@pietro
To create a whitelist of URLs using a sitemap in a robots.txt file, you can follow these steps:
- Create a sitemap: Start by creating a sitemap of all the URLs you want to whitelist. This sitemap should be in XML format and list all the URLs you want search engines to access.
- Upload the sitemap: Upload the sitemap file to your website's root directory. Make sure it is accessible by entering the URL of the sitemap in a web browser to confirm its availability.
- Modify robots.txt: Open your website's robots.txt file and add the following lines of code to whitelist the URLs mentioned in your sitemap:
User-agent: *
Allow: /sitemap.xml
Sitemap: https://www.example.com/sitemap.xml
Here, "https://www.example.com/sitemap.xml" should be changed to the actual URL of your sitemap file.
- Save and upload: Save the robots.txt file after making the modifications and upload it to the root directory of your website.
- Test robots.txt file: Test the validity of your robots.txt file using online tools like Google's Robots Testing Tool or Bing's Robots.txt validator. These tools will show if there are any errors or issues in your robots.txt file.
- Submit sitemap to search engines: Lastly, submit your sitemap to various search engines (e.g., Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster) to notify them about the whitelist of URLs.
By following these steps, you can create a whitelist of URLs using a sitemap in your website's robots.txt file. It ensures search engines understand which URLs to crawl and index while respecting any restrictions you may have for certain pages or sections of your website.