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For most pages, start with an Open Graph image measuring 1200 × 630 pixels—about a 1.91:1 aspect ratio—and make sure the page’s og:image points to a publicly fetchable image URL. That size is a practical cross-platform default, not a universal protocol requirement: individual services can set their own dimensions and file-size limits. Open Graph image parameters describe the image and connect it to a page; they do not guarantee that every social platform will display it identically.
What Open Graph image parameters do
Open Graph is a metadata protocol for representing a web page as a rich object in a social graph. Its four basic required properties are og:title, og:type, og:image, and og:url. The Open Graph Protocol documentation describes its purpose this way: “The Open Graph protocol enables any web page to become a rich object in a social graph.”
For an image preview, og:image supplies the image URL. The page’s og:url is a different value: it should identify the canonical page, not the image file. Optional structured image properties provide more information about that image, such as its dimensions, MIME type, secure URL, and alternative text.
Core image properties
| Property | Purpose | Example |
|---|---|---|
og:image |
Identifies the image a platform can use for the page preview. | https://example.com/images/article-share.jpg |
og:image:url |
An equivalent image URL property; the protocol treats it as equivalent to og:image. |
https://example.com/images/article-share.jpg |
og:image:secure_url |
Provides a secure image URL when relevant. | https://example.com/images/article-share.jpg |
og:image:type |
States the image’s MIME type. | image/jpeg |
og:image:width |
States the image width in pixels. | 1200 |
og:image:height |
States the image height in pixels. | 630 |
og:image:alt |
Describes what is in the image for accessibility and interpretation; it should describe the image, not act as its caption. | A blue chart showing quarterly revenue growth |
These structured properties describe the image referenced by an image declaration. Keep them after the og:image they describe. If a page declares multiple image values, use a separate og:image declaration for each one; the protocol says the first value is preferred when there is a conflict. See the Open Graph Protocol documentation.
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What size should an Open Graph image be?
Use 1200 × 630 pixels as a sensible general starting point for a share image. Its ratio is approximately 1.91:1, close to the recommended ratio cited by LinkedIn. The protocol itself does not prescribe this size, and a platform’s current specification takes precedence over a general recommendation.
| Source or destination | Dimensions and ratio | File-size guidance | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|
| General starting point | 1200 × 630 pixels; about 1.91:1 | Use the destination’s limit | Cross-platform recommendation, not a universal rule. OG Image Design gives this default in a guide dated July 2026: OG Image Design size guide. |
| LinkedIn sharing module | 1200 × 627 pixels minimum; 1.91:1 recommended | 5 MB maximum | LinkedIn Help page was last updated two years before the 2026-09-29 review date. It says images less than 401 pixels wide display as a thumbnail. See LinkedIn Help. |
| Wix recommendation | 1200 × 630 pixels | 8 MB maximum | Wix says images below 600 × 315 pixels display as a small preview image; its reviewed page does not state a publication year. See Wix Help Center. |
The figures above are platform specifications or vendor recommendations, not independent measurements. A 1200 × 630 image is only three pixels taller than LinkedIn’s stated 1200 × 627 minimum and has approximately the same 1.91:1 ratio. Still, check the destination’s current guidance before using a single asset across different services.
Design for cropping, not just dimensions
A correct canvas size cannot prevent every preview crop. Keep essential text, logos, and faces away from the extreme edges so a service’s thumbnail treatment does not cut them off. Use a clear visual hierarchy and check the result in the actual destination inspector; the final preview can vary with platform behavior and cache state.
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How to add Open Graph image tags
Place the page-level metadata in the document head so a crawler can read it from the page source. Replace the example values with the page’s real title, canonical URL, and publicly reachable image URL.
<head>
<title>Quarterly Revenue Results</title>
<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/reports/quarterly-revenue">
<meta property="og:title" content="Quarterly Revenue Results">
<meta property="og:type" content="article">
<meta property="og:url" content="https://example.com/reports/quarterly-revenue">
<meta property="og:image" content="https://example.com/images/quarterly-revenue.jpg">
<meta property="og:image:type" content="image/jpeg">
<meta property="og:image:width" content="1200">
<meta property="og:image:height" content="630">
<meta property="og:image:alt" content="A blue chart showing quarterly revenue growth">
</head>The example uses an article page, but og:type should describe the kind of object represented by the page. The key separation is that og:url identifies the page and og:image identifies its preview image. Width, height, type, and alt are useful descriptive fields; they do not substitute for a valid image URL.
How to verify a social preview
- Check the rendered page source. Confirm the Open Graph tags are in the document head and contain the intended values. Pages rendered by a content system or JavaScript framework may not expose the expected metadata in the initial response, so inspect the source that the crawler receives.
- Check the image resource directly. Open the image URL without being logged in. Confirm it resolves to the intended file rather than a login page, error screen, or redirect that the destination crawler cannot use.
- Check dimensions, ratio, and file weight. Compare the actual image with the target platform’s current limits. If using a shared 1200 × 630 asset, remember that services may crop it differently.
- Run the page URL through the platform’s inspector. Wix points to Facebook’s Sharing Debugger, X’s Card Validator, Pinterest’s debugger, and LinkedIn’s Post Inspector. LinkedIn says a preview image may be absent if its crawler is blocked or the image is in a protected location.
- Refresh or re-inspect after changes. A preview tool can reveal what a platform is currently seeing, including stale cached data. A correct tag edit may not immediately change an already cached preview.
A browser screenshot can help you inspect how the page itself renders, but it does not replace a platform’s preview debugger: it cannot establish what metadata that platform fetched or whether its cached card has refreshed.
Why an Open Graph image may be missing or cropped
- The image URL is not fetchable: check for authentication, hotlink restrictions, robots or firewall rules, and crawler blocks. LinkedIn specifically identifies a blocked crawler or protected image location as reasons an image may not appear.
- The metadata points to the wrong resource: ensure
og:imageis an absolute image URL and is not accidentally set to the canonical page URL. Keepog:urlpointed at the canonical page. - The asset does not meet the destination’s limits: verify its width, height, aspect ratio, format, and file size against the platform’s current requirements. Below-threshold images may render as small thumbnails on some services.
- The page source differs from what you see in a browser: a tag inserted only after client-side rendering may not be available to the crawler in the form expected. Inspect the source fetched by the relevant tool.
- The preview is stale: use the platform’s inspector to request a fresh fetch where supported, then verify the result rather than relying only on an old social post preview.
- The platform uses different card metadata: platforms do not necessarily consume the same tag set or render the same crop. LinkedIn says its sharing module expects Open Graph properties. A third-party platform guide describes X as using Twitter Card tags such as
twitter:cardandtwitter:image, with Open Graph fallbacks, and describessummary_large_imageas its full-width card option. Treat that cross-platform description as secondary guidance and confirm volatile behavior in current platform documentation; see OpenGraphImage platform documentation.
Or skip the browser setup
If you need a rendered image of a page while checking its appearance, ScreenshotNeo offers a one-request screenshot API. It is useful for seeing the page itself; use the social platform’s own inspector separately to validate its metadata fetch and preview cache. The API and its options are documented at ScreenshotNeo documentation.
curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://example.com/reports/quarterly-revenue -o shot.webpScreenshotNeo accepts and removes cookie/consent banners, newsletter popups, and chat widgets before capture, and each of those steps can be turned off. Bot checks, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads, and cache hits are not billed; response headers indicate the page verdict and whether the request was billed. Its MCP server gives AI agents tools for taking screenshots, getting page information, and capturing PDFs. The free plan includes 1,000 screenshots a month with no card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000 screenshots. Try it free at ScreenshotNeo sign-up.
Which metadata should you maintain?
For a reliable implementation, maintain the required page identity tags and the image URL as a coherent set. Keep the optional image descriptors accurate when you know them, and ensure the alternative text describes the visual content rather than repeats a caption. If you publish separate images for different destinations, declare them deliberately and inspect each platform’s resulting card rather than assuming the first image will render identically everywhere.
Platform guidance and crawler behavior can change. The figures cited here were reviewed on 2026-09-29; the LinkedIn page notes an update two years before that date, while the Wix page does not state a publication year. Recheck the destination’s own current documentation when a strict size, limit, or tag behavior matters.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Open Graph Protocol require a particular image size?
No. It defines image properties such as URL, dimensions, type, and alt text, but not a universal pixel size.
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A 1200 × 630 image is within Wix’s recommendation and close to LinkedIn’s stated 1200 × 627 minimum, but check each destination’s current specifications and inspect both previews.
Should og:image:alt repeat the post caption?
No. The protocol’s guidance is to describe what is in the image, rather than use the alt value as a caption.
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