DEV Community

Cover image for The No-Fluff Guide to OpenGraph Images That Actually Work 🎯
gleamso
gleamso

Posted on

The No-Fluff Guide to OpenGraph Images That Actually Work 🎯

#webdev #tutorial #seo #javascript

Hey there! 👋 Let's dive into the technical stuff. No fluff, just practical knowledge you can use today.

What We'll Cover 🗺️

  • Core OpenGraph specs that actually matter
  • Platform-specific requirements
  • Implementation patterns that work
  • Testing & validation approaches
  • Common gotchas and fixes

The Core Specs You Need 📋

Let's start with the essentials. Here's what you actually need (I've tested these across platforms):

<!-- Essential Meta Tags --> <meta property="og:title" content="Your Title Here"> <meta property="og:description" content="Your Description"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://your-domain.com/og-image.png"> <meta property="og:url" content="https://your-domain.com/page">
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Image Specifications That Work Everywhere 🎨

After testing across platforms, here are the optimal specs:

Dimensions: 1200x630px (Ratio 1.91:1) Format: PNG or JPEG Max file size: 8MB Min file size: 10KB
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Pro tip: If you're targeting multiple platforms, 1200x630px is your sweet spot. It works well everywhere and doesn't get cropped weirdly.

Platform-Specific Requirements 🎯

Let's break it down by platform (updated for 2024):

Twitter 

<!-- Twitter-specific --> <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image"> <meta name="twitter:site" content="@yourusername"> <meta name="twitter:creator" content="@yourusername"> <!-- These will fallback to og: tags if not specified --> <meta name="twitter:title" content="Your Title"> <meta name="twitter:description" content="Your Description"> <meta name="twitter:image" content="https://your-domain.com/og-image.png">
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Key points:

  • Images are displayed at 800x418px
  • Keep important content in the center
  • Text remains readable at smaller sizes

LinkedIn 

<!-- LinkedIn optimization --> <meta property="og:type" content="article"> <meta property="og:title" content="Your Professional Title"> <meta property="article:published_time" content="2024-11-19T08:00:00+00:00">
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Notes:

  • Aggressive image caching
  • May take hours to update
  • Use LinkedIn's Post Inspector for faster updates

Facebook 

<!-- Facebook optimization --> <meta property="fb:app_id" content="your_app_id"> <meta property="og:type" content="website"> <meta property="og:locale" content="en_US">
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Tips:

  • Use Facebook's Sharing Debugger
  • Force cache refresh with ?v=[timestamp]
  • Test mobile rendering specifically

Implementation Patterns 💡

Here are three approaches, from simple to advanced:

1. Static Images 

// Next.js example export const metadata = { openGraph: { title: 'Your Title', description: 'Your Description', images: [{ url: 'https://your-domain.com/og-image.png', width: 1200, height: 630, alt: 'Image description', }], }, }
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

2. Dynamic Generation with @vercel/og 

// pages/api/og.tsx import { ImageResponse } from '@vercel/og' export const config = { runtime: 'edge', } export default async function handler(request: Request) { try { const { searchParams } = new URL(request.url) // Get dynamic parameters const title = searchParams.get('title') ?? 'Default Title' return new ImageResponse( ( <div style={{ width: '100%', height: '100%', display: 'flex', alignItems: 'center', justifyContent: 'center', fontSize: 128, background: 'white', }} > {title} </div>  ), { width: 1200, height: 630, }, ) } catch (e) { return new Response('Failed to generate image', { status: 500 }) } }
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

3. Template-based System (What we use at gleam.so) 

interface OGTemplate { id: string; layout: TemplateLayout; dimensions: ImageDimensions; elements: TemplateElement[]; } const generateOG = async (template: OGTemplate, data: TemplateData) => { // Render template with data // Cache result // Return optimized image URL }
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Testing & Validation 🧪

Here's a testing checklist I use:

const ogChecklist = { basics: [ 'All required meta tags present', 'Image loads under 3 seconds', 'Text readable at small sizes', 'Proper fallbacks set' ], platforms: [ 'Twitter preview correct', 'LinkedIn rendering properly', 'Facebook mobile/desktop check', 'Discord embed working' ], technical: [ 'Valid image dimensions', 'Proper file size', 'CORS headers set', 'Cache headers optimized' ] };
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Validation Tools

  1. Twitter Card Validator
  2. LinkedIn Post Inspector
  3. Facebook Sharing Debugger

Common Gotchas & Fixes 🔧

  1. Image Not Updating 
// Add cache buster const imageUrl = `${baseUrl}/og.png?v=${Date.now()}`;
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode
  1. CORS Issues 
// Next.js API route export default function handler(req, res) { res.setHeader('Access-Control-Allow-Origin', '*') // Rest of your code }
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode
  1. Slow Loading Times 
// Implement preloading <link rel="preload" as="image" href="your-og-image.png" >
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Performance Tips ⚡

  1. Image Optimization 
import sharp from 'sharp'; const optimizeOG = async (buffer: Buffer) => { return sharp(buffer) .resize(1200, 630) .jpeg({ quality: 80, progressive: true }) .toBuffer(); };
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode
  1. Caching Strategy 
// Example with Redis const CACHE_TTL = 3600; // 1 hour async function getOGImage(key: string) { const cached = await redis.get(key); if (cached) return cached; const image = await generateOGImage(); await redis.set(key, image, 'EX', CACHE_TTL); return image; }
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Quick Implementation Checklist ✅ 

1. Meta Tags □ Basic OG tags □ Platform-specific tags □ Fallback values  2. Images □ Correct dimensions □ Optimized file size □ Proper hosting setup  3. Testing □ Cross-platform checks □ Mobile rendering □ Load time verification  4. Monitoring □ Error tracking □ Performance metrics □ Usage analytics
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

What's Next? 🚀

In the next part of this series, we'll look at:

  • Automation techniques
  • Template systems
  • A/B testing setups
  • Performance optimization

Want to implement all this without the technical overhead?

  • Try gleam.so - it's free to start gleam.so
  • Follow me for more technical deep-dives

Have questions? Drop them in the comments! I'm here to help and will use your questions to update this guide. 😊

PS: If you're finding this helpful, don't forget to follow the series for more practical OG image tips!

This is Part 2 of the "Making OpenGraph Work" series. Check out Part 1 if you missed it!

Top comments (0)