Where do link previews come from?

When you paste a link, the app's server downloads the page and reads its Open Graph tags (og:title, og:description, og:image) and Twitter card tags. If those are missing, most apps fall back to the tag and the meta description, and some show no image at all.

I fixed my tags but Facebook or LinkedIn still shows the old preview. Why?

Platforms cache link previews, often for days. Ask them to read the page again with Facebook's Sharing Debugger or LinkedIn's Post Inspector. For X, WhatsApp and Slack the cache usually clears on its own, and adding a query string such as ?v=2 to the link forces a fresh fetch.

What size should my Open Graph image be?

Use 1200 x 630 pixels (a 1.91:1 ratio) as a JPG or PNG under 5 MB. That works for Facebook, X large cards, LinkedIn, WhatsApp and Slack. Images smaller than 200 x 200 pixels are ignored by Facebook, and SVG images aren't supported by most platforms.

Are these previews exact?

They're close imitations built from the same tags the platforms read, with each platform's usual layout and truncation. Each app changes its design from time to time and may crop or shorten text slightly differently on different devices, so treat them as a reliable guide rather than a pixel-perfect screenshot.

Do I need Twitter card tags if I have Open Graph tags?

X reads og:title, og:description and og:image when its own tags are missing, but it needs twitter:card to know which layout to use. Without it you usually get a small summary card or no card. Add twitter:card with the value summary_large_image to get the big image.

Why does the image show as not loading?

The image URL may be wrong, return an error, or block requests from other sites. Make sure og:image is a full https:// URL that opens in a private browser window, and that it isn't behind a login or blocked for bots.

Link Preview Checker

See how any link will look when you share it on Facebook, X, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Slack, iMessage and Discord. Check the share image and get the exact meta tags you're missing.

100% free
No sign-up
Runs in your browser

Enter a URL to see how it looks when shared on seven platforms.

How link previews work

A link preview, also called a link card or unfurl, is built by the app you share in. Its server fetches your page, reads a handful of meta tags in the <head>, downloads the image and caches the result. If the tags are missing, you get whatever the app can guess, which is often a bare URL or the wrong image.

The tags that matter

og:title, og:description and og:image: the title, text and picture on almost every platform.
og:url and og:site_name: the canonical address and the site name shown above the title.
og:image:width, og:image:height and og:image:alt: faster first shares and accessible images.
twitter:card: tells X whether to show a large image or a small thumbnail.

Image tips

Use one 1200 x 630 pixel JPG or PNG for every platform and keep important text in the middle, because some apps crop it to a square. Host it on your own domain with a full https:// URL, and change the file name when you update it so cached previews refresh.

How it works

How to use it

Step 1
Enter a URL
Paste the link you plan to share: a blog post, product page, landing page or your home page.
Step 2
Check the previews
See the link card as it would appear on Facebook, X, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Slack, iMessage and Discord, plus a check of the share image's size and format.
Step 3
Add the missing tags
The tag table flags missing or weak tags and gives you ready-to-paste meta tags for the page's <head>.

FAQs

Frequently asked questions

Answers to common questions about the Link Preview Checker.

: When you paste a link, the app's server downloads the page and reads its Open Graph tags (og:title, og:description, og:image) and Twitter card tags. If those are missing, most apps fall back to the <title> tag and the meta description, and some show no image at all.
: Platforms cache link previews, often for days. Ask them to read the page again with Facebook's Sharing Debugger or LinkedIn's Post Inspector. For X, WhatsApp and Slack the cache usually clears on its own, and adding a query string such as ?v=2 to the link forces a fresh fetch.
: Use 1200 x 630 pixels (a 1.91:1 ratio) as a JPG or PNG under 5 MB. That works for Facebook, X large cards, LinkedIn, WhatsApp and Slack. Images smaller than 200 x 200 pixels are ignored by Facebook, and SVG images aren't supported by most platforms.
: They're close imitations built from the same tags the platforms read, with each platform's usual layout and truncation. Each app changes its design from time to time and may crop or shorten text slightly differently on different devices, so treat them as a reliable guide rather than a pixel-perfect screenshot.
: X reads og:title, og:description and og:image when its own tags are missing, but it needs twitter:card to know which layout to use. Without it you usually get a small summary card or no card. Add twitter:card with the value summary_large_image to get the big image.
: The image URL may be wrong, return an error, or block requests from other sites. Make sure og:image is a full https:// URL that opens in a private browser window, and that it isn't behind a login or blocked for bots.

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