Your links look broken when shared on social media. The image is wrong, the title’s cut off, or the description makes no sense.
That’s not a design fail. That’s broken Open Graph or Twitter tags.
What Is a Open Graph & Twitter Checker?
Open Graph & Twitter Checker is a free browser-based tool that tests how your URL appears when shared on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, and other platforms. You paste a link, and it shows you exactly what social networks see.
Why It Matters for SEO
If your shared links look bad, people won’t click them. Plain and simple. Google doesn’t rank social signals directly, but terrible previews kill engagement. That means fewer visits, less traffic, and weaker rankings over time.
The real issue is that most CMS platforms set flawed defaults for OG tags. WordPress, for example, often pulls the wrong image or uses a 16:9 image when social platforms expect 1:1. One study found 78% of shared links on Twitter use less than 50% of their available metadata space. That’s wasted branding every time.
Social platforms recrawl your content every 7-14 days. If you fix the tags today, you’re still stuck with broken previews until the next crawl. Most people miss that delay and think the fix didn’t work.
How to Use It
- Go to https://scrawl.tools/tools/og-twitter-checker (no login needed)
- Paste any URL from your site
- Click “Check” and wait 5 seconds
It’s free. It runs in your browser. No data gets saved.
What the Results Tell You
You’ll see side-by-side previews for Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and WhatsApp. Each shows the title, description, image, and URL exactly as that platform renders it.
Below each preview, the tool lists every Open Graph and Twitter meta tag it found. If a tag is missing, malformed, or too long, it’ll flag it in red. For example, if your og:title is over 70 characters, it’ll warn you — because it’ll get truncated in the preview.
You’ll also see HTTP status codes and redirects. That’s important because if your URL redirects through 3 steps, social crawlers may give up. Google recrawls most sites every 3-7 days, but Facebook’s crawler can take up to 30 days if it hits issues.
You can fix bad images, rewrite descriptions, and test again — all without leaving the tool.
3 Mistakes Most People Make
- They assume their CMS handles it
WordPress plugins like Yoast or Rank Math try to auto-generate OG tags, but they often pull featured images that are too small or use post excerpts that don’t make sense as previews. The result: broken or confusing shares.
- They don’t test shared URLs — only the homepage
Most people run checks on their homepage and call it a day. But every blog post, product page, and landing page needs its own correct tags. A broken link preview on a key post can cost hundreds of clicks. Use the Broken Link Checker to find those pages fast.
- They forget about redirects
If your link redirects through multiple hops, social platforms may not see the final content. That means your OG tags never get read. Run your URL through the Redirect Chain Checker to make sure it lands cleanly.
Here’s what actually happens: you share a post, someone clicks it, and the preview shows a random image from your site and a description that says “Read more about the latest updates.” That’s not curiosity — that’s confusion. And confusion doesn’t convert.
Fix your social previews now. It takes 30 seconds.
Test any URL for free: https://scrawl.tools/tools/og-twitter-checker
How to Use It Step by Step
- Open the tool — Visit https://scrawl.tools/tools/og-twitter-checker in any modern browser. No account or plugin installation needed.
- Paste your URL — Copy the full link of the page you want to test (a blog post, product page, or landing page) and paste it into the input field. The tool accepts any public URL.
- Click "Check" — Hit the button and wait for the results to load. The tool crawls your page the same way Facebook, X, and LinkedIn do, pulling all meta tags it finds.
- Review the previews — Look at the side-by-side renderings for each platform. Compare what you see to what you expect. Does the image look right? Is the title complete? Does the description make sense in 2-3 lines?
- Check the tag details — Scroll below the previews to see every meta tag the tool found. Red flags highlight problems: missing tags, text that's too long, images below minimum dimensions, or malformed code.
- Make your fixes — Go back to your CMS, edit the Open Graph or Twitter tags for that page, and save. If you're using a plugin, update the fields there. If you're coding manually, fix the `<meta>` tags in your page's `<head>`.
- Test again — Return to the checker and paste the same URL. The new tags should appear in your next check (sometimes with a slight delay as your server refreshes).
Common Mistakes to Watch For
- Using generic titles and descriptions for all posts — Copy-pasting the same OG tags across multiple pages defeats the purpose. Each post needs its own unique title and description that actually describe that specific content. Social platforms downrank generic or repetitive previews.
- Ignoring image dimensions — Your featured image might look perfect on your website but be the wrong size for social previews. Facebook prefers 1200×630px, X prefers square images, and LinkedIn works best with 1200×627px. Check the tool's image flagging to catch size mismatches.
- Forgetting to update tags after redesigns — When you change your site's design or restructure URLs, old cached previews stick around. Old OG tags may point to deleted images or outdated descriptions. Recheck your key pages after any site update.
- Not testing on mobile — The checker shows you desktop previews, but social media users are mostly on mobile. A title that fits on desktop gets truncated on a phone. Test your key posts manually by sharing them to Facebook or X from a mobile device.
- Setting tags but not waiting for crawl delays — You've fixed the tags, but the preview still looks wrong. That's because social platforms cache previews for days or weeks. Use the cache-clearing options in your CMS plugin, or wait and retest in a few hours.
Troubleshooting & Common Questions
Why does my image show correctly on my website but wrong in the social preview?
Your website displays the image at one size, but social platforms have minimum and maximum dimensions. The tool shows you exactly what size the platform sees and whether it meets that platform's requirements. If it's too small or the wrong ratio, the platform may crop, shrink, or reject it entirely.
Can I test a URL that's behind a login or password wall?
No. Social crawlers can't access pages that require authentication. If you're testing a membership site or draft post, you'll need to either make it temporarily public, use a preview link if your CMS provides one, or share the meta tag code directly with the tool if it supports raw HTML input.
What should I do if the checker says my og:image is broken?
Click the image URL in the results to verify it actually exists and loads. Then check your CMS to confirm the image file hasn't been moved or deleted. If the file is there, try clearing your CDN cache or waiting a few minutes for your server to update. Retest after making changes.