The Universal OG Image: One Size to Rule Them All
If you only remember one thing from this guide, let it be this:
1200×630 pixels, JPG format, under 300 KB works perfectly on every major platform.
That's the "golden image" specification. But if you want to optimize for each platform individually—or understand why your preview looks wrong on a specific app—read on.
Platform-by-Platform Breakdown
WhatsApp is the most restrictive platform for link previews. Get any spec wrong, and you get zero preview—not even a degraded one.
| Spec | Value | What Happens If Wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Max file size | 600 KB | No preview image at all |
| Min dimensions | 100×100 px | No preview shown whatsoever |
| Small preview | 100–299 px width | Tiny thumbnail beside URL |
| Full-width card | ≥ 300 px width | Full preview with image, title, description |
| Recommended | 1200×630 px | Perfect full-width card |
| Formats | JPG, PNG, WebP | GIF and SVG are rejected |
Pro tip: WhatsApp accepts any aspect ratio (including 1:1 square), but 1.91:1 gives you the most visual real estate.
Facebook is the most lenient platform, accepting larger files and more formats.
| Spec | Value | What Happens If Wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Max file size | 8 MB | No image shown |
| Min dimensions | 200×200 px | No image shown |
| Compact preview | Width ≤ 445 px OR ratio ≤ 0.797 | Small thumbnail beside link |
| Expanded preview | Width > 445 px, Height > 232 px, Ratio > 0.797 | Full-width card |
| Recommended | 1200×630 px (1.91:1) | Perfect expanded card |
| Formats | JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF, SVG | All standard formats accepted |
Twitter/X
Twitter has two card types with different requirements:
| Spec | Summary Card | Summary Large Image |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 144×144 to 4096×4096 | 300×157 to 4096×4096 |
| Aspect ratio | 1:1 | 2:1 |
| Max file size | 5 MB | 5 MB |
| Formats | JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF | JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF |
Important: Twitter requires the twitter:card meta tag. Without it, the default card type is used. For large preview images, set:
<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" />LinkedIn has aggressive caching and specific quirks:
| Spec | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Recommended | 1200×627 px (1.91:1) | |
| Min dimensions | 200×200 px | |
| Max file size | 5 MB | |
| Formats | JPG, PNG, GIF | No WebP, no SVG |
| Caching | Very aggressive | Use Post Inspector to refresh |
Warning: LinkedIn is notorious for image redirect issues. If your OG image URL involves multiple redirects (e.g., CDN → origin → final URL), LinkedIn will often fail to load it.
Instagram DMs
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Max file size | 8 MB |
| Recommended ratio | 1.91:1 (1200×630) |
| Formats | JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF, SVG |
| Twitter cards | Ignored—only OG tags |
Discord
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Title limit | 256 characters |
| Description limit | ~350 characters |
| og:type | Matters—Discord styles types differently |
Slack
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| og:site_name | Critical—used as bold header |
| Fallback | Domain is guessed if og:site_name is missing |
The Complete OG Tag Setup for All Platforms
This HTML snippet covers every platform's requirements:
<!-- Open Graph (Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, LinkedIn, Discord, Slack) -->
<meta property="og:title" content="Your Title — 60 chars optimal" />
<meta property="og:description" content="Compelling description, 150-200 chars" />
<meta property="og:image" content="https://yoursite.com/og-1200x630.jpg" />
<meta property="og:image:width" content="1200" />
<meta property="og:image:height" content="630" />
<meta property="og:url" content="https://yoursite.com/page" />
<meta property="og:type" content="website" />
<meta property="og:site_name" content="Your Site Name" />
<!-- Twitter Card (overrides OG if present) -->
<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" />
<meta name="twitter:title" content="Your Title" />
<meta name="twitter:description" content="Your description" />
<meta name="twitter:image" content="https://yoursite.com/og-1200x630.jpg" />
<meta name="twitter:site" content="@yourusername" />Text Limits by Platform
Don't just optimize your images—your title and description have character limits too:
| Platform | Title Limit | Description Limit |
|---|---|---|
| ~65 chars | ~80 chars | |
| Twitter/X | ~70 chars | Varies |
| ~150 chars | Varies | |
| ~88 chars | ~200 chars | |
| Discord | 256 chars | ~350 chars |
| Short preferred | If space allows | |
| Safe universal | 60 chars | 150 chars |
Key Stats: Why OG Images Matter
| Stat | Impact |
|---|---|
| Rich previews | 2× more clicks than plain URLs |
| Optimized OG images | 179% more engagement |
| A/B testing OG images | Up to 47% CTR increase |
| Tweets with cards | 2× more engagement |
| LinkedIn posts with images | 2× more engagement |
Test Your OG Images Before Sharing
Use LinkPeek to preview your link across WhatsApp, Twitter, LinkedIn, Slack, Discord, and Instagram simultaneously. It checks all platform-specific requirements and tells you exactly what needs fixing.