Quick answer
When a link shows a blank box instead of a picture and title, your page is missing the bits that tell the app what to show, or the app is showing an old saved copy. Both are quick to fix.
- A blank preview means the app could not find a picture and title for your page, or it saved an old copy.
- Check what your page is sharing first. Do not guess.
- After you fix it, tell the app to look again. Old previews get stuck until you do.
What a link preview is
A link preview is the little card an app builds when you paste a link. It has a title, a short line of text, and a picture.
The app does not make this up. It visits your page and looks for hidden bits of code that say “here is the title, here is the picture”. These hidden bits are called meta tags. The picture ones start with og: (short for Open Graph).
If those bits are there and correct, you get a clean card. If they are missing, the app guesses or shows nothing.
Why the preview breaks
Almost every blank preview comes down to one of three things.
1
The picture and title are missing
Your page never told the app what to show. So it shows a blank box. This is the most common cause.
2
The app is showing an old copy
Apps save the first version they see. Add a picture later and they keep showing the empty one.
3
The picture is the wrong size
A tiny picture gets dropped. A huge file loads too slowly. Either way, no picture shows.
Two more causes show up less often:
- The page needs extra code to load. Some apps only read the plain page your site sends first. If your title and picture only appear after extra code runs, the app sees an empty page. The bits it needs have to be there from the start.
- The app is being blocked. A login wall, a setting that hides your page from bots, or a firewall can stop the app from reaching your page at all.
Check before you change anything
Do not guess. Look at what your page is actually sharing. Paste your link into our meta tag checker and you will see the title, the text, and the picture the way an app reads them.
Then check with the app's own tool, because each app saves its own copy:
- Facebook Sharing Debugger. Shows what Facebook saw and lets you make it look again on the spot.
- LinkedIn Post Inspector. Does the same for LinkedIn and clears its old copy when you submit the link.
If the checker shows the right title and picture but the app still shows nothing, your problem is the old saved copy, not the page. That changes the fix.
The fix, step by step
Once you know what is wrong, here is how to fix it.
- 1
Add the three main tags to your page: a title (og:title), a short line of text (og:description), and a picture (og:image). Give each a real value, not a leftover placeholder.
- 2
Add one more line, twitter:card set to summary_large_image, so X shows the big picture card instead of a tiny thumbnail. Point it at the same picture.
- 3
Make the picture about 1200 by 630 pixels, and keep the file small so it loads fast. Most apps expect this size.
- 4
Make sure the tags are in the plain page your site sends, not added later by extra code. Right-click the page, choose "View source", and search for og: to be sure.
- 5
Tell each app to look again. Run your link through the Facebook Sharing Debugger and LinkedIn Post Inspector so each one drops its old copy and picks up the new one.
The picture size trips people up the most, so it is worth getting right. The right image sizes covers 1200 by 630 and the other sizes each app expects.
The quick checklist
Run through these six. Almost every broken preview comes back.
- Title, text, picture. All three tags (og:title, og:description, og:image) are on the page.
- The X line. twitter:card is set to summary_large_image.
- Picture size. About 1200 by 630 pixels, and not a huge file.
- In the plain page. The tags show up in “View source”, not only after extra code runs.
- Nothing blocking. No login wall, bot setting, or firewall is stopping the app.
- Looked again. You told each app to re-check after the tags went live.
Then share the link
Once the card looks right, you still need a good post to go with it. Brandmundo writes the social posts that sit around your link, in your own voice. Swipe through and keep the ones you like. Try it free.
Preguntas frecuentes
Why is my link preview not showing an image?
Usually one of three things: there is no picture tag (og:image) on the page, the picture is too small or too heavy to load in time, or the app saved an older copy of the page before you added the picture. Check the tags with a meta checker first, then tell the app to look again in its own debugger.
I added the tags but the old preview still shows. What now?
The app saved an old copy. Apps keep the first version they see. Run your link through the Facebook Sharing Debugger and LinkedIn Post Inspector. Both make the app look again and update the saved card.
What size should the preview image be?
About 1200 by 630 pixels works across almost every app and gives you the big picture card. Keep the file small so the app can download it before it gives up.
Do I need the X tag if I already have the og: tags?
The og: tags cover most apps. Adding twitter:card set to summary_large_image makes X show the big picture card cleanly. It is one extra line, so it is worth adding alongside the others.
Keep reading
Social media image sizes in 2026 (every platform)
Social media image sizes for 2026: the two shapes that cover most posts, exact pixel sizes for every app, and which file type to use.
UTM parameters: see which posts actually bring customers
UTM parameters in plain English: little tags you add to a link so you can see where your clicks came from. The five tags, naming rules, and how to read results.
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