How can I correct the issue where the Webflow staging site appears instead of the custom domain when searching for my Client's business name, Jackson Wink, on Google?
TL;DR
- Set the custom domain as the default in Webflow hosting settings and disable indexing of the Webflow.io subdomain.
- Add canonical tags pointing to the custom domain, resubmit the sitemap in Google Search Console, and optionally request URL removal of the staging domain.
Your client’s business shows the Webflow staging site (e.g., yourproject.webflow.io) on Google instead of their custom domain (e.g., jacksonwink.com). This is typically due to search engines indexing the staging domain.
1. Check Domain Settings in Webflow
- Go to Project Settings > Hosting in Webflow.
- Make sure the custom domain (e.g.,
jacksonwink.com) is marked as the default domain. This ensures Webflow redirects all traffic from the staging site to the live domain.
2. Prevent Webflow.io From Being Indexed
- Under Project Settings > SEO, scroll to the “Webflow.io subdomain indexing” (Staging subdomain indexing) setting.
- Enable the checkmark for “Disable Webflow subdomain indexing”.
- This automatically sets a
robots.txtrule that prevents search engines from indexing thewebflow.ioversion.
3. Add Canonical Tags
- Under Pages > Page Settings for each key page (especially the homepage), set the Canonical URL to the custom domain version (e.g.,
https://jacksonwink.com). - This guides search engines to treat the custom domain as the authoritative source.
4. Use 301 Redirects from Webflow.io
- Webflow doesn't support manual redirects from
yourproject.webflow.ioto your custom domain. - But if you've followed step 1 and set the custom domain as default, Webflow automatically redirects traffic from the staging site after publishing.
5. Request URL Removal from Google (Optional)
- Go to Google Search Console, log into the correct property.
- Use the "Removals" tool to temporarily hide the Webflow.io staging URL.
- Make sure you’ve validated your custom domain in Search Console beforehand.
6. Resubmit Sitemap for Custom Domain
- In Google Search Console (for your custom domain), go to Sitemaps.
- Submit the sitemap located at:
https://jacksonwink.com/sitemap.xml. - This helps prioritize the correct pages for indexing.
Summary
To resolve this, set the custom domain as default, block indexing of the Webflow.io subdomain, use canonical tags, and submit the correct sitemap. These actions signal to Google that the custom domain is the main site to list in its search results.
