metatag problem

[Zimpex]

I'm using V1.39h, and I have a metatag that says..<meta name="robots" content="noindex, nofollow" />
People tell me that this will make my site invisible to search engines. I have also been told to simply delete this line. Problem is, I don't know how to find it inside the site! I know nothing about coding, or anything about the guts of the site.
How do I find the line, and will deleting it do the trick?

zimpexaustralia.com

[Kim]

When you switch back to the stock Classic template does it work properly?

[Zimpex]

Three words I don't understand, Kim...stock....classic...template
We bought the site template and that's all I know. The line has been deleted once, but is still there.

[schoolboy]

Someone must have installed that "bought" template. Do you know who did the installation?

One of the (many hundreds) of problems that occur with lots of "bought" templates, is that they are badly constructed, and they can seriously affect standard behaviour - in many areas of the site.

The STOCK CLASSIC TEMPLATE is the one that ships with the ZC software. When you install ZC for the first time, it is configured to run on the CLASSIC template.

CLASSIC should never be altered or edited, because it performs a vital "diagnostic environment" for customised sites.

You see... zencart running on the CLASSIC template will perform as it was designed to perform.

By SWITCHING back to the classic template, you can then see if the errors are occuring even when zencart is running "natively".

In many instances, problems "go away" when people switch back to "classic"... and that immediately isolates the main cause of their problem... something's gone amiss with their CUSTOM template.

You switch back to CLASSIC via your ADMIN CONSOLE, under the TOOLS menu, you will see TEMPLATE SELECTOR.

After getting to the template selector screen, click EDIT button, and select CLASSIC.

Navigate to your store-front.

Then see whether your error is still occurring.

[DrByte]

People tell me that this will make my site invisible to search engines.

Well, what they're telling you is technically true.

I have also been told to simply delete this line.

See, that's where the bad advice comes in.

If you're using a template which is properly built based on a current version of Zen Cart, then that "robots" line will ONLY appear on pages which search engines should not be indexing (ie: login pages, down-for-maintenance notices, etc). Zen Cart intelligently knows when to put that tag into the appropriate pages.

There was a bug in older versions of Zen Cart which caused that line to show too often. But using the current version, and ensuring your template is properly updated the same way the latest ZC version was updated, solves that problem.

Very old ZC versions didn't even display the tag at all, but that was before the tag was introduced and adopted by major search engines anyway.

The quick test to know "where to go from here" is to switch your site to the default "classic" template, as suggested above.
If you don't know how to do that, then it's time to start getting familiar with your ZC admin screens. In this case, go to Admin->Tools->Template Selector, and choose the "Classic" template from the pulldown, and save the change. Now your store will look quite different, but you can test to see whether that "robots" tag shows up where you think you don't want it.
Then make decisions based on that information.

If you post back with those results, be sure to also answer the questions found in the "Posting Tips" section of the screen when you make your post.

[Zimpex]

Thanks people. A few things...the original 520 template we chose doesn't have the problem tag, but ours does. The "classic" template does not have the tag, either. We paid some outfit in China to do it for us (my wife is Chinese) and they tell her they can't find the problem.
So what's our next step? Dump the whole thing and start again??

[DrByte]

I thought I'd said this in my last post, but I'll say it again ...

Please click Reply below and answer all the questions in the Posting Tips section.

[fairestcape]

Hmmmm... a Template Monster template.

These templates are designed to look pretty - like a brightly-coloured trout fishing fly.

Then you get hooked. You buy the template, install it, and then have endless problems.

TM templates are NOTORIOUSLY awful (from a functional point-of-view).

And as functionality is pretty much everything, when you lose parts of important behaviour, you put your entire business at risk.

We have developed a large number of sites - with me mainly in Cape Town (South Africa) and my colleagues in the UK, we have many sites undeer our belts.

We will never use TM (or similar) templates - and if a client insists on a TM template, we turn down his business.

Your dev team in China probably does not know of the many drawbacks and faults with these TM templates - suggesting that they do not have much experience with ZC.

Either that, or they just saw an opportunity to extract some quick bucks out of you and now are leaving you to it.

Be very careful of most commercially offered templates... Before you throw away more money, come ask for advice on the forum

[Zimpex]

What version of Zen Cart are you using? v1.3.9h
Has your site been upgraded? When? From what version(s)? No idea
What addons have you installed? When? None
In what ways is your site customized or different from a brand new uncustomized install? No idea
If you're encountering display/layout problems, post your site URL* so it can be seen in action.
If you're encountering problems that could be related to your server or hosting company, include the name of your hosting company (not their URL).
HAVE YOU LOOKED IN THE FAQ AREA for answers to your question? (ie: a search for your error message or what you want to edit/change, etc) Looked at lots of places, can't understand the answers
Have you searched the FORUM for your error message or for answers to the question you're asking? Same thing
WHEN did the problem "start"? How does that compare with other events of your hosting company, changes you've made to your site files/addons, or your admin settings, etc? No idea
If this is your first store, have you tested all aspects of transactions before going live? This comes from testing

Bit hard to answer when you don't understand the questions.
Old dogs take longer to learn new tricks, Dr. Byte! Probably better for me to simply ditch the Zen cart and start afresh with something else.
Fairestcape, that is why I am here, asking for advice!

[schoolboy]

No, there is no need to dicth the cart.

The problem will be resolved when you get a proper template.

There are several good free ones around. On this forum, those by Picaflor Azul are particularly nice. There is a free series by 12leaves.com (the "pure" series and their "Crista" series are stylish and easily re-skinned (colourised)).

It takes a few minutes to install these templates, and while they may (in the initial stages) not be 100% to your liking, at least you will not get functional problems.

If you plead really nicely, someone may install one of these for free too. Send me a PM if you struggle.