Why Your Link Previews are Broken on WhatsApp
You changed your Open Graph image, but WhatsApp still shows the old one? Here is why it happens and how to fix it instantly.
When you share a link on WhatsApp, Slack, or LinkedIn, these platforms scrape your website looking for Open Graph (OG) meta tags to display a rich preview card with an image, title, and description. If your image doesn't show up, or if it's broken, you're losing clicks and looking unprofessional.
1. You Are Using a Relative URL
The most common mistake developers make is using a relative path for the og:image tag. Scrapers like Facebook's bot do not understand relative paths. They need the full, absolute URL.
<!-- WRONG --> <meta property="og:image" content="/images/cover.jpg" />
<!-- CORRECT --> <meta property="og:image" content="https://yoursite.com/images/cover.jpg" />
2. The Image is Too Small
WhatsApp and LinkedIn require images to be at least 200x200 pixels, but the recommended size for a perfect link preview is 1200x630 pixels. If your image is smaller than the minimum, the platform will simply ignore it and show a blank space or a generic icon.
💡 Pro tip: Use our Image Resizer to crop and resize your cover images to exactly 1200x630px before uploading them.
3. The Aggressive Cache Problem
Sometimes, your code is 100% correct, but WhatsApp still shows the old image. This happens because social media platforms cache your link preview data aggressively to save server resources. When you update your image, they don't bother checking your site again immediately.
To force them to refresh their cache, you need to use their official debugging tools:
- Facebook Sharing Debugger: Paste your URL here to force Facebook and WhatsApp to re-scrape your tags.
- LinkedIn Post Inspector: Use this to clear LinkedIn's cache.
Debug Your OG Tags Visually!
Before sharing your link, use our OG Image Debugger to see exactly what WhatsApp sees.
Open OG Image Debugger