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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchmax-image-preview:large is a page-level robots directive that permits a search engine to use a larger image preview, up to the width of the viewport. It is a maximum allowance, not a command: Google may still choose a smaller preview or no image preview at all. You can publish it in a robots meta tag or an X-Robots-Tag HTTP response header.
What max-image-preview:large means
The directive tells a crawler the largest image-preview size your page permits. Google defines large as allowing “a larger image preview, up to the width of the viewport.” The wording matters: the setting gives Google permission, but does not guarantee that a large image will appear in Search, Google Images, Discover, Assistant, or another result format.
The page and its images must remain crawlable. Search systems retain control over whether to show a preview, which image to select, and how that preview is rendered. A publisher’s separate, more specific permission—such as qualifying structured data or a licensing agreement—can allow uses that are not interrupted by this limit.
The three accepted values
| Value | What it permits | Maximum preview size | Google surfaces covered |
|---|---|---|---|
none |
No image preview should be shown. | No preview | Web Search, Google Images, Discover, Assistant and other listed result formats |
standard |
A default-size image preview may be shown. | Standard size | Web Search, Google Images, Discover, Assistant and other listed result formats |
large |
A larger image preview may be shown. | Up to the width of the viewport | Web Search, Google Images, Discover, Assistant and other listed result formats |
If you omit the rule, Google may apply its default image-preview size. Choosing large therefore sets the most permissive of Google’s three documented limits; it does not force a result to use the largest rendering.
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How to add max-image-preview:large
Option 1: HTML robots meta tag
Place this element inside the page’s <head>:
<meta name="robots" content="max-image-preview:large">The directive can share a robots value with other controls. Separate directives with commas:
<meta name="robots" content="max-snippet:20, max-image-preview:large">Use the meta element on every page where you want the allowance. A template-level insertion is usually safer than editing individual articles, provided the template does not unintentionally add the rule to pages with a different policy.
Option 2: HTTP response header
You can send the equivalent page-level instruction in the response headers:
X-Robots-Tag: max-image-preview:largeThis approach is useful when HTML is generated outside a traditional template system, when you control a reverse proxy, or when the response is not an HTML document that can contain a meta element. The crawler must be able to fetch the page and receive the header for the setting to be read and followed.
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Choosing between meta and header
- Use the meta tag when your CMS or application owns the document head and you want the policy visible in the page source.
- Use
X-Robots-Tagwhen the server or edge layer centrally controls responses, or when adding HTML is impractical. - Avoid accidental policy drift: decide which layer is authoritative, then verify that the delivered page contains the intended value rather than relying only on a local template file.
WordPress implementation
WordPress includes the wp_robots_max_image_preview_large() helper. The developer reference lists it as introduced in WordPress 5.7.0, and it adds max-image-preview:large when the site is public.
For a public WordPress site, first check the generated page source or the response headers to confirm that the directive is actually being emitted. A staging or private site can behave differently because the helper is intended for public pages; do not assume a setting is live until you inspect a publicly reachable response.
Does it make Google show a large image?
No. large is permission for a maximum size, not a guaranteed display format. Google can decide that a result should have a standard preview, a different image, or no image preview. The directive also does not make an image crawlable, repair a blocked resource, or replace other eligibility requirements.
For the permission to be useful, make sure the page can be crawled and the candidate images can be fetched. Keep the directive consistent with any image licensing or structured-data permissions you grant; those separate permissions can cover more specific uses.
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Does Bing support max-image-preview?
Bing documents support for the robots meta tag and the X-Robots-Tag form. In Bing’s description, large allows a standard or large optimized image. Bing still controls the final result presentation, so support for the directive should not be read as a promise that every eligible result will display a large preview.
How to verify the directive
- Inspect the delivered HTML: open the public URL, view its source, and search for
max-image-preview. Confirm the value is exactlylargeand appears in therobotsmeta element you intended to publish. - Inspect response headers: request the URL with a header-only client and look for the delivered policy:
curl -I https://example.com/pageThe response should include
X-Robots-Tag: max-image-preview:largeif you chose the header method. - Check the public version: test the production URL, not only a localhost, preview, or authenticated copy. A crawler cannot apply a directive it cannot access.
- Check representative templates: test an article, category page, media-heavy page, and any alternate rendering your site serves. Template changes, caches, and edge rules can produce different output.
Common problems and fixes
The tag is present, but previews remain small
That is compatible with the directive’s design. large sets a maximum; Google or Bing may select a smaller presentation. Confirm that the page and image are crawlable, then treat the result layout as search-engine controlled rather than as an implementation failure.
The directive never appears in the fetched page
Inspect the production response rather than an editor preview. A theme, server rule, cache, or rendering path may be omitting the meta element or header. If you use a header, verify the final response after redirects and through your CDN or proxy.
The header is set on one response but not another
Different URL variants, redirects, cached objects, and application routes can emit different headers. Test the canonical public URL and the final response a crawler receives. Apply the policy at the layer that serves all relevant variants, or use a template-level meta tag when that is easier to keep consistent.
A private or blocked page is being tested
Crawlers must access the page containing the directive. Authentication, an IP restriction, a disallowed route, or a transient failure prevents the crawler from reading and following the setting. Verify accessibility from the public URL before changing the value.
You expected the directive to change image indexing
This control concerns image-preview size. It does not itself promise indexing, ranking, a particular thumbnail, or a particular search layout. Those outcomes remain subject to the search engine’s other systems and eligibility decisions.
Operational considerations
Performance
The meta element is a small, static instruction. It does not request an image, run JavaScript, or enlarge an asset on your server. The header form likewise adds only a response directive. Any performance work should focus on the images and page experience themselves, not on the presence of this rule.
Reliability
- Publish the policy in the final response that crawlers receive, including after redirects.
- Keep pages and candidate images accessible to crawlers; an inaccessible page cannot communicate its preference.
- Recheck the delivered policy after theme, CMS, CDN, cache, or routing changes.
- Use the same value across equivalent templates when your editorial policy is site-wide; use page-specific output when your preview policy genuinely differs.
When to choose another value
- Choose
nonewhen your policy is to permit no image preview. - Choose
standardwhen a default-size preview is acceptable and you do not want to allow the larger maximum. - Choose
largewhen you are comfortable allowing a preview up to viewport width while accepting that the engine may still show less.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use both the meta tag and the X-Robots-Tag header?
Both are supported forms of the page-level directive. Pick a single authoritative implementation where possible, then inspect the production response so the policy you intend is the one a crawler receives.
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No. It only sets the maximum preview size a search engine may use. It does not resize, recompress, or otherwise modify your source image.
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