Facebook: Minimum 200x200px, recommended 1200x630px, 1.91:1 aspect ratio, max file size 8MB.

Twitter/X (summary): Minimum 144x144px, recommended 240x240px, 1:1 aspect ratio, max file size 5MB.

Twitter/X (summary_large_image): Minimum 300x157px, recommended 1200x628px, 2:1 aspect ratio, max file size 5MB.

LinkedIn: Minimum 200x200px, recommended 1200x627px, 1.91:1 aspect ratio, max file size 5MB.

WhatsApp: Minimum 200x200px, recommended 1200x630px, 1.91:1 aspect ratio, ~300KB recommended.

Discord: Minimum 200x200px, recommended 1200x630px, 1.91:1 aspect ratio, max file size 8MB.

Slack: Minimum 200x200px, recommended 1200x630px, 1.91:1 aspect ratio, no strict limit.

iMessage: Minimum 200x200px, recommended 1200x630px, 1.91:1 aspect ratio, no strict limit.

The universal safe choice: 1200x630px at 1.91:1 ratio. This works well across all platforms that display large cards.

1. Wrong aspect ratio — Your image is 1200x800 (3:2) but the platform expects 1.91:1. The platform crops the top and bottom to fit, cutting off content.

2. Important content at the edges — Text, logos, or faces positioned near the edge of the image get clipped when the platform crops to its target ratio.

3. Image too small for a large card — Facebook renders images under 600px wide as a small thumbnail on the left side of the preview instead of a full-width card. LinkedIn does the same under 200px.

4. Oversized file — WhatsApp struggles with images over 300KB, especially on mobile connections. The preview may fail to load entirely, showing a blank or generic placeholder.

5. Non-standard dimensions — Square images (1:1) display as thumbnails on platforms expecting landscape cards. Tall portrait images get aggressively cropped.

Step 1: Check your current image dimensions. Open your OG image URL directly in a browser. Right-click the image and select "Open image in new tab" or check the image properties to see its pixel dimensions. Alternatively, use the Facebook Sharing Debugger — it reports the fetched image dimensions in its output.

Step 2: Resize to the recommended dimensions. Create your OG image at 1200x630px (1.91:1 ratio). This is the universal standard. Facebook, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Discord, and Slack all display this size correctly as a full-width card. Twitter/X summary_large_image works well with this size (its native ratio is 2:1, so there's minimal cropping). For Twitter/X summary cards, create a separate 240x240px square image and use twitter:image to override.

Step 3: Use a safe zone for important content. Platforms crop differently. Some trim the edges, some center-crop. Keep all important content (text, logos, faces) within the center 80% of the image. Leave the outer 10% on each side as a buffer zone. For a 1200x630 image, the safe zone is approximately 960x504px centered. Never place text at the very top or bottom edge — LinkedIn and WhatsApp trim these areas most aggressively.

Step 4: Optimize file size. Use JPEG for photographs and complex images (target 80-150KB). Use PNG only when you need transparency or the image has large flat color areas with sharp text. Run images through an optimizer (TinyPNG, Squoosh, ImageOptim) to reduce file size without visible quality loss. For WhatsApp compatibility, keep the file under 300KB. Avoid BMP and TIFF — they're not supported. SVG is not supported by any platform for OG images.

Step 5: Add explicit dimensions in meta tags. Always declare og:image:width and og:image:height. This prevents platforms from having to fetch and measure the image during the initial scrape. Without these tags, Facebook's first scrape often fails to display the image.

Step 6: Test across platforms. After creating or updating your image, use the Facebook Sharing Debugger to see the exact image dimensions it fetched and the rendered preview. Use the LinkedIn Post Inspector to see how LinkedIn will render the card. Share a test link in a private WhatsApp chat to yourself.

When your image doesn't meet the minimum size for a large card, platforms fall back to alternative layouts:

Facebook: Under 600px wide, it renders as a small square thumbnail on the left side of a compact preview card. Under 200x200px, it may not display any image at all. Between 200px and 600px, behavior is inconsistent — sometimes thumbnail, sometimes small card.

LinkedIn: Under 200px on either dimension, no image is displayed. Under 1200px wide, it may render as a smaller card depending on the aspect ratio.

Twitter/X: summary_large_image with an image under 300x157px falls back to summary card layout (small thumbnail). summary with an image under 144x144px shows no image.

WhatsApp: Under 200x200px, no image in the preview — just title and description. Over 300KB, it may fail to load on slow connections, showing a blank preview.

If you need different images for different platforms, you can use og:image for Facebook, LinkedIn, and WhatsApp, and twitter:image as an override for Twitter/X. Twitter/X will use twitter:image when present. All other platforms use og:image.

Use this checklist to avoid OG image size and cropping issues:

OG image is 1200x630px (1.91:1 ratio). Important content is within the center 80% safe zone. File size is under 300KB (WhatsApp safe) or at most under 1MB. Format is JPEG or PNG (not SVG, BMP, TIFF, or GIF). og:image:width and og:image:height meta tags are set. Image has been tested in Facebook Sharing Debugger. Image has been tested in LinkedIn Post Inspector. Separate twitter:image set if using summary card type (square image).