About

Google uses HowTo structured data to display step-by-step rich results directly in search. A missing or malformed HowToStep object causes silent validation failures. Google's Rich Results Test will pass a technically valid schema that still never triggers a rich snippet because the totalTime field uses the wrong ISO 8601 duration format, or the estimatedCost block omits the required @type: MonetaryAmount wrapper. Manual JSON-LD authoring invites bracket-matching errors. One unclosed brace invalidates the entire block and your page loses its rich result with no warning in Search Console.

This generator enforces the Schema.org HowTo specification. It produces @type: HowTo objects with properly nested HowToStep, HowToTool, and HowToSupply arrays. Time values convert to ISO 8601 durations (PT1H30M). Cost values wrap in MonetaryAmount with the correct currency code. Limitations: this tool generates client-side JSON-LD only. It cannot guarantee Google will display a rich result. Google's rendering decision depends on page authority, content quality, and internal ranking signals beyond schema correctness.

Formulas

The HowTo schema follows a strict nested object structure:

HowTo → HowToStep[1..n] → HowToDirection

ISO 8601 duration conversion:

totalTime = PT + floor(minutes60) ⋅ H + (minutes mod 60) ⋅ M

Where minutes = total estimated time in minutes entered by the user. For example, 150 min → PT2H30M.

Step position assignment: position_i = i + 1, where i ∈ [0, n − 1] is the zero-based array index.

URL validation pattern: match(^https?:\/\/.+) → TRUE | FALSE

Reference Data

Property	Type	Required	Description
@type	Text	Yes	Must be HowTo
name	Text	Yes	Title of the how-to guide
description	Text	Recommended	Summary of what the how-to achieves
image	URL	Recommended	Image representing the completed how-to
totalTime	Duration	Recommended	ISO 8601 format, e.g. PT2H30M
estimatedCost	MonetaryAmount	Optional	Requires currency (ISO 4217) and value
supply	HowToSupply[]	Optional	Materials consumed during the process
tool	HowToTool[]	Optional	Instruments used but not consumed
step	HowToStep[]	Yes	Ordered array of steps, minimum 2
step.name	Text	Yes	Short title for the step
step.text	Text	Yes	Full instruction for the step
step.image	URL	Recommended	Image illustrating the step
step.url	URL	Optional	Anchor link to the step on the page (e.g. #step1)
@context	URL	Yes	Must be https://schema.org
currency	Text	If cost used	ISO 4217 code: USD, EUR, GBP
value	Number	If cost used	Numeric cost value, e.g. 25.00
position	Integer	Auto	Auto-generated step index starting at 1
@type (step)	Text	Yes	Must be HowToStep for each step
@type (direction)	Text	Yes	HowToDirection wraps step text

Frequently Asked Questions

Google requires a minimum of 2 HowToStep objects. Pages with a single step are unlikely to trigger the rich result. There is no documented upper limit, but Google typically renders up to 8 steps in the SERP preview. Steps beyond 8 are collapsed behind a "Show more" link.

Google uses totalTime as a display signal, not a ranking factor. However, omitting it removes the time badge from the rich result card, which reduces click-through rate. The value must be in ISO 8601 duration format (e.g. PT1H30M). Using plain text like "90 minutes" causes a validation error.

An empty array (supply: []) passes JSON syntax validation but triggers a warning in Google's Rich Results Test. Either populate these fields with at least one item or omit the property entirely. The generator handles this by excluding empty arrays from the output.

Google strongly recommends absolute URLs (https://example.com/image.jpg) for all image properties. Relative URLs may resolve incorrectly when Google crawls the page, especially if your canonical URL differs from the page URL. This generator validates that image URLs begin with http:// or https://.

The estimatedCost must be wrapped in a MonetaryAmount type with both currency (ISO 4217 code like USD, EUR) and value (numeric string). Writing estimatedCost: "$25" instead of the full object structure fails schema validation. The generator automatically constructs the correct nested object.

Yes. Google's documentation specifies that step URLs should be fragment identifiers pointing to the corresponding section on the page (e.g. https://example.com/guide#step3). This enables Google to deep-link users directly to a specific step. Using external URLs or omitting the page base URL causes the link to break in search results.