Social sharing images

Social sharing images may display on social networks (like Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn) or in messaging apps when a URL from your site is shared. Adding social sharing images is optional, but it's highly recommended. The social sharing image provides a first look into the site being shared and can make clicking through the link more desirable. Social sharing images can help represent the overall "feel" or brand of your page – before the user even enters your site.

Best practices

• There are a few types of social sharing images. You should at least provide one social sharing image sized at 1200x630, in 100% quality JPG format.
• Avoid including small text (or any text, if possible) inside the social sharing image. Since you don't control where the image is displayed, it may appear too small for a user to read text. Good social sharing images will be simple and clear and won't require too much attention to discern.

Updating

If a social image is updated, it may take some time for the update to appear live. This is because social networks and messaging apps will cache the image on their end. The following tools can be used to debug or refresh social sharing images:

• Facebook Sharing Debugger
• Twitter Card Validator
• LinkedIn Post Inspector