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        4. Robots.txt Tester - syntax not understood

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        Robots.txt Tester - syntax not understood

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        • JamesHancocks1
          JamesHancocks1 last edited by

          I've looked in the robots.txt Tester and I can see 3 warnings:

          There is a 'syntax not understood' warning for each of these.

          XML Sitemaps:
          https://www.pkeducation.co.uk/post-sitemap.xml
          https://www.pkeducation.co.uk/sitemap_index.xml

          How do I fix or reformat these to remove the warnings?

          Many thanks in advance.
          Jim

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • JamesHancocks1
            JamesHancocks1 @Martijn_Scheijbeler last edited by

            I'm to give that a go Martijn.

            The text "XML Sitemaps" is in there and flagas as an error. Does this need to be reformatted as well or deleted?

            Kind regards,
            James.

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • Martijn_Scheijbeler
              Martijn_Scheijbeler last edited by

              Hi James,

              The right syntax is:

              Sitemap: https://www.pkeducation.co.uk/post-sitemap.xml
              Sitemap: https://www.pkeducation.co.uk/sitemap_index.xml

              When you retry it should show up as working.

              Martijn.

              JamesHancocks1 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
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