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Search Engine Visibility Status

Show a persistent admin notice and admin bar indicator when “Discourage search engines from indexing this site” is enabled. Never accidentally launch a site that Google can’t find.

Use Cases

  • Prevent Launch Mistakes: See a prominent warning before going live with search engines blocked
  • Team Awareness: Alert all admins and editors that the site isn’t being indexed
  • Quick Status Check: See indexing status in admin bar without visiting Settings

The Problem This Solves

WordPress has a checkbox in Settings → Reading:

Discourage search engines from indexing this site

This setting:

  • Adds noindex to your site
  • Blocks search engines via robots.txt
  • Is often enabled during development
  • Is very easy to forget when launching

Many sites have launched with this accidentally checked, leading to weeks of wondering why Google isn’t showing their content.

How It Works

When the setting is enabled, this module displays:

  1. Admin Notice: A yellow warning banner on all admin pages
  2. Admin Bar Item: A “Search Engines Blocked” indicator

Both link directly to the Reading Settings page for quick access.

What You’ll See

Admin Notice (All Admin Pages)

Warning: Search Engine Visibility: Your site is currently discouraging search engines from indexing.
[Change this setting] [Dismiss]

The notice appears at the top of every WordPress admin page until the setting is changed or the notice is dismissed.

Admin Bar Indicator

In the black admin bar at the top:

Search Engines Blocked

Clicking it takes you directly to Settings → Reading.

Dismissing the Notice

If you intentionally have search engines blocked (e.g., staging site), you can dismiss the admin notice:

  1. Click the X or Dismiss button on the notice
  2. The notice will be hidden for your user account
  3. The admin bar indicator will still show (as a subtle reminder)
  4. The notice will reappear if:
    • A different admin user logs in (each user can dismiss independently)
    • You disable and re-enable the module

This allows you to acknowledge the warning while keeping the intentional setting.

When Warnings Appear

Setting StatusAdmin NoticeAdmin Bar
“Discourage search engines” checkedShows (unless dismissed)Shows
“Discourage search engines” uncheckedHiddenHidden

Who Sees the Warnings

The warnings only appear for users who can manage options (Administrators). Editors, Authors, and other roles don’t see the notice.

When to Keep Search Engines Blocked

There are legitimate reasons to block indexing:

  • Development/staging sites - Don’t index test content
  • Membership sites - Content behind paywalls shouldn’t be indexed
  • Private intranets - Internal company sites
  • Temporary maintenance - Brief periods when content isn’t ready

In these cases, dismiss the notice to acknowledge you’re aware of the setting, while the admin bar indicator serves as a subtle ongoing reminder.

Checking Your Current Setting

To verify your search engine visibility:

  1. Go to Settings → Reading
  2. Scroll to the bottom
  3. Look for “Search engine visibility”
  4. Check/uncheck as needed
  5. Save changes

Technical Details

How WordPress Blocks Search Engines

When enabled, WordPress:

  1. Adds meta tag: <meta name='robots' content='noindex, nofollow' />
  2. Adds to robots.txt: Disallow: /
  3. Sets blog_public option to 0

This module checks the blog_public option value.

Dismiss State Storage

When you dismiss the notice, the preference is stored in your user meta. This means:

  • Each admin user can dismiss independently
  • The setting persists across sessions
  • Resetting requires disabling/re-enabling the module

Module Impact

  • Minimal database changes (user meta for dismiss state)
  • No additional files
  • Minimal performance impact (single option check)
  • Works immediately when enabled

Full SEO Control

For more comprehensive SEO and indexing control, consider:

  • Robots.txt module: Customize your robots.txt file
  • Individual page noindex: Most SEO plugins offer per-page control
  • Sitemap management: Control what appears in XML sitemaps

HTTPS and Indexing

Search engines prefer HTTPS sites. If your site isn’t using HTTPS, that may also affect indexing quality (though not blocking it entirely).

FAQ

Does this actually block search engines?The module doesn’t block or unblock anything. It only shows a warning when WordPress’s built-in search engine discourage setting is enabled. The actual blocking is done by WordPress itself.
Will my site instantly appear in Google when I uncheck the setting?

No. Removing the block allows search engines to index your site, but:

  1. Google needs to recrawl your site
  2. This can take days to weeks
  3. Submit your sitemap to Google Search Console to speed this up
Can I hide the warning?

Yes! You can dismiss the admin notice by clicking the X button. This is useful for staging sites where blocking is intentional. The admin bar indicator will still show as a subtle reminder. Alternatively, you can:

  1. Uncheck “Discourage search engines” in Settings → Reading
  2. Disable this Switchboard module
I dismissed the notice but want it back. How?Disable and re-enable the module in Switchboard settings. This will reset the dismiss state for all users.
Does this affect Google Search Console?Google Search Console will show that your site has noindex directives when this setting is enabled. This isn’t an error - it’s correctly reporting your configuration. Remove the block when you want to be indexed.
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