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For a website link-preview image, start with 1200 × 630 pixels. Its roughly 1.91:1 aspect ratio is a practical baseline for Open Graph and X-style large cards, but it cannot guarantee identical crops across services. Keep essential content away from the edges, publish the image dimensions in your page metadata, and check the result on the surfaces that matter to you.
Choose dimensions for the place the image will appear
“Thumbnail” can mean a social link card, a messaging-app preview, a search result image, or a small image in a site’s own article list. Those uses do not all need the same delivered file. Choose the source image for the largest intended preview, then make smaller derivatives for compact layouts when appropriate.
| Use | Starting point | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| General website link preview | 1200 × 630 px, about 1.91:1 | Check the crop and card type on each target service. |
| Apple rich preview | At least 900 px wide, according to Apple’s rich-preview guidance | Meet the width floor and verify the rendered preview. |
| Compact thumbnail in your own page | A derivative sized for the rendered box and device pixel ratio | Test responsive behavior and avoid sending an unnecessarily large image to every small card. |
The 1200 × 630 recommendation is a useful default, not a universal platform guarantee. Platform renderers may choose different card formats or crops, and Google’s image selection is automated: it may use multiple sources from a page. Dimensions alone cannot force a particular image to appear.
Why 1200 × 630 is a practical default
A 1200 × 630 image has a width-to-height ratio of approximately 1.91:1. That shape is close to the broad landscape format used by many large link-preview layouts, and the researched X/Twitter guidance also lists 1200 × 630 as a recommended size. Starting with a source near that ratio can reduce how much must be cropped compared with an unusually tall or narrow image.
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Do not treat the pixel dimensions as a promise that every preview will show the whole image. One service may display a large landscape card while another crops, scales, or chooses another card style. A square image can work where a square card is shown, but it is not the safest single master image for broad landscape-preview compatibility. If a square or portrait treatment is important, create a separate version and check that destination’s output.
Keep important content safe from cropping
Design the image so its central composition still makes sense if the outside edges are trimmed. Put a headline, face, product silhouette, logo, or other essential subject well inside the image rather than flush with its border. Leave visual breathing room around the subject; avoid relying on a thin border or small text at the perimeter to communicate meaning.
- Compose the main idea centrally. Make the title or subject understandable in the middle of the frame.
- Keep edge content expendable. Background color or decoration can extend toward the edges; required words and identifying details should not.
- Check the actual target card. Preview the page in each service that matters, because a source image does not dictate the renderer’s crop or card type.
- Revise the art, not just the tags, if the crop fails. Metadata identifies the intended image; it does not control every platform’s presentation.
There is no single safe-area measurement established here that applies to all services. Rather than assume a fixed inset, inspect the rendered card and give critical content enough margin to survive the observed crop.
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Set Open Graph and X card metadata
Place metadata in the page’s HTML head. Open Graph uses og:image to identify the intended image; its protocol also defines width and height properties in pixels. For an X/Twitter large-card presentation, add the card type and image tags as well.
<head>
<meta property="og:image" content="https://example.com/preview.jpg">
<meta property="og:image:width" content="1200">
<meta property="og:image:height" content="630">
<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image">
<meta name="twitter:image" content="https://example.com/preview.jpg">
</head>Replace the example image URL with an absolute URL that resolves to the image for that page, and keep the declared dimensions consistent with the actual file. If the image changes, update the metadata accordingly. The X/Twitter tags are for requesting its large card presentation; they do not ensure that another service will show the same layout.
For pages where a large X card is not desired, do not set summary_large_image merely because the image is 1200 × 630. Choose the card type to match the intended presentation. The Open Graph image remains the general page-level image declaration.
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Balance sharpness, file weight, and legibility
A large source gives room for large cards and high-density displays, but a large pixel count does not excuse an unnecessarily heavy file. Compress the image while keeping text and fine detail legible. The researched X/Twitter guidance lists a 5 MB maximum for card images; treat that as a constraint for that guidance, not as a universal limit for every platform.
- Use a relevant image that represents the page, rather than a generic site logo. Google’s image guidance favors relevant, representative, high-resolution images and warns against extreme aspect ratios.
- Keep text large enough to remain readable when the card is shown on a phone. Do not make essential information depend on tiny type embedded in the image.
- Use meaningful alternative text where the platform or surrounding page supports it. Do not assume alt text will replace visible information that needs to appear in the preview itself.
- For a card in your own page, generate a smaller derivative suited to its rendered dimensions and device pixel ratio instead of serving the full source image to every compact tile.
Apple’s rich-preview note sets a minimum image width of 900 pixels. A 1200-pixel-wide source clears that stated width floor, but you should still verify the image and card on the destination surface.
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One image file is convenient, but one file is not always the best delivery choice for every context. Keep the broad-preview source as the page’s social image, then produce responsive derivatives for your own page’s cards when their display size warrants it. This avoids sending a large source to a small on-page box while preserving a sufficiently detailed asset for a large preview.
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For a product grid or article list, size the derivative to the actual rendered box and the device pixel ratio your implementation supports. Test it in the real layout at relevant screen sizes: a file can have sensible dimensions yet still look soft, crop awkwardly, or load more data than that small placement needs. Google recommends responsive image techniques and avoiding unnecessary image handling; the appropriate derivative depends on your target layout.
If the same page serves a distinct image for a different social surface, manage those assets deliberately rather than expecting a renderer to transform one composition exactly as intended. Keep the image URL and declared dimensions aligned with the asset selected for the page.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Validate the page and its preview
Check both the HTML metadata and the image itself. A correct tag does not fix a poor crop, and an attractive file cannot be selected reliably if the page does not identify it correctly.
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- Open the page source or inspect its head. Confirm that
og:imagepoints to the intended image and that the width and height correspond to its actual pixel dimensions. - Inspect the image file. Confirm the aspect ratio, legibility, compression, and file weight. For the researched X/Twitter guidance, keep the card image within its listed 5 MB maximum.
- Check platform-specific tags. If you want an X/Twitter large card, verify
twitter:cardissummary_large_imageandtwitter:imageidentifies the intended file. - View the result on target services. Check for unexpected cropping, an unexpected card format, missing image, or an image that no longer matches the page.
- Revise and recheck after changing the asset. Update the relevant URL or dimensions when needed, then inspect the rendered result again.
A browser screenshot can help you inspect the page’s own rendered layout, but it is not a substitute for checking how a social or messaging platform renders its preview. Those services make their own choices about card presentation and image selection.
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If you need a clean screenshot of the page itself while reviewing its layout, ScreenshotNeo provides a screenshot API and an MCP server for developers. It can help you inspect the web page visually; it does not guarantee or reproduce a social platform’s preview renderer. The API returns an image or PDF from a URL, and the documentation is at ScreenshotNeo docs.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Will setting these tags force Google to use my chosen thumbnail?
No. Google’s image selection is automated and can draw on multiple page sources; metadata and image dimensions cannot force a particular result.
Does the 5 MB limit apply to every website-preview service?
No. The 5 MB figure in the referenced guidance is for X/Twitter card images; do not assume it is a limit for every service.
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