Open Graph tags: making links look right everywhere they are shared
The tags that matter, the image sizes that work, and why the preview refuses to update after you fix it.
By ShortFreeURL Team · 14 June 2026
The four tags that do the work
og:title, og:description, og:image and og:url. Everything else is refinement. Get these right and your link looks correct on Facebook, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Slack, Discord and most other platforms, because nearly all of them read Open Graph.
Image requirements
Aim for 1200×630 pixels, a 1.91:1 ratio, under about 5 MB, served over HTTPS at an absolute URL. Keep essential text away from the edges — different platforms crop differently. Always set og:image:alt for accessibility.
Twitter/X cards
X reads its own twitter: tags first and falls back to Open Graph. Setting twitter:card to summary_large_image gets the big preview; without it you get a small thumbnail. twitter:site and twitter:creator attribute the card to accounts.
Length limits in practice
Titles are truncated around 60–70 characters, descriptions around 155–200 depending on the platform and device. Front-load the meaningful words; assume the tail will be cut.
The caching problem
Every platform caches previews, sometimes for weeks. After you fix a tag, the old card keeps appearing. Use each platform's own debugger to force a refresh where one exists, or append a harmless query parameter to produce a URL the cache has never seen.
Setting previews on the short link itself
A link platform that lets you set OG tags per link means you can control the card even when you cannot edit the destination — someone else's page, a PDF, a store listing. It also lets you tailor the card per channel while pointing at the same destination.