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For a Facebook link preview, use an Open Graph image that is 1200 × 630 pixels (a 1.91:1 ratio) and no larger than 8 MB. Declare it with an absolute og:image URL in the page’s <head>, then enter the page URL in Facebook Sharing Debugger after publishing a change. Those dimensions and the file limit are Facebook-attributed recommendations reported by the Wix Help Center; they were not independently confirmed here against a directly retrieved Meta page.

Facebook OG image requirements at a glance

Item Guideline or status What to do
Recommended dimensions 1200 × 630 pixels Export the share image at this exact size when possible.
Aspect ratio 1.91:1 Keep the canvas proportional so the intended composition fits the preview.
Maximum file size 8 MB Keep the file at or below the Facebook-attributed limit reported by Wix.
Metadata property og:image Point the property to the image’s publicly reachable, absolute URL.
Width and height properties Shown in the Open Graph Protocol example; current Facebook requirement not established They are reasonable metadata to include, but do not describe them as mandatory.
Preferred file format Not established by the available guidance Use an image format your site serves reliably; do not claim that one format is required.

The Open Graph Protocol defines og:image as the image associated with a page’s Open Graph object, allowing the page to become a rich object in a social graph. Facebook-specific limits should therefore be treated separately from the protocol’s general metadata syntax.

What an OG image does

An OG image is not a background image or an image embedded in the article body. It is the URL supplied in the page’s Open Graph metadata. When a crawler retrieves the page, that metadata identifies the image to use when the URL is represented as a rich link.

Because the image is selected from HTML metadata, changing a hero image in your content management system does not necessarily change the Facebook preview. The og:image value must itself be updated, deployed, and fetchable without a login, cookie, or browser-only interaction.

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How to add the image in HTML

Place the tags inside the document’s <head>. Use the complete HTTPS URL to the image rather than a relative path such as /images/card.jpg.

<head>
  <meta property='og:image' content='https://www.example.com/images/facebook-card.jpg' />
  <meta property='og:image:width' content='1200' />
  <meta property='og:image:height' content='630' />
</head>

The protocol example includes og:image:width and og:image:height beside og:image. The available sources do not establish that Facebook currently requires those two additional properties, so include them as descriptive metadata rather than as a guaranteed fix for a missing preview.

Use one authoritative image URL

Keep one intended og:image declaration for the page. If a template, plugin, or component emits several competing values, inspect the final page source and remove accidental duplicates. The HTML sent to a crawler matters more than what your editor displays in a visual preview.

Make the asset publicly retrievable

The image URL should resolve over HTTPS and return the image without a session cookie, login, or JavaScript-generated redirect. Check the deployed URL from an incognito window and with a command such as:

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curl -I https://www.example.com/images/facebook-card.jpg

Look for a successful response and an appropriate image response. A URL that works only inside your administrative dashboard is not a usable share image.

A practical workflow for creating and publishing a Facebook OG image

  1. Design the canvas at 1200 × 630 pixels. This is the 1.91:1 size recommended in the Facebook-attributed guidance reported by Wix. Keep text and logos inside the central area as a sensible design precaution, because the available sources do not establish a current, format-specific crop rule.
  2. Keep the exported file at or below 8 MB. The 8 MB figure is a maximum attributed to Facebook by Wix, not a target file size. Compressing an unnecessarily large export can improve delivery time, but no performance benchmark is established here.
  3. Upload the image to a stable public URL. Use the final production hostname and HTTPS. Avoid temporary preview URLs, expiring signed URLs, or addresses that require authentication.
  4. Add og:image to the page head. In a static site, edit the HTML template. In a CMS, use its social-sharing or custom-head field, then verify the generated source rather than relying only on the editor’s preview.
  5. Deploy and inspect the live source. View source or use browser developer tools to confirm that the expected absolute URL is present in the returned HTML. Check that a stale staging template has not overwritten the production value.
  6. Refresh Facebook’s stored page information. Wix Help Center recommends entering the page URL in Facebook Sharing Debugger after changing og:image. This gives Facebook an opportunity to retrieve the updated metadata instead of relying on information already stored for the URL.
  7. Test a new share. After the debugger reports the current page information, create a new post or message containing the URL and check the resulting preview. A previously generated preview can remain different until Facebook retrieves the page again.

Choosing the image and handling design limitations

Do not confuse dimensions with file weight

1200 × 630 describes the pixel canvas; 8 MB describes the maximum file size. A correctly sized image can still exceed the limit if it is exported with excessive quality or embedded data. Conversely, reducing the dimensions to make a file smaller changes the recommended canvas. Export at the recommended dimensions first, then optimize the file while preserving those dimensions.

File-format guidance is not established here

The available guidance does not establish a current Facebook preference or requirement for JPEG, PNG, WebP, or another format. Choose the format your deployment pipeline and image host deliver consistently, and verify the actual URL returned by the server. Do not assume that a format accepted by your design application is automatically the format Facebook will use.

Text, logos, and contrast

Use legible type and sufficient contrast at the 1200 × 630 canvas size. The sources reviewed do not provide a Facebook safe-area specification or a reliable crop-behavior rule, so these are design safeguards rather than platform guarantees. Preview the complete image yourself before publishing.

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Troubleshooting a missing or incorrect preview

The preview shows no image

  • Inspect the live HTML and confirm that og:image exists in the <head>, not only in a client-side script.
  • Open the exact image URL without being logged in. Fix authentication, robots or firewall rules, redirects, and expired URLs that prevent retrieval.
  • Confirm that the URL is absolute and uses the production hostname.
  • Enter the page URL in Facebook Sharing Debugger, as recommended by Wix, to refresh Facebook’s stored page information.

Facebook still displays the previous image

Metadata can remain in Facebook’s stored page information after a deployment. Verify that the page source now contains the new URL, then run the URL through Sharing Debugger again. Changing the image file while leaving the same URL can also make it difficult to distinguish a new asset from a cached response; using a new filename when you publish a substantially different image gives you a distinct URL to validate.

The image is rejected or does not load

  • Check the file size against the cited 8 MB maximum.
  • Confirm that the server returns the image at the exact URL in og:image, including path and capitalization.
  • Remove access controls that depend on a user session or a private network.
  • Follow redirects and inspect the final response. A redirect loop or an address that expires can prevent a crawler from obtaining the asset.

The wrong image is selected

Search the final source for every og:image declaration. A theme, SEO extension, or page builder may emit another value later in the document. Keep the intended declaration and remove conflicting template output, then revalidate the URL.

The composition appears cropped

The available evidence does not establish a dependable Facebook crop rule. Start with the recommended 1.91:1 canvas, keep essential information away from the edges, and examine the actual preview after refreshing the stored page information. Do not rely on a crop percentage that is not documented by the sources used here.

Verification checklist for developers

  • The image is 1200 × 630 pixels, or you have deliberately documented why your design differs.
  • The file is no larger than 8 MB.
  • og:image contains the final absolute HTTPS URL.
  • The image URL is reachable without login, cookies, or client-side rendering.
  • The deployed HTML contains the intended value and no competing value.
  • og:image:width and og:image:height are present if you want to describe the asset dimensions, without treating them as proven Facebook requirements.
  • You entered the page URL in Facebook Sharing Debugger after the change.
  • You checked a fresh share after the debugger retrieved the page.
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Or skip the browser setup

If you need a screenshot of the published page to document or review the result, ScreenshotNeo can return one from a single API request. It is a screenshot API and MCP server; it does not replace Facebook Sharing Debugger, but it can capture the page you have just deployed without you maintaining a browser automation stack.

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ScreenshotNeo removes cookie and consent banners, newsletter popups, and chat widgets before capture. Bot checks, blank pages, failed loads, timeouts, and cache hits are not billed, and each response identifies the page and billing result with X-Page-Verdict and X-Billed headers. Its MCP server exposes take_screenshot, get_page_info, and capture_pdf for Claude, Cursor, and other MCP clients.

The following cURL request captures a page as WebP; the API also supports PNG, JPEG, and PDF responses. See the ScreenshotNeo documentation for parameters and response details.

curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com -o shot.webp

Python:

import requests
r = requests.get("https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot", params={"access_key": "YOUR_API_KEY", "url": "https://stripe.com"}, timeout=90)
open("shot.webp", "wb").write(r.content)

Node.js:

const q = new URLSearchParams({ access_key: 'YOUR_API_KEY', url: 'https://stripe.com' });
const res = await fetch(`https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot?${q}`);

You can set the target URL to your deployed page and choose options such as full-page capture, a device preset or custom viewport, retina scale, dark mode, waits, custom headers or cookies, hidden selectors, request blocking, caching with your own TTL, signed links, asynchronous jobs, webhooks, bulk capture, and PDF settings. Every feature is available on every plan. The Free plan includes 1,000 screenshots per month with no card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000 shots. Create a free ScreenshotNeo account to try it without entering a card.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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