:
Q: I want to revert to the original sitemap, how do I do that?
A: To return to the original auto-generated sitemap, simply toggle off "Enable custom sitemap.xml" and remember to click "Upload" for any changes to take effect.