SEO Settings

Control how search engines discover and index your web applications. Manage robots.txt, meta tags, social previews, and sitemaps directly from the App2 dashboard.

Written By Nick Gatzoulis

Last updated 2 months ago

What are SEO settings?

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) settings control how search engines like Google, Bing, and DuckDuckGo discover, crawl, and display your application in search results.

What you can manage:

  • robots.txt: Control which bots can access your site

  • Meta tags: Set page titles and descriptions for search results

  • Social previews: Configure Open Graph images for social media shares

  • Favicons: Set your site's browser tab icon

  • Sitemap: Automatic sitemap.xml generation for better discoverability

Why SEO matters:

  • Discoverability: Help users find your app through search engines

  • Brand control: Choose how your app appears in search results and social shares

  • Bot management: Block unwanted crawlers and AI scrapers

  • Professional appearance: Custom meta tags and favicons build trust

Note: SEO settings are only available for web projects. Mobile apps use app store optimization (ASO) instead.

Prerequisites

Before configuring SEO settings:

  1. Web project: SEO settings work only for web applications

  2. GitHub connection: Required for committing SEO files to your repository

  3. Project access: Workspace owner or admin role

Tip: Social preview settings work without GitHub, but robots.txt and meta tags require a connected repository.

Access SEO settings

Navigate to SEO settings in your project.

  1. Open your App2 project

  2. Click Settings in the left sidebar

  3. Select SEO tab

  4. View your SEO configuration dashboard

What you'll see:

  • Social preview image and favicon uploader

  • Meta tags editor (title and description)

  • robots.txt configuration interface

  • SEO update status indicators

Configure meta tags

Set the title and description that appear in search results and social media shares.

Manage robots.txt

Control which search engines and bots can crawl your website.

Understanding robots.txt

The robots.txt file tells search engines which pages they can access. App2 manages this file in your GitHub repository.

Default configuration:

  • All major search engines allowed (Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo)

  • All AI crawlers allowed (GPTBot, Claude-Web, Google-Extended)

  • Wildcard rule for unknown bots

File location: public/robots.txt in your repository

Upload social preview image

Set the image that appears when sharing your app on social media.

  1. In Social Preview & Favicon section, find Social Preview Image

  2. Click the upload area or drag an image

  3. Upload PNG, JPG, or WebP (max 5 MB)

  4. See preview of uploaded image

  5. Image commits to GitHub automatically

Recommended specs:

  • Format: PNG or JPG

  • Size: 1200×630 pixels (16:9 ratio)

  • Max file size: 5 MB

  • High contrast for readability

Where it appears:

  • Facebook posts and shares

  • Twitter/X cards

  • LinkedIn previews

  • Slack unfurls

  • Discord embeds

Tip: Use tools like Canva or Figma to design professional social preview images.

Upload favicon

Set your site's browser tab icon.

  1. In Social Preview & Favicon section, find Favicon

  2. Click upload area or drag an image

  3. Upload ICO, PNG, or SVG (max 1 MB)

  4. See favicon preview

  5. File commits to GitHub automatically

Recommended specs:

  • Format: ICO (best compatibility) or PNG

  • Size: 32×32 pixels (minimum), 512×512 for high-res displays

  • Max file size: 1 MB

  • Simple, recognizable design

Where it appears:

  • Browser tabs

  • Bookmarks

  • Browser history

  • Mobile home screen shortcuts

Note: ICO format supports multiple sizes in one file, providing the best experience across devices.

Automatic sitemap

Every web project includes a sitemap.xml file automatically.

What is a sitemap? A sitemap lists all pages in your app, helping search engines discover and index your content efficiently.

File location: public/sitemap.xml

What's included:

  • All routes in your application

  • Last modified dates

  • Change frequency hints

  • Priority levels

Auto-updates: When App2 adds new routes or pages, it updates your sitemap automatically to include the new content.

Manual editing: Edit public/sitemap.xml in your GitHub repository to customize priority and frequency values.

Tip: Submit your sitemap URL to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools to speed up indexing.

SEO update status

App2 shows when SEO updates are in progress.

Frozen state: When you save changes, the project briefly enters a frozen state with a blue alert:

  • "SEO Update in Progress"

  • Typically completes in 5-10 seconds

  • GitHub commits happen in the background

While frozen:

  • Cannot make additional SEO changes

  • Other project features work normally

  • Wait for completion before making more updates

After completion:

  • Frozen state automatically clears

  • Changes reflected in GitHub repository

  • New settings take effect immediately

Best practices

GitHub integration

All SEO changes commit directly to your repository.

Files managed:

  • public/robots.txt - Bot access rules

  • public/social-preview.png - Social media image

  • public/favicon.ico - Browser icon

  • public/sitemap.xml - Page listing

  • app/layout.tsx or pages/_app.tsx - Meta tag updates

Commit messages:

  • "Update robots.txt configuration"

  • "Update SEO meta tags"

  • "Upload social preview image"

  • "Upload favicon"

Benefits:

  • Full version history of SEO changes

  • Revert changes if needed

  • Deploy with rest of your app

  • Works with your CI/CD pipeline

Note: SEO updates trigger GitHub commits but not full redeployments. Changes are lightweight and fast.

Troubleshooting

Common questions