Adding JSON-LD Structured Data to WordPress

JSON-LD (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data) is the recommended way to add structured data to web pages. Google uses it to understand what a page is about and can display rich results in search. For AI crawlers (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini), structured data helps them accurately identify and cite your content.

The correct way to add JSON-LD to WordPress is via a PHP code snippet hooked into wp_head — not by editing WordPress core files.

Before You Start

Check whether Yoast SEO, RankMath, AIOSEO, or another SEO plugin is already generating schema on your site. Running two schema sources simultaneously will produce conflicting JSON-LD. If an SEO plugin is active, either disable its schema output or skip this guide.

To check: open any public page → View Page Source → search for application/ld+json. If you already see schema output, identify the source before adding more.

Step 1: Open Code Snippets

In WordPress Admin, go to:

Code Snippets → Add New

If you don't have the Code Snippets plugin, install it from Plugins → Add New (search "Code Snippets" by Code Snippets Pro).

Step 2: Create the Snippet

Name: Generate JSON-LD for Pages
Code Type: PHP Snippet
Insertion: Auto Insert → Frontend Only

Paste the following code:

add_action('wp_head', 'ai12z_output_jsonld', 20);

function ai12z_output_jsonld() {
    if (is_admin() || is_feed() || is_404()) {
        return;
    }

    $home_url  = home_url('/');
    $site_name = get_bloginfo('name');
    $language  = get_bloginfo('language');

    $logo_id  = get_theme_mod('custom_logo');
    $logo_url = $logo_id ? wp_get_attachment_image_url($logo_id, 'full') : '';

    $graph = array();

    $organization = array(
        '@type' => 'Organization',
        '@id'   => $home_url . '#organization',
        'name'  => $site_name,
        'url'   => $home_url,
    );

    if ($logo_url) {
        $organization['logo'] = array(
            '@type' => 'ImageObject',
            'url'   => $logo_url,
        );
    }

    $graph[] = $organization;

    $graph[] = array(
        '@type'      => 'WebSite',
        '@id'        => $home_url . '#website',
        'url'        => $home_url,
        'name'       => $site_name,
        'publisher'  => array('@id' => $home_url . '#organization'),
        'inLanguage' => $language,
    );

    if (is_singular()) {
        $post_id = get_queried_object_id();
        $url     = get_permalink($post_id);
        $title   = wp_strip_all_tags(get_the_title($post_id));
        $desc    = ai12z_jsonld_description($post_id);

        $schema_type = is_singular('post') ? 'Article' : 'WebPage';

        $page = array(
            '@type'         => $schema_type,
            '@id'           => $url . '#webpage',
            'url'           => $url,
            'name'          => $title,
            'description'   => $desc,
            'isPartOf'      => array('@id' => $home_url . '#website'),
            'about'         => array('@id' => $home_url . '#organization'),
            'breadcrumb'    => array('@id' => $url . '#breadcrumb'),
            'inLanguage'    => $language,
            'datePublished' => get_the_date('c', $post_id),
            'dateModified'  => get_the_modified_date('c', $post_id),
        );

        if ($schema_type === 'Article') {
            $page['headline']         = $title;
            $page['publisher']        = array('@id' => $home_url . '#organization');
            $page['mainEntityOfPage'] = array('@id' => $url . '#webpage');
        }

        if (has_post_thumbnail($post_id)) {
            $image_url = get_the_post_thumbnail_url($post_id, 'full');

            if ($image_url) {
                $page['primaryImageOfPage'] = array(
                    '@type' => 'ImageObject',
                    'url'   => $image_url,
                );

                if ($schema_type === 'Article') {
                    $page['image'] = $image_url;
                }
            }
        }

        $graph[] = $page;

        $breadcrumb = ai12z_jsonld_breadcrumb($post_id);
        if ($breadcrumb) {
            $graph[] = $breadcrumb;
        }
    }

    $jsonld = array(
        '@context' => 'https://schema.org',
        '@graph'   => $graph,
    );

    echo "\n<script type=\"application/ld+json\">";
    echo wp_json_encode($jsonld, JSON_UNESCAPED_SLASHES | JSON_UNESCAPED_UNICODE);
    echo "</script>\n";
}

function ai12z_jsonld_description($post_id) {
    $excerpt = get_post_field('post_excerpt', $post_id);

    if (!$excerpt) {
        $content = get_post_field('post_content', $post_id);
        $excerpt = wp_trim_words(
            wp_strip_all_tags(strip_shortcodes($content)),
            35
        );
    }

    return wp_strip_all_tags($excerpt);
}

function ai12z_jsonld_breadcrumb($post_id) {
    $url = get_permalink($post_id);

    $items    = array();
    $position = 1;

    $items[] = array(
        '@type'    => 'ListItem',
        'position' => $position++,
        'name'     => get_bloginfo('name'),
        'item'     => home_url('/'),
    );

    $ancestors = array_reverse(get_post_ancestors($post_id));

    foreach ($ancestors as $ancestor_id) {
        $items[] = array(
            '@type'    => 'ListItem',
            'position' => $position++,
            'name'     => wp_strip_all_tags(get_the_title($ancestor_id)),
            'item'     => get_permalink($ancestor_id),
        );
    }

    $items[] = array(
        '@type'    => 'ListItem',
        'position' => $position++,
        'name'     => wp_strip_all_tags(get_the_title($post_id)),
        'item'     => $url,
    );

    return array(
        '@type'           => 'BreadcrumbList',
        '@id'             => $url . '#breadcrumb',
        'itemListElement' => $items,
    );
}

Step 3: Configure Insertion Settings

Scroll down to the Insertion section and set:

Setting	Value
Insert Method	Auto Insert
Location	Frontend Only

Why Frontend Only? The snippet already calls add_action('wp_head', ...) which hooks into the front-end page <head>. Running it everywhere or on the admin side is unnecessary.

Step 4: Activate and Save

Toggle the snippet to Active
Make sure Testing Mode is off
Click Save Changes

The snippet applies automatically to every public WordPress page and post — no shortcodes or per-page configuration needed.

Step 5: Verify

Open any public page (not the WordPress admin)
Right-click → View Page Source
Search for application/ld+json

You should see a block like this in the <head>:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@graph": [
    {
      "@type": "Organization",
      "@id": "https://yoursite.com/#organization",
      "name": "Your Site Name",
      "url": "https://yoursite.com/"
    },
    {
      "@type": "WebPage",
      "@id": "https://yoursite.com/page/#webpage",
      "url": "https://yoursite.com/page/",
      "name": "Page Title",
      ...
    }
  ]
}
</script>

If the block doesn't appear, clear your caches:

SpeedyCache or your WordPress cache plugin
CDN cache (if applicable)
Browser cache (Ctrl+Shift+R / Cmd+Shift+R)

Step 6: Test with Google's Rich Results Tool

Go to search.google.com/test/rich-results, enter a public page URL, and run the test. It will confirm the structured data is valid and show which schema types were detected.

What This Snippet Generates

Every public page receives a @graph array containing:

Schema Type	Appears on	Description
`Organization`	All pages	Site name, URL, and logo
`WebSite`	All pages	Site-level entity with publisher reference
`WebPage`	WordPress Pages	Page title, description, dates, breadcrumb
`Article`	WordPress Posts	Headline, image, publisher, dates, breadcrumb
`BreadcrumbList`	All singular pages	Page hierarchy trail from home to current page

Before You Start​

Step 1: Open Code Snippets​

Step 2: Create the Snippet​

Step 3: Configure Insertion Settings​

Step 4: Activate and Save​

Step 5: Verify​

Step 6: Test with Google's Rich Results Tool​

What This Snippet Generates​