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HowTo schema generator

Type the title of a step-by-step guide and each step as the page shows it, and Leadee writes HowTo JSON-LD. Google no longer shows HowTo rich results: they left mobile in August 2023 and desktop on 13 September 2023. The markup still labels each step for machine readers. Free, no sign-up.

Updated

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Generate HowTo markup

HowTo

  • Title and 3 steps filled in
  • Total time PT20M
  • Not shown as a rich result by Google

Example result

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Start from an example (made-up data, replace with your own)

HowTo

Required

Steps

Recommended

Optional

howtoNot shown by Google

JSON-LD

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "HowTo",
  "@id": "https://example.com/#howto"
}

At a glance

3 items
What it checks
6
Questions answered
No email needed
To get a result
Can AI read my site?
Answers

What does it check?

  • A title and at least one step with a name

    A title and at least one step with a name and an instruction

  • Total time as an ISO 8601 duration, such

    Total time as an ISO 8601 duration, such as PT30M

  • Image as a full https:// address

    Image as a full https:// address

What does a result look like?

HowTo

  • Title and 3 steps filled in
  • Total time PT20M
  • Not shown as a rich result by Google

Sample from a real run, 14 Nov 2026.

When should I use HowTo markup?

  • Install and setup guides

    Fitting a part, setting up an account, preparing a file: one task, done in order.

  • Care and maintenance pages

    Steps a customer follows between visits, such as changing a filter.

  • Not for lists of tips

    Ten tips in any order are not steps. Use Article for those pages.

Which fields does HowTo need?

Google no longer documents HowTo, and schema.org makes no property mandatory. The generator treats a title and at least one step as the core, because a HowTo with no steps says nothing.

  • Core

    name

    The guide's title, as shown on the page.

  • Core

    step

    One HowToStep per step, in the order the page lists them.

  • Core

    step.text

    The instruction for that step, word for word. step.name holds its short title.

  • Helpful

    description

    One or two sentences on what the reader will achieve.

  • Helpful

    image

    A photo of the finished result or the main step.

  • Helpful

    totalTime

    ISO 8601 duration, such as PT30M for 30 minutes.

Does Google show HowTo as a rich result?

  • Google status

    Not shown as a rich result by Google

    Google limited HowTo rich results to desktop in August 2023, then stopped showing them on desktop on 13 September 2023 and called the result type deprecated (Search Central blog, updated 14 September 2023). HowTo remains a valid schema.org type.

  • Source

    Google Search Central

    Read on 14 Nov 2026. Google can change this; check the source before you rely on it.

    Open Google's page
  • schema.org

    HowTo is a current type

    Checked against schema.org release 30.1. Valid markup still helps engines read the page, rich result or not.

What does HowTo markup look like for my industry?

Made-up businesses on example.com addresses. Load any of them into the generator above, then replace every value with your own.

  • Manufacturing

    Fitting a replacement seal kit

    Maintenance staff follow the steps on the shop floor. The markup lists the same steps in the same order.

    {
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "HowTo",
  "name": "How to fit the PS-40 pump seal kit",
  "step": [
    {
      "@type": "HowToStep",
      "name": "Isolate the pump",
      "text": "Switch off and lock out the power, then close the inlet and outlet valves."
    },
    {
      "@type": "HowToStep",
      "name": "Remove the old seal",
      "text": "Take off the pump cover and slide the old seal off the shaft."
    },
    {
      "@type": "HowToStep",
      "name": "Fit the new seal",
      "text": "Wet the new seal with clean water and push it onto the shaft until it seats."
    }
  ],
  "totalTime": "PT45M",
  "@id": "https://parts.example.com/#howto"
}

  • B2B services

    Uploading documents to a client portal

    New clients get a link to this guide in their welcome email. Each step matches a screen in the portal.

    {
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "HowTo",
  "name": "How to upload your year-end documents",
  "step": [
    {
      "@type": "HowToStep",
      "name": "Sign in",
      "text": "Open the portal link from your welcome email and sign in."
    },
    {
      "@type": "HowToStep",
      "name": "Choose the year",
      "text": "Pick the financial year from the list at the top of the page."
    },
    {
      "@type": "HowToStep",
      "name": "Upload",
      "text": "Drag your files into the box and press Send."
    }
  ],
  "description": "Send us your records through the secure portal in a few minutes.",
  "@id": "https://accounts.example.com/#howto"
}

  • Local services

    Changing a furnace filter at home

    Homeowners do this between service visits. The page and the markup list the same three steps.

    {
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "HowTo",
  "name": "How to change your furnace filter",
  "step": [
    {
      "@type": "HowToStep",
      "name": "Turn off the furnace",
      "text": "Set the thermostat to off before you open the filter slot."
    },
    {
      "@type": "HowToStep",
      "name": "Take out the old filter",
      "text": "Slide it out and note the arrow that shows the airflow direction."
    },
    {
      "@type": "HowToStep",
      "name": "Fit the new filter",
      "text": "Slide in a filter of the same size with the arrow pointing the same way."
    }
  ],
  "image": "https://comfort.example.com/guides/filter-change.jpg",
  "totalTime": "PT10M",
  "@id": "https://comfort.example.com/#howto"
}

  • Print

    Exporting a print-ready PDF

    Customers read this before they upload artwork. Each step names the export setting the shop needs.

    {
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "HowTo",
  "name": "How to export a print-ready PDF with bleed",
  "step": [
    {
      "@type": "HowToStep",
      "name": "Add bleed",
      "text": "Set 3 mm bleed on every edge of the document."
    },
    {
      "@type": "HowToStep",
      "name": "Embed fonts",
      "text": "In the export settings, choose to embed all fonts."
    },
    {
      "@type": "HowToStep",
      "name": "Export",
      "text": "Save as PDF with crop marks and bleed turned on."
    }
  ],
  "totalTime": "PT5M",
  "@id": "https://print.example.com/#howto"
}

Need several types on one page? The full schema markup generator links them with @id.

How do I read and fix the result?

Check that the steps are in the same order as on the page and that none is missing. The markup is only useful if a machine reading it gets the same instructions a person reading the page gets.

  1. Open a page that walks the reader through a task in numbered steps.

  2. Enter the guide's title as the page shows it.

  3. Add one row per step: a short step title and the instruction, word for word.

  4. Add the total time and a photo of the finished result if the page has them.

  5. Paste the block on that page, and edit it whenever you change the steps.

Who is it for?

An engineer in a hard hat and safety vest reading a tablet on the shop floor

Manufacturers

Product and spec pages AI engines need to parse correctly.

Three consultants reviewing a document on a tablet

Professional services firms

Service pages that need clear Organization and entity markup.

A businessman in a suit shaking hands with a supplier in an office

B2B suppliers

Catalogue and partner pages AI crawlers must be able to read.

What are the limits?

Good to know

What are the limits?

Google no longer shows HowTo rich results, so this markup will not change how your Google listing looks. The generator cannot check that the steps are on the page or that they work.

Questions

Does Google still show HowTo rich results?

No. Google limited them to desktop in August 2023, then stopped showing them on desktop on 13 September 2023 and called the result type deprecated. Adding HowTo markup will not add steps under your Google listing.

Then why add HowTo markup at all?

HowTo is still a current schema.org type (release 30.1). It labels the title, each step and its order, so any machine reader can parse the steps without guessing from the layout. No engine promises to use it, so treat it as tidy labelling, not a ranking trick.

Do the steps have to be on the page?

Yes. Markup should describe what a reader can see. Write the steps on the page first, then mark up exactly those steps in the same order.

What is the difference between HowTo and FAQPage?

HowTo is for one task done in order: step one, step two, step three. FAQPage is for separate questions with their own answers. A page can carry both if it has a guide and a Q&A section.

Should every blog post use HowTo?

Only posts that really are a set of steps someone follows. An opinion piece or a news update is an Article. Marking a non-task page as HowTo describes it wrongly.

How do I write total time?

As an ISO 8601 duration: PT20M is 20 minutes, PT1H30M is an hour and a half, P2D is two days. The generator checks the format as you type.

Can GEO guarantee results?

No. AI answer engines change their output frequently, and no vendor — including Leadee — can guarantee a ranking or a mention. Leadee publishes confidence intervals on every metric so you can see how much a result can vary run to run.

How does Leadee measure AI visibility?

Leadee runs your prompt set against each AI engine on a weekly to daily schedule, depending on plan, through official vendor APIs (OpenAI, Gemini, Perplexity, Anthropic, DataForSEO) — never by scraping consumer chat interfaces — and reports mention rate, citation rate, average position, share of voice and sentiment with a 95% confidence interval.

Who do I talk to?

Email support@leadee.ai or use Talk to an expert at https://leadee.ai/contact-sales — the Netbase JSC team behind Leadee replies by email or WhatsApp — or WhatsApp the CEO directly at https://wa.me/84937869689.

Which tools go with this one?

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    Create Article, BlogPosting or NewsArticle JSON-LD for a post: headline, image, author and dates, checked live against Google's Article guide and schema.org.

    Learn more
  • Free tool

    Software Application Schema Generator

    Write SoftwareApplication JSON-LD for your app, web app or mobile app: name, price, category and operating system, with Google's rating rule stated plainly.

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  • Leadee product

    Fix plans

    Turn Audit, Tracker and Citation Graph findings into fix tickets — schema, FAQs, briefs — then Leadee re-measures to confirm each one worked.

    Learn more

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