I'm all about creating free Joomla extensions that make your life easier, and sometimes the best ideas come from the smallest frustrations. That’s exactly what happened with the latest update to our Content - Indexing API plugin, problems turned into features. Now available in version 5.2.0 and up.
The Problem That Sparked a Solution
While editing an article meant solely for a Joomla module, I hit a snag: every save was triggering the indexing plugin to submit the article’s URL to search engines via their APIs. This was a problem because the article wasn’t meant for public indexing—it could even risk a duplicate content penalty from Google. As I muttered to myself, “Whoever made this plugin should’ve added a way to skip certain articles,” knowing full-well that I was that developer. Cue the facepalm.
But as The Fixx wisely sang, One Thing Leads to Another.
That frustration prompted me to make my problems turn into features: Observe Robots.
Introducing "Observe Robots"
The Content - Indexing API plugin now checks the robots meta value for each saved content item. If it contains "noindex," the plugin skips submitting that item to search engines. This ensures that articles, like my module-only article, stay out of search engine indexes when they’re not supposed to be there.
What I’m especially proud of is how I implemented this feature without cluttering the article editor. By leveraging Joomla’s built-in metadata fields, I avoided adding yet another setting to configure. It’s seamless, optional, configurable, and available starting with version 5.2.0. Just set your robots meta to "noindex," and the plugin respects it—no extra steps required.
One Fix Leads to Another
While working on this feature, I noticed another gap: my System - Meta Robots plugin wasn’t covering all of Joomla’s core content types. That’s my next task—ensuring complete coverage so every content type offers the plugin's enhanced meta robots settings consistently. It’s a small but crucial step to make my extensions even more robust and user-friendly. Once again, problems turn into features when you're willing to recognize them for what they are - opportunities to improve.
Why This Matters
For Joomla developers and site owners, these updates mean more control and fewer headaches. Whether you’re managing articles, modules, or other content types, you can trust our plugins to respect your indexing preferences without extra complexity. It’s all about making your workflow smoother and your site SEO-friendly.
What’s Next?
The Joomla community’s feedback drives what we do, so I’d love to hear your thoughts on the "Observe Robots" feature or any ideas for future enhancements. Drop a comment via the Contact Us page. Meanwhile, I’m diving into that System - Meta Robots update to ensure it covers every core content type. Stay tuned for more! (Done - System - Meta Robots version 5.0.4 released!)
As always, you can grab the latest version of Content - Indexing API and our other free Joomla extensions. Let’s keep building smarter solutions together!
