Default Website Image for Social Sharing

Default website image for social sharing

You need to set the open graph image meta tag:

<meta property="og:image" content="http://example.com/logo.jpg">
<meta property="og:image:type" content="image/png">
<meta property="og:image:width" content="1024">
<meta property="og:image:height" content="1024">

For more info check the docs

Default website image for social sharing - Issue

It just took time. No issues with the code.

Sharing image on social media using HTML

Change u=TheImg.src; to u=TheImg.getAttribute('src');
Also note that to define variable as var u
If you sharing your pic to FB then write full url using http://

Provide an image for WhatsApp link sharing

2020 standards

It takes a few steps to get the perfect preview for WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook and bookmark icons for pc's and mobile devices. If you like reading go to Open Graph (ogp.me) - but make sure to read steps 1 - 6 in this answer to get the best WhatsApp preview.

Results of many tech audits by different companies show having Open Graph tags won’t help you get a better SEO ranking, they are only for social media. schema.org's data structures will help you with SEO.

These Open Graph <meta> tags go inside the <head> tag.

Please note: @jaimish11 mentioned some apps or websites use cache or even store the website preview in their database. This means when you're testing your link in WhatsApp or Facebook for example, you'll most likely not see any difference right away. Using another link (another page) will do the trick. But as soon as you use that link once, this "please note" section starts all over again.

Step 1: title

Maximum of 65 characters

<title>your keyword rich title of the website and/or webpage</title>

Step 2: description

Maximum of 155 characters

<meta name="description" content="description of your website/webpage, make sure you use keywords!" />

Step 3: og:title

Maximum 35 characters

<meta property="og:title" content="short title of your website/webpage" />

Step 4: og:url

Full link to the current webpage address

<meta property="og:url" content="https://www.example.com/webpage/" />

Step 5: og:description

Maximum 65 characters

<meta property="og:description" content="description of your website/webpage" />

Step 6: og:image

Image(JPG or PNG) with a size less than 300KB and minimum dimensions of 300 x 200 ^*. This image should be served via a HTTPS connection with a valid non-self-signed certificate.^**

<meta property="og:image" content="//cdn.example.com/uploads/images/webpage_300x200.png" />

^* @RichDeBourke mentioned this to me, but apparently WhatsApp has increased its maximum image size (dimensions as well as file size). I did some tests: it does not work consistently every time on every device. I tested 2.x Mb images and even that seemed to work 9/10 times. <300KB is the safest approach, but you should be fine using larger images as of 18-02-2020. I would recommend keeping the file size below 2MB, though. And definitely throw your image through TinyPNG or any other image compression algorithm if you haven't already.

** @Indraraj mentioned the image may not show up if your site runs on https with a self-signed certificate.

If you completed the steps above, you can now see your preview in WhatsApp! However, be aware of the "please note" section above.

Step 7: og:type

In order for your object to be represented within the graph, you need to specify its type. Here's a list of the global types available: http://ogp.me/#types. You can also specify your own types.

<meta property="og:type" content="article" />

Step 8: og:locale

The locale of the resource. You can also use og:locale:alternate if you have other language translations available.

If you don't specify og:locale, it defaults to en_US.

<meta property="og:locale" content="en_GB" />
<meta property="og:locale:alternate" content="fr_FR" />
<meta property="og:locale:alternate" content="es_ES" />

Step 9: Twitter

For the best Twitter support read this.

Step 10: Facebook

For the best Facebook support read this.

Step 11: favicon

For the best favicon support for all browsers and devices read this.

Bonus step 12: video/audio

It's also possible to share audio/video. Facebook and Twitter for example share videos very well. Read ogp.me. And of course WhatsApp has this option as well: when you share an Instagram or Youtube link, the WhatsApp preview comes with the in-app video player.

Super bonus step 13: products, persons, movies etc.

This kind of information really depends on the provider (Facebook, Google). I don't know when, but WhatsApp and Twitter could enable support for products. This way, the persons you share the link with, might see the price, average review score in the shared link "widget". That would be nice. This already exists for business accounts who have their Catalog up-to-date in their WhatsApp Business app, but this is totally different than link sharing.

Main website image when mentioned on social media websites

You must use meta tags for social media. Example:

<meta property="og:title" content="European Travel Destinations">
<meta property="og:description" content="Offering tour packages for individuals or 
groups.">
<meta property="og:image" content="http://euro-travel-example.com/thumbnail.jpg">
<meta property="og:url" content="http://euro-travel-example.com/index.htm">
Twitter has its own <meta> tags that are similar to the Open Graph

<meta name="twitter:title" content="European Travel Destinations ">
<meta name="twitter:description" content=" Offering tour packages for individuals or 
groups.">
<meta name="twitter:image" content=" http://euro-travel-example.com/thumbnail.jpg">
<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image">

Social Media Sharing post not displaying og:image

To solve this issue, check if either the Host or the CDN you're using has enabled the Hotlink Protection, and DISABLE it.