HowTo schema markup was used to enable step-by-step instructional rich results in Google Search — showing numbered steps, images, and tools directly in search results. Google retired HowTo rich results in August 2024. Pages with HowTo structured data no longer receive rich results, but the markup remains valid Schema.org and can still be validated. SchemaCheck returns a deprecation warning for HowTo schemas.
Google retired HowTo rich results in August 2024. This schema type will validate with a deprecation warning. Your structured data will not generate rich results in Google Search.
| Property | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
name | string | The title of the how-to guide. |
step | HowToStep array | The ordered steps. Each HowToStep should have text. |
Missing recommended properties generate warnings. They won't block validation, but rich result-tagged properties are needed for full Google rich result eligibility.
| Property | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
description | string | A description of what the guide teaches. |
image | URL or ImageObject | An image for the guide. |
totalTime | ISO 8601 duration | Total time to complete the how-to. |
Rich result type: Retired — no longer generates rich results (as of August 2024)
Requirements: HowTo rich results are retired. Validation will pass but returns a deprecation warning. The structured data is still valid Schema.org.
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "HowTo",
"name": "How to add JSON-LD to a web page",
"description": "Add Schema.org structured data to your page using a JSON-LD script tag.",
"totalTime": "PT5M",
"step": [
{
"@type": "HowToStep",
"text": "Open your HTML file in a text editor."
},
{
"@type": "HowToStep",
"text": "Add a <script type=\"application/ld+json\"> tag inside the <head>."
},
{
"@type": "HowToStep",
"text": "Paste your JSON-LD object inside the script tag and save."
}
]
}Validate this schema against Google's requirements in one API call:
curl "https://schemacheck.dev/api/v1/validate" \
-H "x-api-key: YOUR_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"jsonld":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"HowTo","name":"How to add JSON-LD to a web page","description":"Add Schema.org structured data to your page using a JSON-LD script tag.","totalTime":"PT5M","step":[{"@type":"HowToStep","text":"Open your HTML file in a text editor."},{"@type":"HowToStep","text":"Add a <script type=\"application/ld+json\"> tag inside the <head>."},{"@type":"HowToStep","text":"Paste your JSON-LD object inside the script tag and save."}]}}'100 free validations/month. No credit card required.