Virtual Robots.txt

How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.

Directory rank vs rivals

wp.org popularity rank over time · higher is better · when a rival's line climbs above yours, they've overtaken you

Share of active installs on each version of this plugin · 92% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.

Refined from the date this plugin crossed into its current band.

No paid tier is visible, so we don't put a figure on revenue or sale value: that would be guessing. The install base is a real asset to an acquirer, just not one public data lets us price.

1. ★★★★★ commexjimmy

   7mo ago

   I have used this plugin for many years and never had a problem with it. So with that said, I do highly recommend it.

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2. ★★★★★ treysuttle

   2.9y ago

   I had an issue that I believed was being caused by the plugin but the plugin author was very quick to help and clear up the issue. Great and helpful customer service – thanks! This topic was modified 2 years, 10 months ago by treysuttle.

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3. ★★★★★ Denis Creative

   4.9y ago

   Simple and easy. Works perfectly.

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4. ★★★★★ yorgosx

   7.8y ago

   Works great and easy to use and customise. It already set by default the directories that need to be left out of Search Engines scanning/indexing… Very happy with it!

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5. ★★★★★ Josh Gellock

   8.4y ago

   What I saw wasn’t what I got. The XML sitemap wasn’t included in the robots.txt file, even thought this was described as a feature that should work out of the box. In addition to that, upon installing this plugin, it blocked certain directories without asking. Lastly, it inserts a line at the top of the file, promoting the plugin. That should be an optional feature that users are empowered to turn off. All in all, it offers the functionality, but falls short and disappoints in other areas. This topic was modified 8 years, 4 months ago by Josh Gellock.

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6. ★★★★★ mm1379

   9.4y ago

   It was good

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7. ★★★★★ Cassman

   9.7y ago

   I thought this would be simple. Sure sounds simple. But after I saved your suggested text to my brand new “virtual robots.txt”, I clicked the link where it says “You can preview your robots.txt file here (opens a new window). If your robots.txt file doesn’t match what is shown below, you may have a physical file that is being displayed instead.” That new window shows text that is indeed different from the plugin’s. So I understand that to mean there’s a physical robots.txt file on my server. So which one is actually going to be used? Your FAQ offers this: Q: Will it conflict with any existing robots.txt file? A: If a physical robots.txt file exists on your site, WordPress won’t process any request for one, so there will be no conflict. If a physical file exists, WP won’t process ANY request for one? This SOUNDS like WP will ignore BOTH the physical file AND your virtual one. In which case, what’s the point? Might as well not have one, it seems to me. When I manually go to mydomain.com/robots.txt, I see what’s in the physical file, not what the plugin saved. So… is it working? I don’t know! Should I delete the physical file and assume the virtual one will work? I don’t know! Should I delete this plugin and edit the physical file manually? Most likely. 2 stars instead of 1 because I appreciate getting the suggested lines to include in my file.

   Read on wp.org ↗
8. ★★★★★ SEO Plugin Expert Florin

   9.9y ago

   I like the fact that it’s so clean. Thanks for building it!

   Read on wp.org ↗

Recent releases and news for this plugin

1. — Version 1.10 Fix to prevent the saving of HTML tags within the robots.txt form field. Thanks to TrustWave for identifying this issue. 1.10
2. — Version 1.9 Fix for PHP 7. Thanks to SharmPRO. 1.9
3. — Version 1.8 Undoing last fixes as they had unintended side-effects. 1.8
4. — Version 1.7 Further fixes to issue with newlines being removed. Thanks to FAMC for reporting and for providing the code fix. After upgrading, visit and re-save your settings and confirm they look correct. 1.7
5. — Version 1.6 Fixed bug where newlines were being removed. Thanks to FAMC for reporting. 1.6
6. — Version 1.5 Fixed bug where plugin assumed robots.txt would be at http when it may reside at https. Thanks to jeffmcneill for reporting. 1.5

Automated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.4.8 · WP 5.7

Translated into 1 language, 1 at 90% or more · development strings

Growth timeline

Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow

1. 2026-05-16 50K+ → 40K+ down after 551 days in tier
2. 2024-11-11 40K+ → 50K+ up after 21 days in tier
3. 2024-10-21 50K+ → 40K+ down after 212 days in tier
4. 2024-03-23 40K+ → 50K+ up

Competes with

The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).

• WP Robots Txt 40K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A
• Robots.txt Editor 10K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags D
• Multipart robots.txt editor 1K+ installs · 3.8★ · 2 shared tags D
• Robots.txt rewrite 1K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags D
• Magic robots.txt 1K+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags B
• Robots.txt Quick Editor 800+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags D

Embed this report card

Drop a live Pulse card for Virtual Robots.txt into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.

Virtual Robots.txt: 40K+ active installs, 4.3★ (10 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-08-25. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/pc-robotstxt