Start with a 1200 × 630 pixel landscape image (about a 1.91:1 ratio). That is the most practical cross-platform default for a website link preview. It is not a guarantee that every network will crop or display the image identically: each service applies its own minimums, file limits, metadata rules and cache behavior. LinkedIn’s sharing help, for example, recommends a 1.91:1 ratio, requires at least 1200 × 627 pixels and sets a 5 MB maximum file size.
Why 1200 × 630 is the sensible default
A website URL preview is generated from assets that a social crawler fetches from your page. It is not the same thing as uploading a photo directly to a social post. Current secondary guidance commonly identifies a 1200 × 630 pixel canvas as the practical default for link previews, while LinkedIn’s own guidance uses the nearly identical 1.91:1 proportion.
The two-pixel difference between 1200 × 630 and LinkedIn’s 1200 × 627 minimum is insignificant for a normal design workflow. A 1200 × 630 file satisfies the stated width and ratio target while giving you a consistent working canvas for other preview clients. Treat that size as a starting point, not as a universal specification issued by every platform.
Platform requirements you should account for
| Context | Published or commonly cited guidance | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| General website link preview | 1200 × 630 pixels, approximately 1.91:1, is a widely repeated current recommendation in secondary guides. | Use this as your default canvas when one image must serve several networks. |
| LinkedIn link sharing | At least 1200 × 627 pixels; 1.91:1 recommended; maximum file size 5 MB. Images below 401 pixels wide display as thumbnails, according to LinkedIn Help observed in 2026. | Export at 1200 × 630 or larger, keep the file at or below 5 MB, and check the share with LinkedIn’s Post Inspector. |
| X large-image card | Current secondary guidance describes using twitter:card with summary_large_image and supplying a large landscape image. |
Use the 1200 × 630 working size, but verify current requirements in X’s own documentation before treating any secondary dimensions as binding. |
| Facebook and other preview clients | Secondary guides commonly describe Open Graph metadata and a 1200 × 630 canvas. | Provide an explicit og:image; do not assume that an incidental image in the page body will be selected. |
The available evidence does not establish one current, official Meta or X specification equivalent to LinkedIn’s published minimum. Rendering, cropping and cache rules can therefore differ even when the source file is identical.
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Build the image for a link-preview crop
Keep the important content inside a central safe area
Preview clients may crop the edges or render the asset in a different card shape. Put the headline, logo and essential visual subject away from the extreme top, bottom and side edges. A simple background can lose decorative details without making the message unreadable.
Use one deliberate preview asset
Choose a page-specific image rather than relying on whichever image a crawler happens to find first. A consistent template helps readers recognize your site, while a page-specific headline tells them what the URL contains.
Check the file before publishing
- Confirm the pixel dimensions are 1200 × 630 (or larger while preserving roughly 1.91:1).
- For LinkedIn, confirm the file is no larger than 5 MB.
- Open the exported file locally and inspect small-screen readability before uploading it.
- Keep the image at a stable, publicly reachable URL that your server does not block for crawlers.
Tell crawlers which image to fetch
Place explicit metadata in the page’s <head>. Open Graph tags are the normal input described by current secondary guidance for Facebook and other clients. For X’s large-image presentation, that guidance describes a twitter:card value of summary_large_image.
<meta property="og:type" content="website">
<meta property="og:url" content="https://www.example.com/article">
<meta property="og:title" content="Your page title">
<meta property="og:description" content="A concise description of the page.">
<meta property="og:image" content="https://www.example.com/images/article-social.webp">
<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image">
<meta name="twitter:title" content="Your page title">
<meta name="twitter:description" content="A concise description of the page.">
<meta name="twitter:image" content="https://www.example.com/images/article-social.webp">Use absolute HTTPS URLs for the image and page. Keep the metadata image intentional: changing an unrelated in-page image does not necessarily change the preview asset.
A practical do-it-yourself verification workflow
- Export the canvas. Create a 1200 × 630 image, or a larger image with the same approximate ratio. Check its actual pixel dimensions after export.
- Publish it at a stable URL. Make sure the image can be fetched without a login, temporary token or an access rule that blocks social crawlers.
- Add the metadata. Set
og:imageto the exact image URL. Add the X card tags if you want the large-image layout described by secondary guidance. - Inspect the rendered source. In your browser, open View Source or developer tools and confirm that the tags are in the document head and point to the intended asset.
- Check LinkedIn. LinkedIn’s Post Inspector can request the URL again and show whether its crawler can retrieve the image. This is especially useful when the dimensions are correct but no image appears.
- Refresh other preview caches. After changing
og:image, use the relevant platform debugger or refresh tool where available. Wix’s help guidance specifically recommends entering the site URL in Facebook’s debugger after an Open Graph image change. - Share a fresh test URL. Use a page whose metadata has just been corrected, or wait for the platform to replace its cached result. A stale card does not prove that the new file is invalid.
Troubleshooting when the preview is wrong
The image is the right size but does not appear
Dimensions alone do not make an asset retrievable. LinkedIn notes that a website can block image retrieval. Check firewall, robots, authentication and hotlink rules, then run the URL through LinkedIn’s Post Inspector. Also verify that the server returns the image at the exact URL in og:image.
The old image keeps appearing
Preview clients cache fetched metadata and images. Re-run the platform’s inspection or debugger after publishing the new tag. Wix recommends using Facebook’s debugger to refresh preview data after changing og:image. If the debugger still shows the old tag, inspect the live HTML rather than the CMS editor.
LinkedIn shows only a small thumbnail
LinkedIn’s help guidance says images below 401 pixels wide display as thumbnails. Confirm the delivered file—not only the design file—meets the 1200 × 627 minimum guidance and remains within the 5 MB limit.
The card is cropped differently than the design
A 1.91:1 source does not force every client to use the same card geometry. Keep key text and logos away from the edges, and preview the page in each network that matters to your audience. Do not treat one platform’s crop as proof that another platform is malfunctioning.
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Some servers serve a browser-specific response, require cookies or deny automated requests. Test the public URL without an authenticated session and inspect response headers and redirects. The crawler must be able to retrieve the final image URL directly.
The file meets the dimensions but exceeds LinkedIn’s limit
LinkedIn states a 5 MB maximum. Re-export or compress the image until it is at or below that limit while checking that text remains legible. The 5 MB figure is LinkedIn’s stated limit, not a universal limit for every service.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Performance and maintenance considerations
Choose a stable URL strategy
Keep the image URL unchanged when possible. Replacing the file at the same URL can simplify metadata maintenance, while changing filenames requires updating every page tag and waiting for caches to refresh. If you do change URLs, verify the new address in the live HTML and in the platform debugger.
Separate page content from preview content
The social image is a webpage asset. It can be different from the article’s hero image, but it should reflect the same title and destination. This prevents a crawler from selecting an unrelated image and makes troubleshooting a single, explicit URL possible.
Best Value
Plan for platform differences
Use 1200 × 630 as the design system default, then validate the networks that bring you traffic. The evidence available for this topic supports LinkedIn’s dimensions directly and treats Meta and X details as secondary guidance, so a platform-specific check remains necessary.
Or skip the browser setup
When you need a visual check of the live URL rather than a manual browser session, ScreenshotNeo can return a clean webpage screenshot through one request. It is a website screenshot API and MCP server; it is useful for checking how the published page looks after you update its social-image metadata, but it does not replace a platform’s crawler debugger.
The API accepts a URL and can return PNG, JPEG, WebP or PDF. Cookie and consent banners, newsletter popups and chat widgets are removed before the shot. Bot checks or CAPTCHAs, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads and cache hits are not billed, and the response identifies the page verdict and billing status in X-Page-Verdict and X-Billed headers. Its MCP server provides take_screenshot, get_page_info and capture_pdf tools for Claude, Cursor and other MCP clients.
Use the API documentation at https://screenshotneo.com/docs/ for authentication and options. These examples target a public site URL; replace it with the page you want to inspect.
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Quick Recap
Quick pre-publish checklist
- Canvas is 1200 × 630 pixels, or larger at approximately 1.91:1.
- Important text and branding sit away from crop-prone edges.
og:imagepoints to the deliberate, publicly reachable asset.- X card metadata is present if you want the large-image presentation described by secondary guidance.
- LinkedIn’s 1200 × 627 minimum and 5 MB maximum are satisfied.
- LinkedIn Post Inspector or another relevant debugger can fetch the image.
- After an update, cached previews have been refreshed and checked again.
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