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Fixing indexing problems, platform by platform

The same problem has a different cause on every platform, and the cause is the part you need. Each page names the exact setting, links to a free check, and cites the vendor's own documentation.

If you do not yet know which of these it is, start withthe six checks that rule each one out.

A staging or preview site indexed by Google

  • VercelVercel protects normal previews, but a custom domain on a non-production branch can lose noindex. Check the header and restore it.
  • NetlifyNetlify can index the newest branch deploy. Add a branch-only X-Robots-Tag without blocking the production site.
  • WebflowStop a webflow.io staging site appearing in Google by turning off Webflow staging indexing and removing the existing result.
  • WordPressStop a public WordPress staging site appearing in Google with the Reading setting that adds a robots noindex tag.

A noindex tag hiding the site from search

  • WordPressThe Discourage search engines box writes a noindex meta tag into every page. The exact setting, how to undo it, and why it comes back.
  • ShopifyShopify hides pages with Liquid conditions in theme.liquid and the seo.hidden metafield. The exact steps, and how to check a page right now.
  • SquarespaceA site-wide crawlers switch and a per-page Hide page from search results toggle. The exact paths, the plan limits, and why it comes back.
  • WebflowWebflow's per-page Sitemap indexing toggle writes a noindex meta tag. The exact menu paths, the staging subdomain switch, and the trap.
  • WixThe Let search engines index this page toggle sits in each page's SEO basics settings. Exact steps, and the site-wide switch that overrides them.

robots.txt blocking pages that should be crawled

  • ShopifyFind the live robots.txt.liquid rule, remove an accidental Disallow, and restore Shopify defaults when the whole custom file is wrong.
  • WordPressWork out whether WordPress, a plugin, or a physical robots.txt owns the live rule, then remove the block from the copy that is served.
  • WebflowRemove an accidental Disallow from Webflow Site settings, publish it, and verify the rule on the live domain.
  • SquarespaceUndo the site-wide crawler block, or identify a built-in Squarespace exclusion that the platform does not let you edit.
  • NetlifyFind the robots.txt in Netlify's deployed output, remove the bad rule at its build source, and publish the correction.

A canonical tag pointing at the wrong URL

  • ShopifyShopify emits canonicals through the theme's canonical_url object. Where the tag comes from, what breaks it, and how to check any page.
  • WordPressYoast and Rank Math both write canonicals and either can override the other. The exact fields, the filters, and how to check a page.
  • WebflowWebflow fills canonicals automatically, and three documented mistakes break them: a stale global tag URL, a page override, or a duplicate tag.
  • WixWix creates a default canonical for every page, and the Advanced SEO tab can override it. Where the override lives, and how to check a page.

A migration or redesign losing pages from search

  • ShopifyMap old store URLs to their new Shopify paths, add the missing redirects, and test the URLs that carried search traffic.
  • WordPressSeparate WordPress old-slug redirects from a full migration map, then restore the missing server redirects without changing every URL again.
  • WebflowUse Webflow automatic slug redirects where they apply, then map folders, collections, and localized paths in the 301 redirect table.
  • SquarespaceTranslate old page and collection paths into Squarespace URL mappings, including blog and store patterns that change every item URL.

A broken or chained redirect

  • CloudflareCloudflare redirects at the edge, your origin redirects too, and the hops stack. The exact settings, the documented loop causes, and how to count hops.
  • NetlifyNetlify redirects apex to www or the reverse automatically, and your _redirects rules add hops on top. The exact mechanisms and the loop trap.
  • VercelVercel redirects www automatically even with no rule configured. The domain redirect, the project redirects, and how to count the hops.
  • WordPressWordPress issues its own 301 to the address configured in Settings > General. The redirect_canonical mechanism, the two fields, and the fix.
  • ShopifyShopify redirects every listed domain to the primary automatically, and manual URL redirects can add a second hop. The exact settings.

An expired or expiring TLS certificate

  • CloudflareCloudflare renews Universal SSL certificates automatically, and the documented failures are DCV and CAA. The windows, the causes, and the checks.
  • NetlifyNetlify provisions and renews Let's Encrypt certificates automatically. The retry schedule, the four documented failure causes, and the fixes.
  • VercelVercel generates certificates for every domain automatically, but uploaded certificates are your problem. The documented 5 day fallback.
  • ShopifyShopify issues TLS certificates automatically and blocks uploaded certificates. The 48 hour window, the CAA list, and the documented fixes.
  • WordPress on cPanelcPanel's AutoSSL installs and renews certificates nightly for WordPress sites. The mechanism, the CAA preflight, and how to force a check.

An expired or expiring domain registration

  • Cloudflare RegistrarCloudflare Registrar auto-renews by default, first attempt 30 days out. The documented failure causes, the notices, and the grace period.
  • NamecheapNamecheap parks expired domains and keeps them reactivate for 30 days. The notices, the grace period, and how to reactivate from the account.
  • GoDaddyGoDaddy parks expired domains at five days and auctions them later. The documented timeline, the auto-renew attempts, and how to recover.
  • Squarespace DomainsSquarespace domains auto-renew and expire on failed charges. The grace period is 30 days on Squarespace LLC registrars, 40 on Tucows.