MIME Type

application/ld+json

API

MIME type for JSON-LD, commonly used for structured data and SEO markup.

MIME type reference, HTTP example, browser usage, common mistakes, and related content.

What is the application/ld+json MIME type?

The MIME type application/ld+json is used to tell browsers, APIs, and servers how a file or response body should be interpreted.

MIME stands for Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions, and MIME types are now a standard part of HTTP responses and web content delivery.

When a browser or client receives a response with application/ld+json, it uses that information to decide how the content should be processed, rendered, downloaded, or executed.

Example

Content-Type: application/ld+json

HTTP example

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/ld+json
Content-Length: 1256

Common file extensions

.jsonld

Common use cases

Structured data for search engines
Schema.org markup
Linked data applications

Common mistakes

Using the wrong MIME type for the file being served
Returning text/plain instead of application/ld+json
Forgetting required parameters like charset when relevant
Using a deprecated MIME type in older server configurations
Serving assets with a mismatched Content-Type header, causing browser parsing issues

How browsers use it

Browsers use the Content-Type response header to decide how a response should be handled. For example, HTML is rendered as a page, CSS is parsed as styles, JavaScript is executed as script, and images are displayed visually. If the MIME type is incorrect, the browser may refuse to load the file correctly or may treat it as plain text or a download instead.

Developer note

Very relevant for SEO because Google often reads structured data delivered as JSON-LD.

Related MIME types

application/json application/xml text/html