Open Graph Tags: The Complete Guide for Better Social Sharing
Open Graph tags control how your pages look when shared on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp and Slack. Without them, social platforms guess — and usually guess wrong. Here's the complete setup guide.
What Are Open Graph Tags?
Open Graph (OG) is a protocol created by Facebook that lets you control the title, description, image and other metadata that appears when your page is shared on social platforms. Most platforms have adopted it, meaning one set of OG tags covers Facebook, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Slack, Discord and many others.
Core Open Graph Tags
| Tag | Recommended Length | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| og:title | 60–70 chars | Headline of the share card |
| og:description | 155–200 chars | Summary shown below title |
| og:image | – | Preview image URL |
| og:url | – | Canonical URL of the page |
| og:type | – | website, article, product |
OG Image Sizes
Facebook and LinkedIn: 1200×630px minimum (recommended). Twitter Cards: 1200×628px for summary_large_image cards. WhatsApp: 300×200px minimum but larger images display better. Use one 1200×630px image and it'll work across all platforms.
Twitter Card Tags
Twitter has its own meta tag set (twitter:card, twitter:title, twitter:description, twitter:image). If no Twitter tags are set, it falls back to OG tags. Set both for best results:
- twitter:card — "summary" or "summary_large_image"
- twitter:title — up to 70 chars
- twitter:description — up to 200 chars
- twitter:image — 1200×628px recommended
Practical Implementation
Add OG tags inside your <head> section. For WordPress, plugins like Yoast SEO or RankMath add them automatically. For custom sites, add them per-page with your CMS's template system. Always test using Facebook's Sharing Debugger or LinkedIn's Post Inspector to verify how your pages appear before sharing.
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