Sometimes, websites need to quietly tell machines (like Google, AI tools, or screen readers) what something means. Not just what it looks like. That’s what structured data is for — little bits of extra information that say, “Hey, this is an organisation,” or “This is a job listing,” or “This photo is licensed for reuse.”
Usually, that info lives in the website’s code. But what if you can’t change the code? I’ve recently been playing with the idea of ISO badges (inspired by our recent re-certification) and the process of adding those annual badges to the footer of our site.
I’ve built a small working demo to show how it can be done — by hiding data inside an image.
Here’s how it works, in plain terms:
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You take a normal image (like a footer graphic).
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You use a technique called steganography — a way of tucking secret messages into images — to hide some text inside the picture. In our case, it’s JSON-LD, which is a common format for structured data, from the form.
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If I need the data, I can just grab that image, then pull out the data from the second form.
From a visitor’s perspective, nothing looks different. But a little script that’s scanning the site can now understand more about what’s on the page — thanks to information that’s hidden inside the pixels.
Why is this useful?
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You can keep meaningful data attached to an image, even when it’s reused across different sites.
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You can work around platforms or CMSs that don’t let you add code.
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You can embed machine-readable info without cluttering the visible layout.
It’s not magic. It’s not foolproof. But it’s a clever solution for niche cases — where clarity, portability, or platform restrictions make it hard to do things the normal way.
So yes, it’s just a footer.
But now, it’s a footer with something to say — even if it never says it out loud.