Google is not shutting down the Structured Data Testing Tool after all, as per an announcement stating the tool will be migrated to another domain.
It was only 5 months ago that Google deprecated the Structured Data Testing tool, a decision that was made after moving its main features over to the Rich Results Test.
The loss of the Structured Data Testing Tool didn’t sit well with SEOs and site owners, and their disapproval was heard loud and clear. Google cites user feedback as the motivating factor behind today’s announcement.
Here’s what’s happening with the Structured Data Testing Tool and where it can be found going forward.
Structured Data Testing Tool to Schema.org in April 2021
Schema.org will be the new home of the Structured Data Testing Tool and it will relaunch with a new purpose in the coming months.
A refocused version of the tool is being migrated to Schema.org in April. When the tool relaunches it will no longer check for Google Search rich result types.
It’s new purpose will be to check syntax and compliance of markup with schema.org standards. Site owners can use it to validate their use of schema.org properties.
SEOs and site owners can continue to use existing tools to validate rich result markup, such as the Rich Results Test and Search Console.
When the “schema.org validator” launches in April it can be used to validate other schema markup types that aren’t supported by Google at this time.
Source: Google Search Central Blog
