Schema from a web design point of view
Our SEO answer on schema markup covers what schema does in search. This answer covers how to build it into a website so it stays right.
The common mistake is pasting a block of markup into a page by hand. Months later the hours change, the phone number changes or a service ends, and the markup still says the old thing. Google's guidelines ask that markup match what visitors see, so stale markup is a problem.
Generate it from your content
- One sourceHours, phone, prices and services live in the CMS.
- TemplatesEach page type builds its own markup from that data.
- PublishEvery content change updates the page and its markup.
Markup by page type
| Page type | Markup it should carry |
|---|---|
| Homepage | Organization and WebSite |
| Office or location page | LocalBusiness with address, geo, hours and phone |
| Service page | Service with area served and price details |
| Article or answer | Article with author, dates and publisher |
| Every inner page | BreadcrumbList |
Google recommends JSON-LD, a separate block of code that does not touch the visible design.
Good example. A medical practice changes its Saturday hours in the CMS. The office page, the footer and the LocalBusiness markup all update together.
Bad example. The same practice edits its hours on the page, but the hand-pasted markup still lists the old schedule for a year.
Test it
Check each template in Google's Rich Results Test and watch the structured data reports in Search Console after launch. Google does not guarantee rich results, even for valid markup.
Rathly.com builds its markup this way, including holiday closures for each office. Our web design team sets up the same system for every client site.