SEO

SEO features are built into the Superlite core. You do not need to install a separate module to manage the most important search engine settings for pages.

Each publishable page can have its own SEO title, meta description, canonical URL, robots settings and Open Graph information. Superlite can also generate sitemap.xml, robots.txt and basic Schema.org structured data.

SEO settings for a page

Open a page in Superlite and locate the SEO settings.

The available fields let you control how the page is described to search engines and how it can appear when shared on services that use Open Graph metadata.

The standard SEO settings include:

• SEO title
• Meta description
• Canonical URL
• Robots
• Open Graph title
• Open Graph description
• Open Graph image

You do not need to fill in every field for every page.

Superlite can use default values when some fields are left empty.

SEO title

The SEO title is the title Superlite places in the page metadata for search engines.

It can be different from the visible page title.

For example, the visible page title might be:

SEO services

while the SEO title could provide more context:

SEO services for growing companies

Use an SEO title that accurately describes the content of the page.

Avoid adding information that is not supported by the page itself.

If the SEO title field is left empty, Superlite can generate a default value based on the page title and site settings.

Meta description

The meta description is a short description of the page.

Search engines can use it as part of the search result, although they may choose to display different text depending on the search.

The description should explain what the visitor can expect to find on the page.

Keep it specific to the page rather than using the same description across the entire website.

If the field is left empty, Superlite can use a default value where available.

Canonical URL

The canonical URL tells search engines which URL should be treated as the preferred version of a page.

For a normal page, the canonical URL will usually be the page's own public URL.

For example:

example.com/services/

Superlite can generate this automatically.

You should normally leave the canonical setting at its default unless you have a specific reason to point search engines to another URL.

An incorrect canonical URL can cause search engines to treat another page as the preferred version, so change this field carefully.

Robots settings

The robots setting controls instructions that can be sent to search engines for an individual page.

The normal setting for a public page is:

index,follow

This allows search engines to index the page and follow links from it.

Other robots instructions can be used when a page should not be indexed.

Use these settings carefully. A page marked not to be indexed may disappear from search engine results even if it remains publicly accessible.

The robots setting on an individual page is separate from the site's robots.txt file.

Open Graph title

The Open Graph title is used by services that read Open Graph metadata when a page is shared.

It can be different from both the visible page title and the SEO title.

This lets you create a title that works well when the page is shared while keeping the search engine title focused on search results.

If you do not provide a separate Open Graph title, Superlite can use another available page title as the default.

Open Graph description

The Open Graph description provides a description for services that use Open Graph metadata.

It can be used alongside the Open Graph title and image when a page is shared.

You can write a separate description specifically for sharing, or allow Superlite to use an available default.

Open Graph image

The Open Graph image is the image associated with the page when it is shared on services that support this metadata.

Choose an image from the Superlite media library.

Use an image that represents the page clearly and still works when displayed as a preview.

The actual way the image appears is controlled by the service where the page is shared.

Default SEO values

You do not need to manually complete every SEO field on every page.

Superlite can generate standard values from information that already exists.

For example, the page title can be used when no separate SEO title has been entered.

Site wide SEO settings can also provide default information.

This reduces repetitive work while still allowing important pages to have individually optimized metadata.

Whenever you enter a page specific value, it should take priority over the corresponding default where applicable.

Global SEO settings

Superlite includes site wide settings that can be used as defaults for SEO information.

These are useful for information that applies across the website rather than to one individual page.

Global settings can be used when generating metadata for pages where no specific value has been entered.

You should still review important pages individually rather than relying entirely on automatic defaults.

Changing a page URL

Changing the slug of a published page changes its URL.

This can affect search engine listings and links pointing to the old address.

When a published URL changes, Superlite can create a 301 redirect from the old URL to the new one.

A permanent redirect tells browsers and search engines that the content has moved.

The Redirects guide explains how this works in more detail.

Sitemap.xml

Superlite can automatically generate a sitemap for the public website.

The standard location is:

example.com/sitemap.xml

A sitemap provides search engines with a structured list of URLs that are available for crawling.

When content is published, changed or removed, Superlite can update the sitemap when required.

For larger websites, Superlite is designed to support a sitemap index with multiple sitemap files rather than placing every URL in one file.

The sitemap is generated by Superlite and should normally not need to be edited manually.

Robots.txt

Superlite can manage and generate the public robots.txt file.

The standard location is:

example.com/robots.txt

Robots.txt provides crawling instructions for search engine robots.

Site wide robots settings are managed through the administration interface.

Be careful when changing these settings because an incorrect robots.txt configuration can prevent search engines from crawling important sections of the website.

Robots.txt does not provide access control. Content that must be private should be protected through proper server permissions rather than robots.txt.

Structured data

Superlite supports basic Schema.org structured data in the core.

Structured data provides search engines with additional information about the meaning of a page and the website.

The core can provide data for common schema types including:

• WebSite
• WebPage
• Article
• BreadcrumbList
• Organization

The active theme is responsible for rendering the structured data supplied by Superlite.

Specialized structured data for specific types of websites can be added later through modules.

WebSite structured data

WebSite structured data describes the website itself.

It can include basic information that helps search engines understand that individual pages belong to the same website.

This information is normally generated from the site's configuration rather than entered separately for every page.

WebPage structured data

WebPage structured data describes an individual web page.

Superlite can provide page information to the active theme when the public page is generated.

The structured data should reflect the actual content and properties of the page.

Breadcrumb structured data

BreadcrumbList structured data represents the position of a page within a website hierarchy.

When the site structure supports breadcrumbs, Superlite can provide the information required for the theme to generate this structured data.

The exact visible breadcrumb design is controlled by the theme.

Organization structured data

Organization structured data can describe the organization behind the website.

The information used for this can come from the site's settings.

The active theme can include this data when generating the public HTML.

SEO and themes

Superlite stores the SEO information, but the active theme is responsible for placing that information correctly in the generated HTML.

A properly built theme should use the SEO data provided by Superlite for elements such as the document title, meta description, canonical URL, robots metadata, Open Graph tags and structured data.

Changing theme should not remove the SEO information stored for your pages.

The new theme can use the same underlying SEO data when the website is rebuilt.

SEO and publishing

Changes to SEO settings do not affect the public page until the page is published.

For example, changing the meta description inside Superlite does not immediately change the metadata on the live website.

Publish the page after making SEO changes.

Superlite then generates a new version of the static HTML containing the updated metadata.

Search engines still need to crawl the page again before changes can appear in search results.

Publishing a change in Superlite does not control when a search engine revisits or updates the page.