Skip to content
DevUtil

Website Schema Generator - JSON-LD for Site Name & Search Box

Site Information

The name Google should display for your site in search results.

An abbreviation or commonly used alternative name for your site.

Search Action

Use {search_term_string} as the query placeholder.

Google Search Preview
example.com
Site Name
All Google requirements met

JSON-LD Output

Why WebSite Schema Matters

WebSite schema is one of the simplest structured data types you can add, yet most sites skip it entirely. Its primary job is straightforward: tell Google the official name of your website. Google then uses that name in search results instead of guessing from your <title> tags, Open Graph data, or headings. If you have ever seen Google display the wrong name next to your URLs, this markup fixes that. It takes under a minute to implement and belongs on your homepage. Nowhere else.

Site Name Display in Search Results

Google introduced site name display to give searchers a clearer picture of which website each result comes from. The name property in your WebSite JSON-LD is the primary signal Google reads. If your site is known by a shortened version or acronym, add that as an alternateName so Google can match it to the way people actually refer to your site. For example, a site called "The New York Public Library" might include "NYPL" as an alternate name. Without this markup, Google falls back on heuristics that frequently produce truncated or incorrect names, particularly for sites with descriptive rather than branded titles.

The Sitelinks Search Box Is Gone

For years, WebSite schema included a SearchAction property that could trigger a search box directly in Google search results. Google deprecated this feature in October 2024. The Sitelinks Search Box no longer appears regardless of whether your markup includes SearchAction. You can still include SearchAction for the benefit of other structured data consumers, but do not add it expecting a visible search box in Google. If you see older guides recommending it as a reason to implement WebSite schema, that advice is outdated. The real value now is entirely in controlling your site name.

Implementation Checklist

Add a single <script type="application/ld+json"> block to your homepage containing a WebSite object with @type, name, and url at minimum. Include alternateName if your site has a well-known abbreviation. Do not place this markup on subpages. It describes the site as a whole and only needs to exist once. Validate your output with Google's Rich Results Test or Schema Markup Validator, then confirm in Google Search Console that the site name appears correctly. This is a set-and-forget piece of structured data: once it is in place and validated, you rarely need to touch it again.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does WebSite schema do?
WebSite schema tells Google the official name of your website. Google uses this structured data to display the correct site name alongside your URLs in search results, rather than guessing from your title tags or headings.
How does WebSite schema affect my site name in Google Search?
Google reads the name property in your WebSite JSON-LD to determine what to show as the site name in search results. Without it, Google infers the name from various signals and often gets it wrong, especially for sites with long or ambiguous titles.
Was the Sitelinks Search Box deprecated?
Yes. Google deprecated the Sitelinks Search Box feature in October 2024 and no longer displays a search box in search results based on SearchAction markup. The SearchAction property can still be included for other consumers, but it will not trigger a search box in Google.
Where should I place WebSite schema?
Place WebSite schema on your homepage only. It describes the website as a whole, so adding it to individual pages is unnecessary and can cause validation warnings in testing tools.
When should I use the alternateName property?
Use alternateName when your site is commonly known by an abbreviation, acronym, or alternate spelling. For example, if your site is 'International Business Machines' but people search for 'IBM', adding IBM as an alternateName helps Google recognise both.