If you have ever pasted a link into Facebook and watched it pick the wrong thumbnail, the missing piece is almost always the Open Graph image. The Open Graph image (called og:image in the page’s HTML) is the preview that appears whenever someone shares your URL on Facebook, and getting the Facebook shared link image size right is the single biggest factor in whether your link looks professional or amateur in the news feed.
I have been tuning Open Graph markup for client sites since the protocol launched in 2010, and in 2026 the answer is still the same one Facebook’s own documentation pushes: 1200×630 pixels with a 1.91:1 aspect ratio. This guide walks through the exact specs, the meta tags you need, how to test with the Sharing Debugger, and how to fix the most common preview problems I see every week.
By the end, you will know the minimum, recommended, and optimal Open Graph image dimensions, how to mark them up correctly, and how to troubleshoot the wrong-image bug that frustrates so many site owners.
Table of Contents
- What Is the Recommended Facebook Shared Link Image Size?
- Minimum vs Recommended vs Optimal Open Graph Image Sizes
- Facebook Open Graph Aspect Ratio Requirements
- How to Add Open Graph Image Tags to Your Page
- How to Test Your Image with the Facebook Sharing Debugger
- Troubleshooting Common Facebook Link Preview Issues
- Using Multiple og:image Tags on One Page
- Open Graph Image vs Regular Facebook Post Image
- Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the recommended Facebook shared link image size (Open Graph)?
- What is the minimum og:image size for Facebook?
- What aspect ratio should I use for Facebook Open Graph images?
- How do I test my Facebook Open Graph image?
- Why is my Facebook link preview the wrong image?
- Does Facebook support multiple Open Graph images?
- Final Verdict on the Facebook Shared Link Image Size
What Is the Recommended Facebook Shared Link Image Size?
The recommended Facebook shared link image size is 1200 by 630 pixels with a 1.91:1 aspect ratio. That is the size Facebook’s crawler prefers, and it is the size that displays as a large, crisp preview in the desktop news feed and as a wide preview in the mobile app.
Anything smaller than 600×315 gets shrunk or rejected. Anything between 600×315 and 1200×630 works, but Facebook may downscale it and quality drops. Going larger than 1200×630 is fine; Facebook will simply resample the image down to its display size, which usually produces a sharper result than upscaling a smaller image.
The Facebook shared link image size you pick also affects how the preview renders on different surfaces. A 1200×630 image renders as a wide landscape card in the feed. A square image gets cropped into a smaller square. A tall portrait image gets cropped aggressively, often cutting off the most important part of the visual. Sticking to 1200×630 saves you from all of that.
Quick Answer: 1200×630 at 1.91:1
- Recommended: 1200×630 pixels (1.91:1 aspect ratio)
- Minimum: 600×315 pixels (anything smaller risks being skipped)
- Optimal: 1200×630 or larger, JPEG or PNG, under 8 MB
- Aspect ratio: 1.91:1 (landscape orientation)
This is the answer the Facebook developer documentation gives, and it is also the answer Google and Bing surface in their featured snippets when someone asks about the Facebook shared link image size.
Minimum vs Recommended vs Optimal Open Graph Image Sizes
Facebook defines three useful benchmarks for the og:image tag: a minimum size that still works, a recommended size for most use cases, and an optimal size that gives you headroom for high-DPI screens. Here is how they compare.
| Spec | Minimum | Recommended | Optimal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dimensions (px) | 600 x 315 | 1200 x 630 | 1200 x 630 or larger |
| Aspect ratio | 1.91:1 | 1.91:1 | 1.91:1 |
| File size | Under 8 MB | Under 5 MB | Under 1 MB (after compression) |
| File format | JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP | JPEG or PNG | JPEG or PNG, sRGB color |
| MIME type | image/jpeg, image/png, image/gif | image/jpeg or image/png | image/jpeg (best compression) |
| Display behavior | Small preview, may look fuzzy | Large preview, sharp on most screens | Large preview, sharp on Retina and 4K displays |
If you can only remember one number from this guide, make it 1200×630. That single dimension pair covers about 95% of the link previews I produce for clients and avoids most cropping issues.
File Format and MIME Type Recommendations
JPEG is the best general-purpose format for Open Graph images because it handles gradients and photographs with small file sizes. PNG is better when you need transparency, sharp text, or flat-color graphics. GIF is supported but rarely worth the file size. WebP works on Facebook but support has historically been inconsistent, so JPEG or PNG is the safer bet.
Always serve the image over HTTPS. Facebook’s crawler will not fetch insecure og:image URLs for some share surfaces, and you will end up with a missing preview on a subset of shares. Self-signed certificates also fail; use a real certificate from Let’s Encrypt or your hosting provider.
Facebook Open Graph Aspect Ratio Requirements
The aspect ratio for a Facebook Open Graph image is 1.91:1, which is the same as 1200 divided by 630. Facebook uses this ratio to size the preview card, and any image that does not match will be cropped or padded with white bars.
Square images (1:1) still render, but they appear much smaller in the feed because Facebook crops them into a square card. Tall portrait images (4:5 or 9:16) get the worst treatment: Facebook crops them from the sides, often cutting off the brand mark or the headline.
If you cannot generate a 1200×630 image for some reason, match the 1.91:1 ratio exactly. For example, 960×502 works, 1500×786 works, and 1800×945 works. Avoid 1080×1080 (square), 1080×1350 (portrait), or 1080×566 (close but slightly off). The crawler is forgiving about the absolute pixel size but strict about the ratio.
How to Add Open Graph Image Tags to Your Page
Adding Open Graph tags means dropping a few <meta> elements into the <head> of your HTML. The minimum you need is one og:image tag pointing at your preview image. Everything else is optional but recommended for the cleanest preview.
Step 1: Add the Required og:image Meta Tag
Place this in your page’s <head> and replace the URL with the absolute HTTPS URL of your 1200×630 preview image.
<meta property="og:image" content="https://example.com/images/preview.jpg">
Step 2: Add the Structured Properties
Facebook’s parser looks for og:image:width, og:image:height, and og:image:type to skip the step where it has to download and measure your image. Including these tags removes the “Provided og:image dimensions don’t match” warning in the Sharing Debugger.
<meta property="og:image" content="https://example.com/images/preview.jpg">
<meta property="og:image:width" content="1200">
<meta property="og:image:height" content="630">
<meta property="og:image:type" content="image/jpeg">
<meta property="og:image:alt" content="Description of the preview image">
Step 3: Add the Other Required Open Graph Tags
Facebook also expects og:title, og:description, and og:url. Without them, your preview may still render but Facebook may fall back to guessing values from the page content.
<meta property="og:title" content="Your Page Title">
<meta property="og:description" content="A short description of the page.">
<meta property="og:url" content="https://example.com/your-page/">
<meta property="og:type" content="website">
Step 4: WordPress and Other CMS Notes
If you run WordPress, themes do not always emit these tags by default. Plugins like Yoast, Rank Math, and All in One SEO will add them for you based on each post’s featured image. Make sure the featured image you upload is at least 1200×630, otherwise WordPress may serve a smaller version to the og:image tag.
For static sites built with Hugo, Eleventy, or Astro, you usually inject the Open Graph tags from a shared partial. Set the image URL once per page and you will never have to think about it again. The same pattern works in Next.js with the next-seo package or in Astro with the built-in <SEO> component.
How to Test Your Image with the Facebook Sharing Debugger
The Facebook Sharing Debugger is the only reliable way to confirm Facebook sees the image you think you set. The tool re-scrapes your URL on demand and shows exactly what Facebook’s crawler will pull into the share preview.
Step 1: Open the Sharing Debugger
Go to https://developers.facebook.com/tools/debug/ and paste the URL you want to test into the input box. Click Debug.
Step 2: Read the Scraped Preview
The tool returns the title, description, and image that Facebook’s crawler saw on its last visit. Scroll to the “og:image” section to confirm the image URL, dimensions, and MIME type. If the URL is wrong or the dimensions look off, your meta tags are wrong; fix the HTML and re-run.
Step 3: Force a Re-Scrape After Edits
Facebook caches link previews aggressively. If you change the og:image URL and re-test, the debugger may still show the old image. Click the Scrape Again button to force Facebook to fetch the page right now. You can also append ?v=2 to your URL temporarily to bust the cache.
Step 4: Read the Warnings
The debugger highlights two warnings worth fixing. The first, “The image referenced by the url tag could not be processed,” usually means the image is too small or served without HTTPS. The second, “Provided og:image dimensions don’t match,” means you declared a width and height that do not match the actual file; remove the structured properties or update them to the correct values.
Troubleshooting Common Facebook Link Preview Issues
Most Open Graph problems come down to five recurring issues. Here is how I diagnose and fix each one in practice.
Facebook Picks the Wrong Image
If Facebook shows an image that is not your og:image, the page probably has multiple images competing. Facebook’s crawler picks the first valid og:image it finds, so check that you do not have a leftover tag from an older plugin. Also confirm that the URL in your og:image tag is the absolute HTTPS URL, not a relative path like /images/preview.jpg.
The Preview Image Is Cached and Won’t Update
Facebook caches each URL’s preview for hours or days. The fastest fix is to run the URL through the Sharing Debugger and click Scrape Again. If that does not refresh the cache, append a query string like ?v=2 to the URL when you share it; this is treated as a new URL by Facebook’s cache.
The Image Looks Cropped on Mobile
On mobile, Facebook crops link preview images to roughly 1.91:1 in a wider format. If your image is 1200×630 but the most important content sits in the top or bottom edge, it can disappear. Keep headlines and logos in the central 80% of the image.
Debug Warnings About Missing Width and Height
The Sharing Debugger often warns when og:image:width and og:image:height are missing. Add both tags with the actual pixel dimensions and the warning goes away. This also speeds up the share preview because Facebook does not have to download and measure the image.
The Image Loads Slowly
Large og:image files can delay the preview by a couple of seconds. Compress your image to under 500 KB if you can. Tools like Squoosh, ImageOptim, or ShortPixel can take a 2 MB JPEG down to 200 KB with no visible quality loss. The crawler does not care about the file size; the share UX does.
Using Multiple og:image Tags on One Page
You can declare multiple og:image tags on a single page, but Facebook will only use the first one by default. The other tags are ignored for the share preview, though they may be used by other crawlers that follow the full Open Graph spec.
Some publishers use multiple og:image tags to let visitors of the share dialog choose between thumbnails. That capability is limited and platform-dependent, so do not rely on it. If you want the share to show a specific image, set that image as the first og:image tag and remove the others.
Always include og:image:alt on each image you declare. It improves accessibility for screen readers and gives Facebook a textual description of the image for cases where the visual cannot be rendered.
Open Graph Image vs Regular Facebook Post Image
The Facebook shared link image size (1200×630, 1.91:1) is different from the recommended size for regular in-feed Facebook posts. Mixing them up is one of the most common reasons a shared link looks off.
| Use case | Recommended size | Aspect ratio |
|---|---|---|
| Link preview (og:image) | 1200 x 630 px | 1.91:1 |
| Square in-feed post | 1080 x 1080 px | 1:1 |
| Vertical in-feed post | 1080 x 1350 px | 4:5 |
| Facebook cover photo | 851 x 315 px | 2.7:1 |
| Facebook story | 1080 x 1920 px | 9:16 |
The link preview uses a wide landscape card, which is why 1.91:1 is the standard. Regular posts use square or vertical because the feed column is taller than it is wide. If you upload a square image to a page’s og:image, Facebook will display a much smaller preview because it has to crop the square into a landscape card.
Save two versions of any visual you publish: a 1200×630 version for your og:image, and a 1080×1080 or 1080×1350 version for direct uploads to Facebook. That separation keeps your shared links and your posts looking sharp on every surface.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the recommended Facebook shared link image size (Open Graph)?
The recommended Facebook shared link image size is 1200×630 pixels with a 1.91:1 aspect ratio. This is the size Facebook’s developer documentation recommends and the size that produces the sharpest preview in both desktop and mobile feeds.
What is the minimum og:image size for Facebook?
The minimum og:image size Facebook accepts is 600×315 pixels with a 1.91:1 aspect ratio. Anything smaller risks being skipped or rendered as a low-quality thumbnail. Use 1200×630 whenever possible to avoid compression artifacts.
What aspect ratio should I use for Facebook Open Graph images?
Use a 1.91:1 aspect ratio for Facebook Open Graph images. The pixel dimensions 1200×630 are the standard implementation of that ratio. Matching the ratio exactly is what matters most; Facebook crops images that do not fit.
How do I test my Facebook Open Graph image?
Paste your URL into the Facebook Sharing Debugger at https://developers.facebook.com/tools/debug/ and click Debug. The tool shows the exact image, title, and description that Facebook’s crawler sees, and it lets you force a fresh re-scrape after you change your tags.
Why is my Facebook link preview the wrong image?
Facebook picks the first valid og:image tag it finds. If the wrong image shows up, check that your og:image URL is correct, that you do not have leftover tags from a plugin or theme, and that the image is at least 600×315 pixels and served over HTTPS. Run the URL through the Sharing Debugger to confirm what Facebook sees.
Does Facebook support multiple Open Graph images?
Yes, you can declare multiple og:image tags on one page, but Facebook uses only the first valid one for the share preview. Use a single og:image tag pointing to your best 1200×630 image for predictable results, and add og:image:alt for accessibility.
Final Verdict on the Facebook Shared Link Image Size
The Facebook shared link image size that matters in 2026 is still 1200×630 pixels at a 1.91:1 aspect ratio, served as a JPEG or PNG over HTTPS. Set that size, add the matching og:image and og:image:width / og:image:height tags, and run your URL through the Facebook Sharing Debugger to confirm.
Once the basics are in place, you will stop seeing cropped previews, wrong-image bugs, and stale cache issues. Your shared links will look like they were designed for Facebook, because they were.