Is adding meta data to the 404 page in Webflow a safer and better method for no indexing compared to disallowing the 404 page?
TL;DR
- Add a
<meta name="robots" content="noindex">tag in the Webflow 404 page's head section to prevent it from appearing in search results. - Avoid disallowing /404 in robots.txt, as it blocks search engines from accessing the page and recognizing the noindex directive.
Adding meta data to the 404 page for noindex is the safer and more effective method in Webflow compared to disallowing the /404 page via robots.txt.
1. Why Meta Noindex is Safer for 404 Pages
- Search engines respect meta noindex directives on the page itself, ensuring the page won’t appear in search results.
- Webflow lets you edit the 404 page like any static page. You can add a meta tag using the page settings custom code section (in the
<head>). - Example: Add
<meta name="robots" content="noindex">in the Custom Code → Inside <head> tag section of your 404 page.
2. Why Disallowing /404 in robots.txt is Less Reliable
- If you block the 404 URL path (e.g.,
Disallow: /404), Googlebot can't crawl the page to see the noindex directive. - As a result, Google may still index the page's URL (URL-only listing), since it can’t fetch the page contents.
- Disallowed URLs may still appear in search results as “cloaked” entries with no description.
3. Best Practices for Webflow 404 Pages
- Always include a meta noindex tag directly on the 404 Not Found page.
- Avoid disallowing /404 in your robots.txt unless there is a very specific use case.
- Optionally include canonical tags pointing to your homepage or relevant sections to reinforce search behavior.
Summary
Adding a meta noindex tag on Webflow’s 404 page is the most effective way to prevent it from being indexed. Disallowing the page in robots.txt is not recommended since it prevents search engines from seeing the noindex directive.