Facebook Sharing Debugger: How to Fix Link Preview Issues (2025 Guide)
TL;DR - Quick Answer
16 min readTips you can use today. What works and what doesn't.
Facebook Sharing Debugger: How to Fix Link Previews
Quick Fix (30 Seconds)
- 1 Go to developers.facebook.com/tools/debug
- 2 Paste your URL
- 3 Click Debug
- 4 Click "Scrape Again"
- 5 Share your link — fixed!
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Start your free trialPro Tip: Scrape both HTTP and HTTPS versions of your URL. Facebook caches them separately.
Step-by-Step: Using Facebook Sharing Debugger
Step 1: Access the Debugger Tool
- Go to developers.facebook.com/tools/debug/
- Log in to your Facebook account (required)
- You'll see a simple input field for URLs
Step 2: Enter Your URL
- Paste the full URL you want to fix (including https://)
- Click the Debug button
- Wait for Facebook to analyze the page
Step 3: Review the Results
The debugger shows:
- Link Preview — How your link will appear when shared
- Warnings — Issues that need fixing
- Open Graph Tags — Metadata Facebook found on your page
- When Scraped — When Facebook last cached your page
Step 4: Click "Scrape Again"
If the preview is outdated:
- Click Scrape Again button
- Facebook will re-read your page
- New metadata should appear
Pro tip: Scrape both versions:
Facebook caches HTTP and HTTPS versions separately.
Step 5: Verify the Fix
After scraping:
- Check the preview image, title, and description
- Make sure all look correct
- Try sharing the link on Facebook
- Preview should now show correctly
Common Link Preview Problems and Fixes
Wrong Image Showing
Problem: Facebook shows the wrong image or no image at all.
Causes:
- Missing og:image tag
- Image too small (minimum 200x200 pixels)
- Image URL is broken
- Old image cached
Fix:
- Check og:image tag in your page's HTML
- Make sure image is at least 1200x630 pixels (recommended)
- Use absolute URL (https://yoursite.com/image.jpg)
- Run Sharing Debugger and click Scrape Again
Required code:
<meta property="og:image" content="https://yoursite.com/image.jpg" />
<meta property="og:image:width" content="1200" />
<meta property="og:image:height" content="630" />Wrong Title or Description
Problem: Facebook shows the wrong title or description.
Causes:
- Missing og:title or og:description tags
- Tags are empty
- Old content cached
Fix:
Add or update these tags in your page's <head>:
<meta property="og:title" content="Your Page Title" />
<meta property="og:description" content="Your page description here" />Then scrape again in the debugger.
No Preview at All
Problem: Link shows with no image, title, or description.
Causes:
- Open Graph tags are missing entirely
- Page is blocking Facebook's crawler
- Server is too slow to respond
Fix:
- Add all required Open Graph tags
- Check robots.txt isn't blocking Facebook
- Make sure page loads quickly (under 5 seconds)
HTTPS Image Not Loading
Problem: Image works with HTTP but not HTTPS.
This is a known Facebook bug. Try these fixes:
- Use
og:image:urlinstead of justog:image:
<meta property="og:image:url" content="https://yoursite.com/image.jpg" />- Add dimensions explicitly:
<meta property="og:image:width" content="1200" />
<meta property="og:image:height" content="630" />- Add image type:
<meta property="og:image:type" content="image/jpeg" />Preview Updates on Debugger But Not When Sharing
Problem: Debugger shows correct preview, but sharing still shows old version.
Causes:
- Browser cache
- Facebook mobile app cache
- CDN serving old version
Fix:
- Clear your browser cache
- Force close and reopen Facebook app
- Wait 24 hours for CDN cache to clear
- Try sharing from a different device/browser
Required Open Graph Tags
For proper link previews, include these tags in your page's <head>:
Essential Tags
<meta property="og:title" content="Your Page Title" />
<meta property="og:description" content="A brief description of your page" />
<meta property="og:image" content="https://yoursite.com/image.jpg" />
<meta property="og:url" content="https://yoursite.com/page" />
<meta property="og:type" content="website" />Recommended Additional Tags
<meta property="og:site_name" content="Your Site Name" />
<meta property="og:image:width" content="1200" />
<meta property="og:image:height" content="630" />
<meta property="og:image:type" content="image/jpeg" />
<meta property="og:locale" content="en_US" />Image Requirements
Minimum Specifications
- Size: 200x200 pixels minimum
- Format: JPG, PNG, or GIF (non-animated)
- File size: Under 8MB
Recommended Specifications
- Size: 1200x630 pixels (optimal)
- Aspect ratio: 1.91:1
- Format: JPG or PNG
- File size: Under 1MB for faster loading
Image Best Practices
- Use absolute URLs (https://yoursite.com/image.jpg)
- Host images on a fast, reliable server
- Don't use redirecting URLs
- Test with both HTTP and HTTPS
Fixing Previews on WordPress
Using Yoast SEO
- Install Yoast SEO plugin
- Edit your page/post
- Scroll to Yoast SEO section
- Click "Social" tab
- Set custom Facebook title, description, and image
- Update the page
- Run Sharing Debugger to refresh
Using Other SEO Plugins
Similar options are available in:
- RankMath — Social tab in editor
- SEOPress — Social Networks section
- The SEO Framework — Social settings
- All in One SEO — Social settings
Without a Plugin
Add Open Graph tags to your theme's header.php or via a custom plugin:
// In functions.php or custom plugin
function add_og_tags() {
if (is_single() || is_page()) {
global $post;
$image = get_the_post_thumbnail_url($post->ID, 'full');
?>
<meta property="og:title" content="<?php the_title(); ?>" />
<meta property="og:description" content="<?php echo get_the_excerpt(); ?>" />
<meta property="og:image" content="<?php echo $image; ?>" />
<meta property="og:url" content="<?php the_permalink(); ?>" />
<meta property="og:type" content="article" />
<?php
}
}
add_action('wp_head', 'add_og_tags');Debugging Checklist
Run through this checklist when link previews aren't working:
Check Your Tags
- og:title tag exists and has content
- og:description tag exists and has content
- og:image tag exists with absolute URL
- og:url tag matches the current page
- All tags are in the
<head>section - No duplicate tags
Check Your Image
- Image URL is accessible (test in browser)
- Image is at least 200x200 pixels
- Image file is under 8MB
- Image is JPG, PNG, or non-animated GIF
- URL uses HTTPS
Check Your Server
- Page loads in under 5 seconds
- robots.txt doesn't block Facebookexternalhit
- No authentication required to view page
- Server isn't blocking Facebook's IP addresses
Run the Debugger
- Tested URL in Sharing Debugger
- Clicked "Scrape Again" after fixing issues
- Tested both HTTP and HTTPS versions
- No red warnings in debugger output
Troubleshooting Persistent Issues
Facebook Won't Recognize Changes
Try these in order:
- Scrape Again multiple times (3-5 times)
- Wait 30 minutes and try again
- Add a query string: yoursite.com/page?v=2
- Wait 24 hours for full cache clear
Image Works Sometimes, Not Others
This usually means CDN caching issues:
- Purge your CDN cache (Cloudflare, etc.)
- Use a versioned image URL
- Make sure image returns proper headers
Tags Exist But Debugger Can't Find Them
Possible causes:
- JavaScript is inserting tags (Facebook can't execute JS)
- Tags are below
</head>or in<body> - Server-side rendering issue
- Caching plugin serving wrong version
Fix: Make sure tags are in static HTML within <head>.
Batch Debugging Multiple URLs
For many pages:
- Create a list of all URLs to fix
- Run each through the debugger
- Click Scrape Again on each
- Note any persistent errors
- Fix common issues at the template level
Tip: For large sites, consider automating with Facebook's API for batch scraping.
Facebook Debugger vs. Other Platform Debuggers
Each social platform has its own debugger:
Open Graph tags work across most platforms, but Twitter uses its own "twitter:card" tags. Test on each platform where you share content.
Summary
To fix Facebook link previews:
- Go to developers.facebook.com/tools/debug/
- Paste your URL and click Debug
- Click Scrape Again to refresh the cache
- Fix any warnings shown in the results
- Verify by sharing the link on Facebook
If issues persist:
- Check Open Graph tags are in
<head> - Check that image meets size requirements (1200x630 recommended)
- Use absolute HTTPS URLs for images
- Wait for CDN caches to clear
For more Facebook marketing tips, check our Facebook tools and Facebook caption generator.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I fix my Facebook link preview?
Go to developers.facebook.com/tools/debug/, paste your URL, click Debug, then click 'Scrape Again' to refresh Facebook's cache. This forces Facebook to re-read your page's Open Graph tags and update the preview.
Why is my Facebook link preview showing the wrong image?
This is usually caused by a missing or incorrect og:image tag, an image that's too small (minimum 200x200 pixels), a broken image URL, or Facebook's cached version being outdated. Use the Sharing Debugger to identify and fix the issue.
What size should my Open Graph image be?
The recommended size is 1200x630 pixels with an aspect ratio of 1.91:1. Minimum size is 200x200 pixels. Use JPG or PNG format and keep file size under 8MB for optimal loading.
How long does it take for Facebook to update link previews?
After clicking 'Scrape Again' in the debugger, changes should appear immediately. However, CDN caches may take up to 24 hours to fully clear. Try scraping multiple times if the preview doesn't update right away.
What Open Graph tags do I need for Facebook?
Essential tags are og:title, og:description, og:image, og:url, and og:type. Place these in your page's <head> section. Recommended additional tags include og:site_name, og:image:width, og:image:height, and og:locale.
Why can't Facebook find my Open Graph tags?
Common causes include tags being inserted via JavaScript (Facebook can't execute JS), tags placed outside the <head> section or in the <body>, server-side rendering issues, or caching plugins serving wrong versions. Tags must be in static HTML within <head>.
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