FREE TOOL / NO ACCOUNT / RUNS ON THE PAGE YOU GIVE IT
HowTo schema generator
Steps, supplies, tools and total time in, valid HowTo JSON-LD out. Google stopped showing HowTo rich results in 2023, and this page says so plainly rather than selling you one.
The task
Written out as an ISO 8601 duration, which is the only format schema.org accepts. 90 becomes PT1H30M.
One per line. Things consumed by the task.
One per line. Things used and kept.
Steps
In order. Each step must describe one action the reader takes, in the same words the page uses.
- Step 1
Links straight to this step, usually #an-id.
- Step 2
Links straight to this step, usually #an-id.
Your JSON-LD
schema.org needs 2 more fields
- name
- step (at least one)
<script type="application/ld+json">
{}
</script>Paste this into the <head> of the page it describes, exactly once. Then check it with Google's Rich Results Test.
QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS TOOL
- Does HowTo markup still produce a rich result in Google?
- No. Google removed the How-to rich result in September 2023, on desktop and mobile, and retired the documentation page with it. Google's guidance is that existing markup can stay for other consumers, but it will not earn you a listing in Search.
- Then why generate HowTo markup?
- Because it is still valid schema.org, and it states in machine-readable form what the steps of your procedure are and in what order. That is what an AI assistant needs to summarise your instructions without reordering them, and other search engines and voice assistants read it too. If your only goal is a Google rich result, this markup will not get you one.
- What does this tool treat as required?
- A name, and at least one step with text. Those come from the schema.org definition of HowTo, not from a Google Search requirement, because Google no longer publishes one for this type.
- Why does total time come out as PT1H30M?
- Because schema.org durations are ISO 8601. Ninety minutes is one hour and thirty minutes, written PT1H30M. You type minutes and the tool does the conversion.
- What is the difference between supply and tool?
- A supply is consumed by the task, like an inner tube or a litre of paint. A tool is used and kept, like tyre levers or a brush.
- Do the steps have to match the page?
- Yes. Google's structured data policies require the marked-up content to be present and visible on the page for the user. Steps that only exist in the JSON are a spam policy violation.
A TOOL CHECKS ONCE. SEOBUILDER KEEPS WATCH.
We can watch this for you.
Instructions get edited, reordered and split across pages, and the markup rarely follows. We check the structured data on your pages on a schedule, tell you when it drifts, and measure whether AI answers quote your steps.