Link Card in Social Networks and Messengers
The link card in messengers and social networks is built from Open Graph markup. If it is absent, the link appears as a bare string, and it is clicked noticeably less often. You can check what will be seen when sending the link using the card debugger.
Minimum Set
| Property | What to Specify |
|---|---|
| Title | Short and clear without context |
| Description | One or two sentences, not a copy of the title |
| Image | Horizontal, with a large element; small text on it is unreadable |
| Page Address | Canonical |
| Type | Article or website — affects the appearance of the card |
Where the Card Appears
The same markup is used by messengers, social networks, and many chats: a link sent to a colleague unfolds according to the same rules as one published in a feed. Therefore, the card is important even for websites that do not maintain social networks — links to them are still shared in conversations.
Common Issues
- The image does not load. Most often, it is blocked from crawling or is too large in size.
- Old image after replacement. Platforms cache the card: it can be cleared through their debugger or by changing the image file address.
- Cropped differently. Each platform has its own proportions: keep important elements in the center.
- Description from the first paragraph. If there is no markup, the platform takes whatever it can — usually unsuccessfully.
One Image for All Occasions or Different Ones
For most websites, one high-quality image per section is sufficient: a link card for an article, a card for a service. Separate images for each page pay off where links are actively shared — in blogs and help sections. The main thing is that the image is not an empty branded background: a card with a logo in the middle of emptiness looks like the absence of a card.
Check at the Same Time
The presence of a favicon and the correctness of meta tags: these are related things, and they are usually fixed in one go in the template.