Make Sure You Change This Stoopid New Default Wordpress Setting!

Terry Kyle · 09-11-2009, 05:57 AM

I've noticed with a couple of new WP self-hosting installations in the last few days that in Settings-Privacy, WP chooses the

"I would like to block search engines but allow normal visitors"

by default:

Kinda defeats the SEO-friendly nature of a WP blog!

Check the settings on your WP blog as it/they may not be as search engine-friendly as you were hoping.

Silly, huh?

Radix · 09-11-2009, 06:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Terry Kyle

I've noticed with a couple of new WP self-hosting installations in the last few days that in Settings-Privacy, WP chooses the

"I would like to block search engines but allow normal visitors"

by default:

Kinda defeats the SEO-friendly nature of a WP blog!

Check the settings on your WP blog as it/they may not be as search engine-friendly as you were hoping.

Silly, huh?

There was much gnashing of teeth and fist shaking over this last week.

100 developers throwing up sites and backlinks like drunken rabbits and no one could get indexed.

And then a collective, "well @#&*!"

Terry Kyle · 09-11-2009, 06:19 AM

So dumb on WP's part but now we know!

Richelo Killian · 09-11-2009, 09:29 AM

I actually think it's better. I used to turn it for for new sites till I was ready to make them live.

I install, setup, test, design theme, and can do this without SE's coming and indexing test stuff.

Once ready, I just turn it on. Takes 2 secs.

I honestly believe this is a better way. Get the site READY, and then bring the SE's.

grainosalt · 09-11-2009, 09:32 AM

Yeah, its there for a reason. But it should be made more clear so when you are building your umpteenth you don't forget about it

Goatboy · 09-11-2009, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richelo Killian

I actually think it's better. I used to turn it for for new sites till I was ready to make them live.

I install, setup, test, design theme, and can do this without SE's coming and indexing test stuff.

Once ready, I just turn it on. Takes 2 secs.

I honestly believe this is a better way. Get the site READY, and then bring the SE's.

That's the way I've been using it. My time is tight and I can throw up the blog on Monday, install a theme on Tuesday, start putting in posts on Wednesday...

emasaa · 11-06-2009, 05:44 AM

Noticed that after a week of not being indexed.

I even changed my robot.txt file thinking it was the problem.

That button is rather annoying. I wonder how many don't know it even exists? Could be the reason we are seeing all these 'why aren't I getting indexed' posts.

fir3d · 11-06-2009, 06:44 AM

It would be much better if the feature was right on top of the dashboard in big letters so that you would know about it.

Fernando Veloso · 11-06-2009, 07:02 AM

Tell me something new... this is been going on for what? a Month now?

I expected to be corrected in latest version but no way.

Many non-techie guys using WP in their new sites are getting hammered with this.

lol?

goclarkanderson · 11-06-2009, 12:49 PM

Allow visitors. This should be chosen.
:-)

LIndaB · 11-06-2009, 05:11 PM

I've been told that this is a Fantastico problem, not a WP problem. I heard about it a few weeks ago, and then forgot to check it with a new site I just put up. Sure enough, it was set to block SE's.

Tina Golden · 11-06-2009, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dollyputzu

I actually think it's better. I used to turn it for for new sites till I was ready to make them live.

I see you copy and pasted a line from a post above you. You couldn't come up with an original thought?

Tina

Twice? Are you going for a third time?

jayveen · 11-06-2009, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LIndaB

I've been told that this is a Fantastico problem, not a WP problem. I heard about it a few weeks ago, and then forgot to check it with a new site I just put up. Sure enough, it was set to block SE's.

Yep, its big time Fantastico problem. I built all of my first sites by hand and then I foolishly took someone's advice here and started using Fantastico. I spent an entire week searching site:mysite.com with no results, until I read about this little "feature" of Fantastico and went out and fixed it. Sigh.

nigelvibations · 11-06-2009, 08:19 PM

Thanks for the heads up. Call me a misanthrope, but I actually *like* stuff that thins out the competition and rewards those of us who stay up to date with the technology.

bluelambda · 11-06-2009, 10:42 PM

I don't use fantastico and so I never had the problem.

If you install wordpress manually the install process lets you choose whether to let your new blog/site be indexed. The default is set to index.

Personally, installing wordpress the manual way is faster for me as I customize the whole installation package so I have an install package with the plugins I want, the permalink structure configured, first "hello world" post deleted, etc.

More information on custom wordpress installs here: Automating WordPress customizations – the install.php way WordPress Bits

Besides, fantastico tends to give some random database name and username for the mysql database which irritates me to no end.

But that's just me

redfoxrunning · 11-13-2009, 05:32 AM

Complete newb to this whole thing and only found the block in WP by accident. This whole thing is driving me insane

RobinInTexas · 11-29-2009, 05:27 AM

For what it's worth, I use fantastico to create the database and install the files, then I import a sql file that has all my plugins configured.

Saves going through and entering a few API keys and other repetitive stuff.

That has the privacy set to no search engines, and I change it after I add a post or two.

09-11-2009, 05:57 AM	#1
Terry Kyle On A Backlinking Journey War Room Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: London/Sofia Posts: 815 Blog Entries: 3 Thanks: 417 Thanked 760 Times in 170 Posts	Make Sure You Change This Stoopid New Default Wordpress Setting! I've noticed with a couple of new WP self-hosting installations in the last few days that in Settings-Privacy, WP chooses the "I would like to block search engines but allow normal visitors" by default: Kinda defeats the SEO-friendly nature of a WP blog! Check the settings on your WP blog as it/they may not be as search engine-friendly as you were hoping. Silly, huh?
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09-11-2009, 06:19 AM	#3
Terry Kyle On A Backlinking Journey War Room Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: London/Sofia Posts: 815 Blog Entries: 3 Thanks: 417 Thanked 760 Times in 170 Posts	Re: Make Sure You Change This Stoopid New Default Wordpress Setting! So dumb on WP's part but now we know!
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09-11-2009, 09:29 AM	#4
Richelo Killian Advanced Warrior War Room Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Here, there, everywhere. Enjoying a global lifestyle. Posts: 893 Thanks: 203 Thanked 108 Times in 71 Posts Social Networking	Re: Make Sure You Change This Stoopid New Default Wordpress Setting! I actually think it's better. I used to turn it for for new sites till I was ready to make them live. I install, setup, test, design theme, and can do this without SE's coming and indexing test stuff. Once ready, I just turn it on. Takes 2 secs. I honestly believe this is a better way. Get the site READY, and then bring the SE's.
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09-11-2009, 09:32 AM	#5
grainosalt Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 11 Thanks: 11 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post Social Networking	Re: Make Sure You Change This Stoopid New Default Wordpress Setting! Yeah, its there for a reason. But it should be made more clear so when you are building your umpteenth you don't forget about it

11-06-2009, 05:44 AM	#7
emasaa Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Kenya Posts: 29 Thanks: 4 Thanked 8 Times in 7 Posts Social Networking	Re: Make Sure You Change This Stoopid New Default Wordpress Setting! Noticed that after a week of not being indexed. I even changed my robot.txt file thinking it was the problem. That button is rather annoying. I wonder how many don't know it even exists? Could be the reason we are seeing all these 'why aren't I getting indexed' posts.
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11-06-2009, 06:44 AM	#8
fir3d Active Warrior Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 80 Thanks: 8 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts	Re: Make Sure You Change This Stoopid New Default Wordpress Setting! It would be much better if the feature was right on top of the dashboard in big letters so that you would know about it.

11-06-2009, 07:02 AM	#9
Fernando Veloso Portuguese Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Good Old Europe Posts: 3,487 Blog Entries: 6 Thanks: 1,310 Thanked 810 Times in 556 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: Make Sure You Change This Stoopid New Default Wordpress Setting! Tell me something new... this is been going on for what? a Month now? I expected to be corrected in latest version but no way. Many non-techie guys using WP in their new sites are getting hammered with this. lol?
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11-06-2009, 12:49 PM	#10
goclarkanderson Warrior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 21 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Make Sure You Change This Stoopid New Default Wordpress Setting! Allow visitors. This should be chosen. :-)

11-06-2009, 05:11 PM	#11
LIndaB Advanced Warrior War Room Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Oregon, USA. Posts: 878 Thanks: 169 Thanked 44 Times in 32 Posts	Re: Make Sure You Change This Stoopid New Default Wordpress Setting! I've been told that this is a Fantastico problem, not a WP problem. I heard about it a few weeks ago, and then forgot to check it with a new site I just put up. Sure enough, it was set to block SE's.

11-06-2009, 08:19 PM	#14
nigelvibations Warrior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 1 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Make Sure You Change This Stoopid New Default Wordpress Setting! Thanks for the heads up. Call me a misanthrope, but I actually like stuff that thins out the competition and rewards those of us who stay up to date with the technology.
	BACKSTAGEBASICS - Quit your dayjob. Real advice from real working artists. Last edited by nigelvibations; 11-06-2009 at 08:20 PM. Reason: typo

11-06-2009, 10:42 PM	#15
bluelambda Active Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Singapore Posts: 99 Thanks: 8 Thanked 11 Times in 10 Posts Social Networking	Re: Make Sure You Change This Stoopid New Default Wordpress Setting! I don't use fantastico and so I never had the problem. If you install wordpress manually the install process lets you choose whether to let your new blog/site be indexed. The default is set to index. Personally, installing wordpress the manual way is faster for me as I customize the whole installation package so I have an install package with the plugins I want, the permalink structure configured, first "hello world" post deleted, etc. More information on custom wordpress installs here: Automating WordPress customizations – the install.php way WordPress Bits Besides, fantastico tends to give some random database name and username for the mysql database which irritates me to no end. But that's just me
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11-13-2009, 05:32 AM	#16
redfoxrunning Warrior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 3 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Make Sure You Change This Stoopid New Default Wordpress Setting! Complete newb to this whole thing and only found the block in WP by accident. This whole thing is driving me insane

11-29-2009, 05:27 AM	#17
RobinInTexas ɹoıɹɹɐʍ ǝʌıʇɔɐɹǝdʎɥ War Room Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Texas Posts: 239 Thanks: 54 Thanked 21 Times in 19 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: Make Sure You Change This Stoopid New Default Wordpress Setting! For what it's worth, I use fantastico to create the database and install the files, then I import a sql file that has all my plugins configured. Saves going through and entering a few API keys and other repetitive stuff. That has the privacy set to no search engines, and I change it after I add a post or two.
	Robin ...Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.