Social Share Preview Simulator (Open Graph) Community
Questions, answers and tips from people who use the Social Share Preview Simulator (Open Graph). See how your link looks on Facebook, X, LinkedIn and Google before you share it.
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This page shows only real posts from real people, so it starts empty. The guide below has the questions people most often have about the Social Share Preview Simulator (Open Graph). Pick one to start a thread, or write your own.
From the tool guide: common questions about Social Share Preview Simulator (Open Graph)
The items below are not posts by community members. They come from the written guide for this tool and are here to get a conversation started. Use “Ask a follow-up” to open a thread about any of them.
Why is there no auto-fetch from a live URL?
Browsers block cross-origin reads of another site's HTML by default (CORS). Reliable auto-fetch would need a server-side proxy, so this tool focuses on accurate manual entry — the same information is a few seconds away in your browser's View Source or dev tools.
From the tool guide Ask a follow-upWhat size should my og:image be?
1200×630 px works well everywhere; some platforms crop it to other ratios, so keep the main subject centred.
From the tool guide Ask a follow-upWhy does Facebook still show my old preview?
Facebook caches shared links. Use the Facebook Sharing Debugger to force it to re-fetch your tags.
From the tool guide Ask a follow-upDo I need separate Twitter/X tags?
X reads twitter:* tags first and falls back to og:* tags if they are missing, so it is safest to include both.
From the tool guide Ask a follow-upIs my data sent anywhere?
No. Everything is rendered locally in your browser from what you type.
From the tool guide Ask a follow-upWhat is the Google preview based on?
Google usually generates its own snippet from the page title and meta description, occasionally rewriting it — this preview shows the best-case version based on your tags.
From the tool guide Ask a follow-upWhat this tool does
Before you publish a page or paste a link into a chat, it helps to know exactly what other people will see. This simulator lets you type or paste your title, description, image URL, site name and page URL, and instantly renders realistic preview cards for the four places a shared link is judged the most: Facebook's link card, X/Twitter's summary card, LinkedIn's post preview and Google's search result snippet.
How to use it, step by step
- Fill in your title, description, image URL, site name and page URL.
- Switch between the Facebook, X, LinkedIn and Google tabs to compare.
- Watch the character counters to keep titles and descriptions from being cut off.
- Copy the meta tag HTML and paste it into your page's head.
Tips from the guide
- Use a 1200×630 px image for Facebook/LinkedIn and 1200×675 px for X's large-image card.
- Keep titles under about 60 characters and descriptions under about 160 so nothing is cut off.
- Always set an absolute image URL (starting with https://), never a relative path.
- After publishing, clear each platform's cache (Facebook Sharing Debugger, X Card Validator) since they cache old previews.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Using a relative image path like /images/photo.jpg, which fails once shared off-site.
- Forgetting og:description, which makes some platforms fall back to random page text.
- Publishing an image smaller than the platform's minimum, which gets rejected or stretched.
- Assuming the preview updates instantly on social platforms — they cache aggressively and need a manual re-scrape.
Who uses it
- Marketers and content writers. Check a link card looks right before a campaign goes out.
- Developers. Get the exact meta tag HTML to paste into a page template.
- Bloggers and small business owners. Make sure a shared link looks professional, not blank or broken.
How to ask a question people can answer
A good thread on the Social Share Preview Simulator (Open Graph) saves everyone time. Start with a title that names the exact problem, such as the input you used, the result you expected and the result you got. A title like “Not working” is hard to answer, while a title with the specifics gets replies quickly.
- Say what you tried. List the steps you followed and any settings you changed, so replies do not repeat what you already did.
- Share a small example. A short sample input and the output you saw is worth more than a long description. Remove anything private first.
- Mention your setup. Your device, browser and whether you are on a phone or a computer can explain many odd results.
- One question per thread. Separate topics get clearer answers and are easier to find later with the search box above.
- Come back and reply. If a suggestion worked, say so and upvote it, and if you found the fix yourself, post it for the next person.
Community rules
Be kind, stay on topic and keep personal data out of your posts. Do not post adult, hateful or illegal content, advertising or repeated links. Every post is shown with its author’s username and date, and posts that break these rules can be hidden by moderators. This space is for help with the Social Share Preview Simulator (Open Graph) and related tasks, and it is separate from the sitewide discussion forum where broader topics live.