> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.get-ryze.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Faceted navigation and filters

> How Shopify filter and sort URLs generate unbounded crawlable combinations, and how to control which of them are crawled and indexed.

Faceted navigation is filtering and sorting on collection pages — by size, colour, price, brand. Each combination generates a URL, and combinations multiply.

Six filters with five options each produce more URL combinations than most stores have products. Left crawlable, this consumes [crawl budget](/concepts/crawl-budget) that should be spent on products.

## What Shopify generates

```
/collections/boots?filter.v.option.size=42
/collections/boots?filter.v.option.size=42&filter.v.option.colour=black
/collections/boots?sort_by=price-ascending
```

Sort parameters are pure duplication — the same products in a different order, with no unique value at all.

## The decision, per facet

| facet type                                     | treatment                                                          |
| ---------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| High search demand (e.g. "black hiking boots") | Give it a real, indexable collection page                          |
| Genuine filtering, no search demand            | Crawlable but not indexed, or blocked                              |
| Sort order                                     | Block — always duplication                                         |
| Price ranges                                   | Block                                                              |
| Multi-facet combinations                       | Block                                                              |
| Pagination                                     | Keep crawlable — see [collection pages](/shopify/collection-pages) |

The principle: **if people search for it, it deserves a page. If they do not, it should not be crawlable.**

## How to control it

**`robots.txt` to prevent crawling.** On Shopify Plus you can edit `robots.txt.liquid` to disallow filter and sort parameters. This is the effective lever, because it stops the crawl before it happens.

```
Disallow: /*sort_by*
Disallow: /*filter.*
```

**Canonical tags** on filtered pages pointing to the unfiltered collection. Useful, but weaker — the page still gets crawled, so budget is still spent.

**`noindex`** removes pages from the index but *requires* them to be crawled first. It does not solve a crawl budget problem.

<Note>
  Do not combine `robots.txt` blocking with `noindex` on the same URLs. A blocked page cannot be crawled, so its `noindex` is never read.
</Note>

**Avoid linking to filtered URLs internally.** Internal links are the primary discovery path. If filtered URLs are not linked, they are largely not found.

## Promote high-demand facets properly

Where a filter combination has real search demand, do not rely on the parameter URL. Create a genuine collection with its own title, description, and content. See [collection page optimisation](/shopify/collection-pages).

## Diagnosing a problem

Look for:

* Search Console showing far more discovered URLs than you have products
* Large numbers of "Discovered — currently not indexed"
* Crawl stats dominated by parameter URLs
* Deep products not being indexed while filter URLs are crawled repeatedly

## Related

* [Crawl budget](/concepts/crawl-budget)
* [Large catalogue automation](/shopify/large-catalogs)