Schema Star vs The SEO Rich Snippets

Schema Star is a comprehensive WordPress plugin that adds Schema.org structured data markup to your website, helping you achieve rich snippets, enhanced search appearances, and dramatically improved SEO performance in Google and other search engines. Every feature is designed to make your site not only rank better but also look better and more trustworthy in search results—with star ratings, breadcrumbs, FAQ expandables, sitelinks search box, organization and local business knowledge, and more. This is the demo/free version. Some advanced features (e.g. Product Reviews management page, Product Group settings page) are available in the Pro version. For step-by-step configuration and usage from a fresh install, see Configuration Steps and How to configure and use below. Organization Settings & Organization Markup Schema Star lets you add Organization Schema to your main or home page. You configure your company name, URL, logo URL, contact details, social profiles, and optional business hours. This structured data tells search engines exactly who you are as a business. How it improves search appearance: Google can use this to build or enrich a Knowledge Panel for your brand, show your logo next to your listing in search results, display sitelinks under your main result, and associate your content with a verified entity. A clear Organization markup strengthens E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) and helps your brand stand out in competitive search results. WooCommerce Settings (Product, Category, and More) The plugin provides a dedicated WooCommerce Settings area with tabbed sections: Product tab — Control product schema globally: enable/disable product markup, release date, awards, seller name, sale dates, description word limit and source for schema. This ensures every product page outputs rich Product schema so Google can show price, availability, ratings, and brand directly in search results, increasing click-through rates and purchase intent. Category tab — Configure Category Schema (CollectionPage / ItemList) for your product categories: enable category schema, set maximum products per category in the schema, and manage Shipping & Currency (country of origin, base currency, exchange rates, currency-to-country mapping), Payment & Return Policy (payment methods, return policy text, return countries, return category, fees, method, return days, multilingual return policy), General Product Settings (tracking, return days, product condition, warranty, shipping time), and Canonical Settings (canonical URLs, rel=prev/next). Category and product schema together make your store appear as a structured, trustworthy e-commerce site in search, with correct pricing and policies visible to users before they click. Local Business Settings Local Business Schema is configured separately (Schema Star → Local Business Markup). You choose from 30+ business types (Store, Restaurant, Hotel, Medical, Legal, Dentist, Fitness Club, Real Estate Agent, Travel Agency, etc.), add your Business Image URL (with media upload), price range, contact information (phone), location (street, city, region, postal code, country code), geographic coordinates (latitude/longitude), and business hours (weekdays and weekends). How it improves search appearance: Google uses this data for Local Pack and Google Maps listings, shows your address and opening hours in the snippet, and can display a map pin or \”Open now\” / \”Closes at\” in search results. Local Business markup is essential for \”near me\” searches and local SEO, making your business visible and actionable directly from the search page. FAQ Schema Settings FAQ Schema allows you to add question-and-answer structured data to posts, pages, and optionally to taxonomies (e.g. categories). You enable FAQ for the post types you want, then add questions and answers via the FAQ metabox when editing content. How it improves search appearance: Google can show your FAQ as expandable rich results (accordion-style) directly in the search results. This increases your real estate on the SERP, answers user queries without a click, and often improves click-through rate because the result looks more informative and authoritative. FAQ snippets are especially valuable for how-to, support, and product-related content. Custom Schemas The Custom Schema Builder lets you create and attach 20+ schema types to specific pages or posts: Article, Book, Course, Event, JobPosting, Recipe, VideoObject, HowTo, Person, Service, SoftwareApplication, Review, Vehicle, Podcast, Movie, and more. You select the schema type, choose target content, and fill in fields (with optional auto-fill from WordPress data). How it improves search appearance: Each schema type unlocks specific rich results—e.g. Recipe can show cooking time and rating, Event can show date and venue, JobPosting can show salary and location in job search. Custom schemas let you tailor structured data to your content and maximize the chance of rich snippets and enhanced listings for every page type. Posts Schema Settings Posts Schema Settings control how blog posts (or other post types) are represented in structured data—for example whether to include the featured image in the schema. This ensures your article or blog post schema is complete and eligible for Article or NewsArticle rich results, which can show images and publish dates in search and in Discover, improving visibility and clicks. LMS Integration (Course Schema) Schema Star adds Course and ItemList schema for popular Learning Management Systems: Tutor LMS, LearnDash, LearnPress, and Masteriyo. On single course pages you get full Course schema (name, description, provider, price, etc.); on course category and archive pages you get ItemList schema listing courses. How it improves search appearance: Course-rich results can show course title, provider, and price in search and in Google’s education/search features, helping your courses stand out and attract students directly from search results. SiteNavigationElement When you enable SiteNavigationElement schema, the plugin outputs structured data for your site’s main navigation based on a selected menu. You choose which WordPress menu represents your primary navigation. How it improves search appearance: Search engines understand your site structure better; this can support sitelinks (additional links under your main result) and help Google show the most important sections of your site in search. It reinforces site hierarchy and improves crawlability and relevance signals. About Page & Contact Page Schema Star lets you select an About page and a Contact page from dropdowns. These choices link the appropriate schema (e.g. Organization, LocalBusiness) to the correct URLs. How it improves search appearance: Search engines can associate your \”About\” and \”Contact\” content with your entity, show the right links in Knowledge Panel or sitelinks, and give users a clear path to learn about you or get in touch—all from the search result. Product Reviews (Review Snippet) Product Reviews Schema uses your WooCommerce product reviews to output Review and AggregateRating structured data. How it improves search appearance: Google can display star ratings (e.g. ★★★★☆ 4.5 · 120 reviews) next to your product listing in search results. Star ratings dramatically increase visibility and click-through rates because they signal quality and social proof directly in the SERP. Auto ALT Tags (Product Images ALT) The Auto ALT Tags feature automatically adds or improves ALT text for product images. How it improves search appearance: ALT text is used for image SEO (Google Images) and accessibility. Better ALT text helps your product images rank in image search and gives search engines a clearer understanding of your product, which can indirectly support product rich results and overall relevance. BreadcrumbList When BreadcrumbList schema is enabled, the plugin adds breadcrumb structured data to your pages (excluding cart, checkout, and similar pages). How it improves search appearance: Google can show breadcrumb navigation in the search snippet (e.g. Home > Category > Product). Breadcrumbs make your listing look more organized, help users understand where they are on your site, and can improve click-through rate by clarifying context. Enable Search Schema (SearchAction) SearchAction schema tells Google that your site has a search function and how to trigger it (e.g. URL pattern). How it improves search appearance: Google may show a sitelinks search box under your result in search results, allowing users to search your site without leaving the SERP. This increases brand exposure and drives qualified traffic. Force HTTPS Redirect The Force HTTPS Redirect option adds a rule (e.g. in .htaccess) to redirect all HTTP traffic to HTTPS. How it improves search appearance: HTTPS is a ranking signal for Google and is required for many modern browser features. A secure site is favored in search and builds user trust; mixed content or non-HTTPS can hurt rankings and rich result eligibility. Additional Capabilities Multi-Currency Support — Set base currency, exchange rates, and currency-to-country mapping so product schema shows correct prices per region in search. Shipping & Return Policy — Shipping details, return policy, return days, fees, and method in schema build trust and can be reflected in merchant listings and rich results. Canonical & rel=prev/next — Proper canonical URLs and pagination tags keep indexation clean and help search engines show the right version of your pages. Translation-Ready — Full i18n support so you can run the plugin in any language and still output valid, locale-appropriate schema. Together, these features make Schema Star a complete solution for Organization, Local Business, WooCommerce (Product & Category), FAQ, Custom Schemas, Posts, LMS Course, Breadcrumbs, Search, Navigation, Contact/About, Reviews, ALT tags, and HTTPS—giving your WordPress store or site the best possible appearance and performance in search engines. LMS Integrations (Course Schema) Schema Star adds Course and ItemList schema for: * Tutor LMS – Course schema on single courses; ItemList on course-category and archive * LearnDash – Course schema on sfwd-courses; ItemList on ld_course_category and archive * LearnPress – Course schema on lp_course; ItemList on course_category and archive * Masteriyo – Course schema on mto-course; ItemList on course_cat and archive Each has a settings page under Schema Star (when the LMS is active): Enable Course Schema, Category & Archive Schema, Provider, Price. WooCommerce Integration Schema Star deeply integrates with WooCommerce: * Automatic extraction of product data (name, price, SKU, images, stock status) * Review synchronization with WooCommerce reviews * Product variations support * Category schema markup * Advanced product settings (warranty, shipping, return policy) Performance & Security Performance Optimized – Conditional loading, no frontend queries, minified assets Secure – ABSPATH checks, nonce verification, input sanitization, output escaping HPOS Compatible – Works with WooCommerce’s High-Performance Order Storage Translation Ready – Full i18n support with .po/.mo files (Text Domain: schema-star) Perfect For E-commerce stores (WooCommerce) Local businesses Content websites and blogs News and media sites Educational platforms Service providers Real estate websites Restaurant and hospitality businesses Source code for minified/compiled assets This plugin includes minified JavaScript for compatibility and size. Human-readable source is available as follows: admin/assets/js/crypto-js.min.js – Minified build of the CryptoJS library, used for hashing/encoding in the admin. The full source code is available at: CryptoJS on GitHub. The plugin uses a local copy (no remote CDN). No build tools are required to review the plugin; the minified file is included for distribution. External services This plugin uses the following third-party/external services: WhatsApp (Meta) – The plugin displays a “Need Help?” / “Chat on WhatsApp” button on Schema Star admin pages. When the user clicks it, their browser opens WhatsApp Web (web.whatsapp.com) or the wa.me link so they can contact the plugin author for support. No data is sent automatically by the plugin. The user chooses to open the link; no personal data or site data is transmitted to WhatsApp by the plugin. This is used only for optional customer support contact. Service provider: WhatsApp / Meta Platforms, Inc. Terms of Service: WhatsApp Terms of Service Privacy Policy: WhatsApp Privacy Policy Additional Information Plugin Website Visit wpstarplugins.com for: * Full documentation * Video tutorials * Support tickets * Pro version information * Latest updates Support Website: wpstarplugins.com Documentation: Available in plugin admin under Help & Documentation WhatsApp Support: Available in plugin admin pages (bottom right) Email: Contact through website Requirements WordPress 5.0 or higher PHP 7.4 or higher WooCommerce 2.6+ (optional, for product features) Compatibility WordPress: 5.0 – 6.5+ WooCommerce: 2.6 – 8.5+ PHP: 7.4 – 8.3+ Themes: All WordPress themes Page Builders: Elementor, WPBakery, Divi, Beaver Builder, Oxygen, Gutenberg Caching: WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache, WP Super Cache, LiteSpeed Cache, Cloudflare SEO Plugins: Yoast SEO, Rank Math, All in One SEO, SEOPress Performance Tips Enable only the schema types you need Use a caching plugin for better performance Keep WordPress and plugins updated Use a CDN for faster asset delivery Optimize images before uploading Security Features ABSPATH checks in all files Nonce verification for all forms and AJAX Input sanitization (sanitize_text_field, sanitize_textarea_field, etc.) Output escaping (esc_html, esc_attr, esc_url, esc_textarea, etc.) Capability checks (current_user_can) Prepared statements for database queries Developer Information Text Domain: schema-star Namespace: None (functions prefixed with star_ or STAR_) Hooks: Uses standard WordPress hooks (wp_head, wp_footer, the_content, etc.) Filters: Standard WordPress filters for extensibility Actions: Standard WordPress actions Translation: Full i18n support with .po/.mo files Credits Developer: WP Star Plugins Website: wpstarplugins.com Icons: Dashicons (WordPress) Standards: Follows WordPress Coding Standards License This plugin is licensed under the GPL v2 or later. ` This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details. ` Support For support, documentation, and updates, visit: * Website: wpstarplugins.com * Help Page: Available in WordPress admin under Schema Star → Help * WhatsApp: Available in plugin admin pages (bottom right corner) Before contacting support: 1. Ensure you’re using the latest plugin version 2. Check WordPress and PHP requirements 3. Test with a default theme 4. Temporarily disable other plugins 5. Review the FAQ section in Help & Documentation Credits Schema Star – Boost your SEO with powerful structured data! Version 10.8.101 | Copyright 2024-2026 WP Star Plugins | wpstarplugins.com

The SEO Rich Snippets for home page review website. Get higher click through rate by displaying star rating in Google search results.