## 📖 What Are Hardcoded Schemas?

Schema markup is structured data added to your pages that helps search engines understand your content, such as product details, reviews, and prices. When this markup is **hardcoded**, it means the code is written directly into your Shopify theme files or app-generated code, rather than being managed dynamically by a tool like OTTO.

In short, a hardcoded schema is structured data that lives inside your website's template files. Because it is baked into the theme, it stays on your pages regardless of what OTTO adds or changes.

## 🔍 Where Do Hardcoded Schemas Come From?

If OTTO reports that it cannot remove a number of hardcoded schemas (for example, ~537), it means those schemas already existed on your site before OTTO was connected. Common sources include:

- **Your Shopify theme:** Most themes ship with built-in schema markup for products, collections, and articles.
- **Third-party apps:** SEO, review, and rich-snippet apps often inject their own schema into your pages.
- **Custom development:** Code added manually by a developer or agency in the past.

Because these schemas are part of your theme or app code, OTTO can detect them but cannot automatically delete them. OTTO only controls the schema it generates itself.

## ⚠️ Why This Matters

Having both hardcoded schemas and OTTO-generated schemas on the same page can create **duplicate structured data**. Search engines may see conflicting information, which can reduce the effectiveness of your rich results. Cleaning up duplicate schema helps ensure search engines read a single, accurate source of structured data.

## 🛠️ How to Remove Hardcoded Schemas

Because hardcoded schemas live in your Shopify theme or apps, they must be removed at the source. Follow these steps:

1. **Identify the source.** Review a page's structured data to see whether the markup comes from your theme or from an installed app.
2. **Check your theme files.** In Shopify, go to **Online Store > Themes > Edit code**. Schema is usually found in template and section files (often labelled with terms like **JSON-LD** or **schema**).
3. **Review your apps.** If a review or SEO app is generating schema, adjust that app's settings or remove it if it is no longer needed.
4. **Back up before editing.** Always duplicate your theme before changing any code, so you can restore it if needed.
5. **Remove or disable the duplicate markup.** Delete the hardcoded schema blocks you no longer want, then save your changes.

If you are not comfortable editing theme code, we recommend working with a Shopify developer to make these changes safely.

## ✅ After Removing Hardcoded Schemas

Once the hardcoded schemas are removed at the source, OTTO will manage your structured data going forward. Keep these points in mind:

- OTTO's schema stays active and continues to update automatically.
- It can take time for search engines to re-crawl your pages and reflect the changes.
- You can validate your pages using a structured data testing tool to confirm duplicates are gone.

## 💬 Need More Help?

Removing theme-level code can feel technical, and that is completely normal. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type **human teammate** to be connected with a member of our team.