{"id":9215,"date":"2026-06-01T09:22:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T07:22:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/?post_type=manual_kb&#038;p=9215"},"modified":"2026-06-01T09:22:27","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T07:22:27","slug":"what-is-a-website-scanning-bot","status":"publish","type":"manual_kb","link":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/what-is-a-website-scanning-bot\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a website scanning bot?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"translation-block translation-block-merged\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A website scanning bot (also known as a web crawler or spider) is an automated program that visits websites, reads their content, and analyzes it according to predefined rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These bots operate without human interaction and are widely used across the internet for data collection and analysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_86 ez-toc-wrap-left counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/what-is-a-website-scanning-bot\/#How_web_crawlers_work\" >How web crawlers work<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/what-is-a-website-scanning-bot\/#Common_uses_of_website_scanning_bots\" >Common uses of website scanning bots<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/what-is-a-website-scanning-bot\/#Search_engine_indexing\" >Search engine indexing<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/what-is-a-website-scanning-bot\/#Monitoring_website_changes\" >Monitoring website changes<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/what-is-a-website-scanning-bot\/#Data_collection_and_analysis\" >Data collection and analysis<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/what-is-a-website-scanning-bot\/#Types_of_website_scanning_bots\" >Types of website scanning bots<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/what-is-a-website-scanning-bot\/#Bot_behavior_and_configuration\" >Bot behavior and configuration<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/what-is-a-website-scanning-bot\/#Security_and_protection\" >Security and protection<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/what-is-a-website-scanning-bot\/#Summary\" >Summary<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_web_crawlers_work\"><\/span>How web crawlers work<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n<div id=\"mybox-510477265\" class=\"mybox-content mybox-entity-placement\"><div class=\"early-access-banner-inpost\">\r\n  <div class=\"banner-left-inpost\">\r\n    <div class=\"icon-box-inpost\">\r\n      <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/square-info-icon.svg\" alt=\"Info\">\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"text-box-inpost\">\r\n      <span class=\"label-inpost\"><span class=\"translation-block translation-block-banner-text\">Early access<\/span><\/span>\r\n      <h4><span class=\"translation-block translation-block-banner-text\">Still need help?<\/span><\/h4>\r\n      <p><span class=\"translation-block translation-block-banner-text\">Contact our customer service team.<\/span><\/p>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <div class=\"banner-right-inpost\">\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/panel.mybox.com\/helpdesk2\/v\/list\/\" class=\"banner-button-inpost\"><span class=\"translation-block translation-block-banner-text\">Message us<\/span><\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"translation-block translation-block-merged\"><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A scanning bot typically:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>visits web pages automatically<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>follows links from one page to another<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>collects and processes page content<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>stores or indexes the gathered information<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bots can be configured to scan websites continuously or at scheduled intervals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Common_uses_of_website_scanning_bots\"><\/span>Common uses of website scanning bots<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Search_engine_indexing\"><\/span>Search engine indexing<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The most well-known use of web crawlers is by search engines such as Google.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Search engine bots:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>scan websites<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>analyze content<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>index pages<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>help make websites discoverable in search results<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Monitoring_website_changes\"><\/span>Monitoring website changes<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Companies may use bots to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>track updates on competitor websites<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>monitor price changes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>detect content modifications<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>observe availability of products or services<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Data_collection_and_analysis\"><\/span>Data collection and analysis<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bots can also be used to gather structured information from websites for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>research purposes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>market analysis<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>content aggregation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>automation systems<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Types_of_website_scanning_bots\"><\/span>Types of website scanning bots<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are different categories of bots depending on their purpose:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>search engine bots<\/strong> (indexing content)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>monitoring bots<\/strong> (tracking changes)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>scraping bots<\/strong> (collecting data)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>security bots<\/strong> (scanning for vulnerabilities)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Bot_behavior_and_configuration\"><\/span>Bot behavior and configuration<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Web crawlers are usually programmed with rules that define:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>which pages to visit<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>how frequently to scan a site<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>which content to collect<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>how deep to follow links<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They may also respect rules defined in a website\u2019s <code>robots.txt<\/code> file, which tells bots which parts of a site should or should not be crawled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Security_and_protection\"><\/span>Security and protection<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While many bots are legitimate, some can be harmful or unwanted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For this reason, bots may include or be associated with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>rate limits to avoid overloading servers<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>identification via user-agent strings<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>compliance with crawling policies<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>anti-abuse or anti-spam mechanisms<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Website owners often use security tools or firewall rules to manage bot traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Summary\"><\/span>Summary<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A website scanning bot is an automated program that analyzes web pages for indexing, monitoring, or data collection purposes. While many bots are essential for services like search engines, others may require control or filtering to protect website performance and security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","manualknowledgebasecat":[42],"manual_kb_tag":[5792,3730,4783,4998,5786,5787,5788,5789,5790,5791],"class_list":["post-9215","manual_kb","type-manual_kb","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","manualknowledgebasecat-miscellaneous","manual_kb_tag-content-indexing","manual_kb_tag-search-engine-bots","manual_kb_tag-web-crawler","manual_kb_tag-search-engine-indexing","manual_kb_tag-website-scanning-bot","manual_kb_tag-web-spider","manual_kb_tag-web-scraping","manual_kb_tag-website-monitoring","manual_kb_tag-monitoring-bots","manual_kb_tag-data-collection"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manual_kb\/9215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manual_kb"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/manual_kb"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manual_kb\/9215\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9217,"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manual_kb\/9215\/revisions\/9217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"manualknowledgebasecat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manualknowledgebasecat?post=9215"},{"taxonomy":"manual_kb_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manual_kb_tag?post=9215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}