GoogleBot Can’t Crawl CSS Custom Properties – Google

In web development, one of the most commonly used systems is CSS custom properties. They make a site very specific and defined, which in turn plays a big role in how the system operates. However, recently a Google expert and employee, Eric Bidelman, made it clear that custom CSS properties cannot be ‘crawled’ by the GoogleBot.

In a recent tweet, Bidelman made it clear that this was the case, saying:

PSA: Google Search crawler 🤖 is based on Chrome 41 [1], which does NOT support CSS Custom Properties [2]. If your layout/design relies on vars, make sure you’re compiling CSS so your page renders properly. I wasn’t 😢

[1]: https://t.co/ZinziTp4oT
[2]: https://t.co/PtAAR4ZOHq* pic.twitter.com/w4AhujZYSQ

— Eric Bidelman (@ebidel) February 28, 2018

This is important and should be noted by all webmasters. Eric came across the issue when setting up a new layout of his own, one that relies on vars. So, he decided to share that with the world, and it’s very important that webmasters take this seriously.

There is a rather interesting guide on this here that we recommend you look at. While the search engine parameters are often a challenging experience, getting to grip with how they generally operate is important. Make sure that you take the time to look it over and “get” what the issue is, so that you can continue to properly use this feature in the long-term.

Source: Search Engine Roundtable