What are Open Graph tags?
When someone shares your link on Facebook, WhatsApp, LinkedIn or X, the platform shows a preview card with a title, description and image. That card comes from Open Graph tags, a set of meta tags created by Facebook and now used almost everywhere. Without them, platforms guess, and the result is often a random image, a cut-off title or no image at all.
An attractive share card gets noticeably more clicks, so getting these tags right is an easy win for every page you promote.
What this Open Graph preview shows
- Simulated share cards for Facebook / WhatsApp, LinkedIn and X (Twitter)
- The key tags:
og:title,og:description,og:image,og:url,og:type,og:site_name - Twitter tags:
twitter:cardandtwitter:image - Clear Missing labels for anything you still need to add
If a page has no Open Graph title or description, the tool falls back to the normal title and meta description, just like most platforms do.
How to use it
- Enter the URL you plan to share and click Preview.
- Look at each card. Is the image sharp? Is the title complete?
- Check the tag table for missing items.
- Add or fix the tags, then preview again.
You can also paste HTML code to test a page before it goes live.
Best practices for share cards
- Image size: 1200 x 630 pixels (ratio 1.91:1), under 5 MB, in JPG or PNG. Keep important text away from the edges.
- Title: around 40-60 characters. It can be more conversational than your SEO title.
- Description: one or two short sentences that make people curious.
- Use absolute URLs for
og:image, starting with https://.
The full list of properties is on the official Open Graph protocol website.
Why does my old preview still show?
Facebook, LinkedIn and WhatsApp cache link previews. After you update your tags, ask the platform to fetch the page again using the Facebook Sharing Debugger or LinkedIn Post Inspector.
Create all the tags at once with our Meta Tag Generator, then confirm the rest of your SEO tags with the Meta Tag Checker.
Social sharing checklist
Before promoting a page, check four things: a sharp 1200 x 630 image, a complete title, a short description and the correct URL. Generate missing tags with the Meta Tag Generator, resize your share image with the Image Resizer, and track clicks from each network with links made in the UTM Link Builder.
How each platform reads your tags
Every platform has its own small differences, but they all start with Open Graph:
| Platform | Tags it reads | Notes |
|---|---|---|
og:title, og:description, og:image, og:url | Caches previews; use the Sharing Debugger to refresh | |
| Open Graph tags | Needs a reasonably small image that loads quickly over https | |
| Open Graph tags | Use the Post Inspector to refresh old previews | |
| X (Twitter) | twitter:card, then falls back to Open Graph | summary_large_image shows a big image |
| Slack, Telegram, Discord | Open Graph tags | Show title, description and image in chat |
Because so many apps rely on the same tags, getting Open Graph right once improves your links everywhere.
The perfect share image
- Size: 1200 x 630 pixels (ratio about 1.91:1). This works for Facebook, LinkedIn and X large cards.
- File size: keep it small, ideally under 300 KB, so it loads in chat apps. Compress it with the Image Compressor.
- Format: JPG or PNG. Some apps do not show WebP previews.
- Safe area: keep text and logos in the centre, because some apps crop the edges or show a square version.
- Absolute URL:
og:imagemust be a fullhttps://address, not a relative path.
If you need to resize an existing image, the Image Resizer and Image Cropper can make a 1200 x 630 version in seconds.
Refreshing an old preview
Platforms cache previews, sometimes for days. After changing your tags:
- Facebook: open the Sharing Debugger, paste the URL and click "Scrape Again".
- LinkedIn: use the Post Inspector.
- WhatsApp and others: there is no public refresh tool. Adding a small query string such as
?v=2to the URL usually forces a new preview.
Writing share titles that get clicks
A share title can be more human than a search title. On social media, people are not searching, they are scrolling, so curiosity and benefit matter. "Free EMI Calculator" works in Google, while "See your exact monthly loan payment in 10 seconds" may work better on WhatsApp. You can set og:title differently from your <title> tag. Generate both with the Meta Tag Generator and preview the Google version with the SERP Preview.
Example: fixing a broken WhatsApp preview
A shop owner shares a product link on WhatsApp, but the preview shows the website logo instead of the product photo. Running the URL through this tool shows the page has no og:image tag, so WhatsApp guessed. After adding og:image with the full https address of a 1200 x 630 product image and checking it here again, the next share shows the correct photo, title and price. Adding ?v=2 to the link on the first test share helped WhatsApp fetch the new preview immediately.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Open Graph tags help SEO?
They are not a Google ranking factor, but better share cards bring more visitors from social media.
Is the preview exactly like Facebook?
It is a close approximation. Each platform changes its design from time to time, and some crop images differently.
Which tags are required?
At minimum og:title, og:description, og:image and og:url.
Is it free?
Yes, free with no sign-up.
Why does WhatsApp not show my image?
The most common reasons are an image that is too large, a relative URL, an http instead of https address, or a server that blocks unknown bots. Check the image URL opens directly in a browser.
Can each page have its own share image?
Yes, and it is a good idea. Each page sets its own og:image tag; blog posts often use the featured image.
What is og:type?
It describes the kind of content, for example website for a homepage and article for a blog post.
Last updated: October 25, 2026