Make The Search Engines Discouraged Message More Visible

[jeffr0]

I didn't think there was a message that notifies users that Search Engines Are discouraged from indexing their site, but I discovered that one does exist https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/35288

However, the notice is tied to the At A Glance widget, which can be hidden from view. Considering the impact that forgetting to turn this setting on can have on a website, I think the messaging should be a lot more visible to the point of making it an admin notice.

There are many stories from consultants who have solved a client's SEO problems simply by turning the feature on because it was forgotten during launch.

[jeffr0]

This shows the At A Glance Dashboard widget with the Search Engines Discouraged messaging

[newyorkerlaura]

Completely agree. The notification is not noticeable enough on something that has devastating consequences to your site being seen. Even a literal red flag icon would make this vastly more visible

[joedolson]

Seems like this really belongs in Site Health; but I also agree that it's a pretty significant status point that should be more readily visible at all times.

[codente]

Agree to making this more visible!

[jeffr0]

Good point Joe, on putting it in Site Health. As long as the notice is more prominent in the dashboard, Site Health seems like a good location for it.

[abcd95]

Thanks @jeffr0 for the ticket.

I have tried a rough implementation, including the information in the Site Health screen, and also issued an admin notice so that it doesn't go unnoticed.

Screenshot of the notice in the dashboard - ​https://ibb.co/qY0F5vPZ
Site Health screen notifies - ​https://ibb.co/MyNyXtYF

[andrewhoyer]

The built-in "Search engines discouraged" warning is so chill that I forgot it existed despite launching sites on a regular basis and using the "Discourage search engines from indexing this site" checkbox.

I keep reading posts about forgetting to uncheck the box, and I've done it myself which is bad for clients and embarrassing as a developer. I spent time today creating a minimalist plugin that adds a notice to the admin bar in a small but very obvious way.

​https://github.com/andrewhoyer/wp-seo-warning/

Then via some discussion on 𝕏 I was pointed to this ticket, and wanted to provide some feedback.

A simple suggestion for consideration:

Why not just change the info icon to the alert emoji, or a red dot? The location seems reasonable, it just doesn't stand out.

[andrewhoyer]

This is an improvement on the current text, although I have a few concerns:

1. The Site Health screen is easy to ignore. At the least, this needs to be a "Critical" issue so it gets a badge and shows up near the top of the list. Furthermore, you can remove the Site Health widget from the dashboard.

2. The admin notice option is nice, but my concern with it is that that space is often filled with plugin notices, sometimes many of them and deep. People tend to tune this space out. If you close that notice, I guess it would come back after a while? So it might be persistent enough. The downside is that it creates a new space for content rather than using existing space, like the admin bar, or the dashboard widgets (again, they can be removed).

Replying to abcd95:

Thanks @jeffr0 for the ticket.

I have tried a rough implementation, including the information in the Site Health screen, and also issued an admin notice so that it doesn't go unnoticed.

Screenshot of the notice in the dashboard - ​https://ibb.co/qY0F5vPZ
Site Health screen notifies - ​https://ibb.co/MyNyXtYF

[abcd95]

Replying to andrewhoyer:

Thanks @andrewhoyer for the insights.

However, I think the "Critical" section typically includes issues that directly impact site functionality/security (e.g., HTTPS failures, PHP version warnings). While search engine visibility is crucial, it doesn't technically prevent the site from operating.
However, given its business impact, I think a red badge might be justified in this case to draw attention.

I like your idea of using the top admin bar to display that instead of admin notices to better use the space. I believe we would need some SVG/emoji ideas for this as well (Example- dashicons-warning ⚠️).

I'll wait for others' opinions on this and will proceed with the implementation once we have a consensus.

[SirLouen]

As @andrewhoyer suggests, Admin notice is not ideal. I would remove it and just stick to the Site Health information.

On the other side, this is just a little upgrade to this element, but I don't really think that it needs much extra priority. In fact is not a critical problem, because tons of installation are actually discouraging engines. This is just a SEO specific thing that is not even enabled by default on install. So recommended is clearly the right thing here.

Finally, @abcd95 do a PHPCS check on the code, for example the comment is not passing (If you can add this to a github PR its much easier to peer-review and to indicate further improvements both in code and copy).

[johnbillion]

FYI Yoast SEO and other SEO plugins already include such a notice.

[abcd95]

Replying to SirLouen:

Yes, @SirLouen, I agree with you with the fact that this is not a critical issue, and while the admin notice might not be the best approach, I think there needs to be some way to highlight this so it draws attention.

[SirLouen]

Replying to abcd95:

Replying to SirLouen:

Yes, @SirLouen, I agree with you with the fact that this is not a critical issue, and while the admin notice might not be the best approach, I think there needs to be some way to highlight this so it draws attention.

But this thought is paradoxical: on one side you are suggesting that it's not a critical issue but then adding a critical issue measure (like a notice). Notices are one of those features that must be minimally used (if used at all). They are seriously disturbing. This is like the bare bones of the WP UI philosophy.

Plus, as I said, there are zillions of pages discouraging Search Engines on purpose. Imagine having to see this disturbing notice all the time if you happen to have this feature disabled by choice.

This topic goes into the realm of SEO and the realm of SEO is not a web compliant thing that should be much respected in Core. It's just a thing that should go into plugin-land and maybe helped a bit with some hooks. So as @johnbillion suggested, many SEO plugins already warn of this, like Yoast, so I even think that a Site Health check is unnecessary, but if you are willing to do something at least, take it to the bare minimal option possible.

[jeffr0]

I agree that the issue is not critical, and valid points have been made about it being a non-dismissable admin notice, which would not be a good thing for sites legitimately discouraging search engines from indexing their site. I for one would not want to see an admin notice for something I'm doing on purpose.

Also, I don't like the argument that some plugins already contain a warning, so no additional improvements in core are needed. This assumes that everyone runs an SEO plugin. I don't.

At the end of the day, if the decision is to leave this to plugin territory, I can respect that.

[mymothersdaughter]

I work theme support and I can tell you first hand that users forget to uncheck that box and they do not use an SEO plugin. Some get started and launch not even aware about SEO. I've even seen cases where some have had developers work with them who checked the box and never told the site owner so they never thought to look there. Having that visible in a place like the dashboard would be helpful. Maybe the "At a Glance" or "Site Health Status" which already gives valuable information.

[abcd95]

Replying to mymothersdaughter:

The current implementation adds it to the Site Health Status screen and preserves it in the "At A Glance" widget. I think this is a correct balance of all the attention this needs to get.

For users needing stronger warnings, SEO plugins can extend these core indicators. Everybody wins.

[andrewhoyer]

There are some good points here, both for and against. I hesitate to suggest adding more functionality to core, but at the same time, the current built-in notice is too muted and other plugin notices are easily dismissed.

Based on this ticket, and feedback and discussion in a couple of threads on 𝕏, I decided to implement what I think is a balanced solution in a plugin: A small but obvious warning that never goes away and cannot be dismissed or hidden, but also doesn't take up any new screen space. Having it be a plugin means only those who really want or need it can take the steps to use it.

​https://wordpress.org/plugins/seo-warning/

I do not want to distract from the topic at hand here, so if you want to discuss the plugin or other ideas relating to it, please find my contact info through my profile here, or on 𝕏 at the same username.

Otherwise, I'd love to hear any further comments as to whether or not the current warning in WordPress core could be made a little more lively, maybe towards something like what I've done.

[Presskopp]

related #35288

[audrasjb]

Removing version 6.8 as the issue wasn't introduced in this version.
I agree with the approach of starting with a message in Site Health.

[Emlebrun]

Test Report

This report validates that the indicated patch addresses the issue.

Patch tested: ​https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-develop/pull/8777

Environment

• OS: macOS
• Web Server: Playground
• PHP: 8.0
• WordPress: Trunk
• Browser: Chrome
• Active Plugins: None
• Settings Activited: Blog Visibility Enabled

Actual Results

• Issue resolved with patch.

Additional Notes

We held a contribution day and studied this proposal as a group, and we suggest this improvement.
The focus is on the checkbox (the "Public blog" input) when the focus should be on the "Search engine visibility" section for better visibility.

Supplemental Artifacts

See Screenshot below

https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/63375

[Emlebrun]

the focus should be on the "Search engine visibility" section for better visibility.

[gaeldenysiak]

i've just done this PR ​https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-develop/pull/8968 :)

[beryldlg]

with inspector opened

[Spaceshipone]

Test Report

This report validates that the indicated patch addresses the issue.

Patch tested: ​https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-develop/pull/8968

Environment

• OS: windows 11
• PHP: 8.0
• WordPress: trunk
• Browser: Firefox

Actual Results

• ✅ Issue resolved with patch. The focus is now on the TR tag with ID #site-visibility

Supplemental Artifacts

See attached file

[coralietixeront]

Test Report

This report validates that the indicated patch addresses the issue.

Patch tested: ​https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-develop/pull/8968

Environment

• OS: macOS 12.3.1
• Web Server: Nginx
• PHP: 8.0
• WordPress: Trunk
• Browser: Chrome
• Theme: Twenty Twenty-Two
• Active Plugins: None

Actual Results

• ✅ Issue resolved with patch. The focus is now on the TR tag with ID #site-visibility

Supplemental Artifacts

See Screenshot below

[coralietixeront]

Anchor with patch

[Spaceshipone]

Focus on TR #site-visibility

[beryldlg]

Test Report

This report validates that the indicated patch addresses the issue.

Patch tested: ​https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-develop/pull/8777

Environment

• OS: macOS 11.7
• Web Server: Playground
• PHP: 8.0
• WordPress: trunk
• Browser: Brave
• Settings Activited: Blog Visibility Enabled

Actual Results

• Issue resolved with patch.

Additional Notes

The focus is on the checkbox (the "Public blog" input) when the focus should be on the "Search engine visibility" section for accessibility matters.
Made during our agency's contribution day.

Supplemental Artifacts

Screenshot attachedhttps://core.trac.wordpress.org/attachment/ticket/63375/patch-testing.jpeg