QAPage Schema Generator — Highlight the Best Answer
Generate valid QAPage JSON‑LD for user‑generated threads. Identify the best answer, include authors/dates, and add engagement context for better understanding.
Why many Q&A threads underperform
Pain points we solve
- Threads lack a clearly identified best answer in markup.
- Author and timestamp context are missing, reducing trust.
- Using FAQPage on UGC threads causes policy and eligibility issues.
- Hand‑written JSON‑LD drifts out of sync with thread updates.
How SwiftSchema helps
Solution
The QAPage generator focuses on the essentials: a Question with a clear title (and optional body), an acceptedAnswer, and suggestedAnswer entries as needed.
It supports author names, creation timestamps, and upvote counts so your thread context is preserved in markup. The output is copy‑ready to keep your template consistent.
How it works
How it works
- Choose QAPage in the generator below.
- Provide Question title (`name`) and optional body (`text`).
- Add an acceptedAnswer and any number of suggestedAnswer entries.
- Include author names, `dateCreated`, and upvote counts when available.
- Copy JSON or Script, paste on the canonical thread page, and validate in the Rich Results Test.
Use on canonical threads. Validate. Ship.
What is QAPage structured data?
QAPage marks up a user‑generated question with multiple answers and one best (accepted) answer, helping search engines understand Q&A threads.
Use QAPage when:
- The page is a single question thread with multiple user answers.
- One answer is clearly selected as the best (acceptedAnswer).
- The question and answers are visible to users on that URL (no paywall/hidden content).
Avoid it when:
- The page is a publisher-authored FAQ list (use FAQPage).
- It’s an open discussion without a best answer (use DiscussionForumPosting or leave untyped).
- Answers are AI-generated or unmoderated in sensitive topics (health/finance) without human review.
Eligibility, policy, and UX signals
- Show the full question and at least one answer on-page; don’t hide content behind tabs that aren’t crawlable.
- Clearly indicate which answer is accepted/best in the UI; keep markup aligned with what users see.
- Moderate spam and off-topic content; remove answers that violate site policies.
- Provide author names/handles and timestamps for transparency.
- Use self-referential canonicals; avoid duplicating the same thread on multiple URLs.
- Keep the page indexable (no robots.txt blocks, no noindex).
On-page checklist before adding JSON-LD
- H1 or page title states the question plainly.
- Answers are rendered in HTML (not images); accepted answer is visibly marked.
- Pagination or “load more” still renders the accepted answer on the canonical page.
- Internal links to related questions or relevant guides (e.g., Breadcrumb, FAQPage, Article) are present.
- Mobile UX: answers are readable; no intrusive interstitials.
Required vs recommended properties (how to fill them)
- mainEntity.name (required): The concise question title (matches the visible question).
- mainEntity.text (recommended): Longer question body/description if present.
- mainEntity.author.name (recommended): Show the asker’s display name/handle.
- mainEntity.dateCreated (recommended): Timestamp of the question.
- answerCount (recommended): Total answers visible on the thread.
- acceptedAnswer (required): Must include @type: Answerandtext; add author, dateCreated, upvoteCount when available.
- suggestedAnswer (recommended): Other answers; include authors and engagement signals.
- inLanguage (recommended): Locale tag like en-USif your site is localized.
JSON-LD examples
Minimal (single best answer)
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "QAPage",
"mainEntity": {
"@type": "Question",
"name": "How to add Product JSON-LD?",
"text": "Which properties are required for basic eligibility?",
"author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jamie" },
"answerCount": 3,
"acceptedAnswer": {
"@type": "Answer",
"text": "Provide name, image, and an Offer with price, priceCurrency, and availability.",
"author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Taylor" }
}
}
}
With dates, multiple answers, and upvotes
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "QAPage",
"inLanguage": "en-US",
"mainEntity": {
"@type": "Question",
"name": "How do I fix breadcrumb validation errors?",
"text": "I see Missing field 'item' and 'position' warnings. How do I resolve them?",
"dateCreated": "2025-01-06T14:10:00-05:00",
"author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alicia" },
"answerCount": 4,
"acceptedAnswer": {
"@type": "Answer",
"text": "Add an ItemList with item and position for every breadcrumb. Use absolute URLs that match visible crumbs.",
"author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Devon" },
"dateCreated": "2025-01-06T14:32:00-05:00",
"upvoteCount": 18
},
"suggestedAnswer": [
{
"@type": "Answer",
"text": "Switch to FAQPage instead of Breadcrumb.",
"author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Chris" },
"upvoteCount": 1
},
{
"@type": "Answer",
"text": "Remove breadcrumbs entirely; Google will infer them.",
"author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Riley" },
"upvoteCount": 0
}
]
}
}
With multi-lingual context (per locale page)
If you localize threads, create one URL per locale with matching
inLanguage
and translated content. Don’t mix multiple languages in one JSON-LD block.
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "QAPage",
"inLanguage": "es-ES",
"mainEntity": {
"@type": "Question",
"name": "¿Cómo valido los breadcrumbs?",
"text": "Veo errores de campo 'item' y 'position'. ¿Cómo los arreglo?",
"author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lucía" },
"answerCount": 2,
"acceptedAnswer": {
"@type": "Answer",
"text": "Añade item y position para cada breadcrumb con URLs absolutas.",
"author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mateo" }
}
}
}
Implementation steps (detailed)
- Prepare canonical URL: One URL per thread; avoid query-param duplicates. Use a self-referencing canonical.
- Mark the accepted answer: In the UI, clearly mark the best answer; map it to acceptedAnswerin JSON-LD.
- Map other answers: Put the rest in suggestedAnswerwith authors and optionalupvoteCount.
- Add authors/dates: Include author.nameanddateCreatedon the question and answers if available.
- Set language: Add inLanguageif your site targets a locale; keep markup aligned to page language.
- Place JSON-LD: Add one script block per thread in <head>or near the close of<body>.
- Validate: Run the page in the Rich Results Test; confirm QAPage is detected and no required fields are missing.
- Monitor: Check Search Console for Q&A enhancement issues; watch for crawl or indexing errors.
Pagination and “load more”
- Keep the accepted answer on page 1 so it’s always in the primary HTML.
- If answers paginate, either render the accepted answer on the canonical page or ensure the structured data still contains it.
- Avoid infinite scroll that hides content from crawlers; provide server-rendered or paginated HTML.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Using FAQPage for UGC threads. FAQPage is for publisher-curated answers only.
- No accepted answer. You need acceptedAnswerfor eligibility; pick the best and keep it consistent.
- Hidden or paywalled answers. If users/crawlers can’t see the accepted answer, remove it from schema or expose it.
- Mismatched content. acceptedAnswerin JSON-LD must match the on-page accepted answer exactly.
- Stale answer counts. Update answerCountwhen answers are added/removed.
- Mixing multiple questions per page. Use one question per QAPage; if you have many, split into separate thread pages.
Troubleshooting and validation
- Rich Results Test errors: Verify acceptedAnswer.textexists andmainEntity.@typeisQuestion. Ensure only onemainEntityper page.
- Enhancement issues in Search Console: Check for missing required fields, language mismatches, or blocked resources. Make sure the page is indexable.
- Ranking/visibility drops: Review for spam/low-quality answers; improve moderation and remove thin or off-topic content.
- Duplicate threads: Consolidate duplicates with canonicalization and redirects; keep one canonical thread per question.
Maintenance routine
- Revalidate after UX changes (new pagination, lazy loading, or editor updates).
- Update acceptedAnswerwhen community consensus changes; sync the UI and JSON-LD together.
- Refresh lastReviewedafter major content edits.
- Periodically prune spam or low-quality answers; keep answerCountaccurate.
Required properties
mainEntity.@type=QuestionmainEntity.namemainEntity.acceptedAnswer.@type=AnswermainEntity.acceptedAnswer.text
Recommended properties
mainEntity.textmainEntity.answerCountmainEntity.suggestedAnswer[].@type=AnswermainEntity.suggestedAnswer[].textmainEntity.dateCreatedmainEntity.author.namemainEntity.acceptedAnswer.dateCreatedmainEntity.acceptedAnswer.upvoteCountinLanguagemainEntity.acceptedAnswer.author.namemainEntity.suggestedAnswer[].author.name
Minimal QAPage JSON-LD
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "QAPage",
"mainEntity": {
"@type": "Question",
"name": "How to add Product JSON-LD?",
"text": "Which properties are required for basic eligibility?",
"author": {
"@type": "Person",
"name": "Jamie"
},
"dateCreated": "2025-07-01T12:34:00-05:00",
"answerCount": 3,
"acceptedAnswer": {
"@type": "Answer",
"text": "Provide name, image, and an Offer with price, priceCurrency, and availability.",
"author": {
"@type": "Person",
"name": "Taylor"
},
"dateCreated": "2025-07-01T13:20:00-05:00",
"upvoteCount": 12
},
"suggestedAnswer": [
{
"@type": "Answer",
"text": "Use Organization markup only."
},
{
"@type": "Answer",
"text": "Skip priceCurrency."
}
]
}
}FAQs
When should I use QAPage instead of FAQPage?Show
Use QAPage for user‑generated Q&A where there can be many answers but one is selected as the best. FAQPage is for a publisher‑curated list with single official answers.
Do I need a best answer?Show
Yes. Include `acceptedAnswer` to identify the best answer. Additional answers go in `suggestedAnswer`.
What other fields improve quality?Show
Provide author names, creation dates, and `upvoteCount` for answers when available.
Where should this markup live?Show
Place it on the canonical Q&A thread page accessible to users and crawlers.