Framer SEO checklist: page settings, sitemap and indexing before launch

What Framer handles and what you must set

Framer says it automatically generates a sitemap and a robots.txt file for every published site and keeps the sitemap updated as you publish. [2] [5]

You still write the titles, descriptions, headings and alt text. Framer’s SEO guide asks for a clear main heading (H1) on each page, descriptive alt text, and URL paths that use hyphens rather than underscores. [6]

Titles, descriptions and social images

Set a site title and site description in Site Settings; these apply to every page unless overridden. For each important page, enter a custom title and page description in Page Settings, click Save and republish. [1]

For CMS collections, create plain-text fields for title and description and an image field for the cover. Then enter {{Title}} and {{Description}} in the collection page settings; static text around a variable, such as {{Title}} – Blog, is allowed. For social previews, choose Page images, Social preview, CMS Variables and pick the image field. Framer uses a 1200 by 630 pixel ratio for social previews. [1]

• Every page has a unique title, not the site default.
• Every CMS item has its title and description fields filled, not empty.
• Social image set for the homepage and each CMS template.
• Republished after saving page settings.

Indexing controls: noindex, robots.txt and redirects

To keep a page out of search, open Page Settings and turn off Search engines, then republish. Framer adds a robots noindex meta tag to that page only; it does not edit robots.txt. Crawlers must be able to reach the page to read the tag, and removal can take time while search engines recrawl. [4]

You cannot edit Framer’s generated robots.txt directly. On Pro and Enterprise you can upload a custom robots.txt through Static Files, and it replaces the generated file. Do not block a page in robots.txt if you are relying on noindex to remove it. [5]

If you are replacing an older site, add redirects in Site Settings, Hosting, Redirects with the old path and new path. Wildcards such as /blog/* are supported, but redirects only work for sub-paths within the current domain, and changing a slug later does not update existing redirects. [7]

Staging versus live domain

Framer’s help articles we read do not say whether the free framer.website address is indexed after a custom domain is connected, and its SEO guide does not document canonical tag controls. Check the published page source on both addresses and look for a rel=canonical link pointing at the custom domain. [2] [6]

Google treats the same page at several hosts as duplicates. It recommends picking one URL as canonical and using redirects, and calls rel=canonical a strong signal and sitemap inclusion a weak one. Google also warns that robots.txt is not for canonicalization. [9]

Google Search Console after launch

Framer’s guide uses a URL prefix property with the full https address. Choose the HTML meta tag method, because you cannot upload an HTML verification file to a Framer site. Paste the tag at the end of the head section in General Settings, save, republish, then click Verify. In the Sitemaps section, enter sitemap.xml and submit. [3]

Google says crawling can take from a few days to a few weeks, that requesting a crawl repeatedly for the same URL does not speed it up, and that requesting a crawl does not guarantee inclusion. Use URL Inspection for a handful of key pages and let the sitemap cover the rest. [8]

Launch-day checklist

Run this on the live domain after the final publish.

• /sitemap.xml loads and lists the pages you expect.
• /robots.txt loads and does not block public pages.
• View source on the homepage: title, description and canonical are correct.
• Spot-check two CMS items for filled titles and descriptions.
• Search engines toggle is off only on pages meant to be private.
• Old URLs from a previous site redirect to the new paths.
• Search Console property verified and sitemap submitted.

Sources & verification

Product details and prices can change. Check the linked provider before buying.

1. Framer Help: update page titles, descriptions and social images Accessed 30 Oct 2026
2. Framer Help: how to access your sitemap Accessed 30 Oct 2026
3. Framer Help: connect Google Search Console to your Framer site Accessed 30 Oct 2026
4. Framer Help: prevent pages from being indexed by search engines Accessed 30 Oct 2026
5. Framer Help: access your robots.txt file Accessed 30 Oct 2026
6. Framer Help: guide to SEO features and tools Accessed 30 Oct 2026
7. Framer Help: set up redirects to maintain SEO ranking Accessed 30 Oct 2026
8. Google Search Central: ask Google to recrawl your URLs Accessed 30 Oct 2026
9. Google Search Central: consolidate duplicate URLs Accessed 30 Oct 2026