Global Settings

Location: Step 6 — Global Settings

This step combines the cross-cutting controls that do not belong to any single category: how the robots.txt is served, which sitemap URLs are declared, and the core WordPress protection rules that almost every WordPress site needs.

What this step controls

The step exposes:

Robots.txt Type
- Virtual (WordPress-generated) — the plugin serves robots.txt through WordPress;
- Physical File — the plugin writes an actual robots.txt file at the site root.
Sitemap URL — manually declared sitemap URLs.
Auto-detect sitemap — the plugin discovers sitemap URLs from the SEO plugins already installed (Yoast, Rank Math, AIOSEO, etc.).
Footer Signature — a small attribution line in the generated output.
AI Governance (SSA) — the source-precedence anchor signalling that the site participates in the published governance ecosystem.
Core WordPress Protection — the explicit Disallow rules that every safe WordPress robots.txt should contain.

Core WordPress protection paths

Core WordPress Protection covers, at minimum:

/wp-admin/
/wp-includes/
/readme.html and /license.txt
/xmlrpc.php
/wp-login.php and /wp-register.php
*?attachment_id=
*/disclaimer/*

These are conservative defaults. Disabling any of them is unusual and should be backed by a specific reason.

How to decide

Use Virtual when:

there is no pre-existing physical /robots.txt file;
the simplest path is fine — the plugin manages everything.

Use Physical File when:

the hosting setup requires a literal file at the document root;
the operator wants the file to be auditable through Git or another file-versioning workflow;
a Pro or Premium edition is in use (the physical mode is gated).

Sitemap handling:

Auto-detect is the safe default — it picks up sitemap URLs from installed SEO plugins without manual entry.
Manual entry is useful when a custom sitemap lives outside the detected location.

What this step does not do

This step does not:

modify the sitemap content — it only declares the URL in robots.txt;
detect every possible sitemap location;
override a pre-existing physical /robots.txt file that was created outside the plugin. A stale physical file can block virtual output even before the plugin's own physical mode is enabled.

If the plugin's output does not appear live, check for a pre-existing physical /robots.txt first.

Plan tier

Free: Virtual mode, basic sitemap declaration, Core WordPress Protection.
Pro / Premium: Physical mode, footer signature, SSA, and broader auto-detection.

Global Settings ​

What this step controls ​

Core WordPress protection paths ​

How to decide ​

What this step does not do ​

Plan tier ​

Related ​