Open Graph titles should be kept under 60 characters for optimal display across social media platforms, with a hard maximum of 95 characters before truncation. The og:description should be 55-65 characters for best results, though platforms technically allow up to 200 characters.

This guide covers everything you need to know about Open Graph character limits, image specifications, required tags, and implementation best practices for maximizing social media engagement.

What Are Open Graph Tags?

Open Graph (OG) is a protocol developed by Facebook in 2010 that allows web pages to become rich objects in social graphs. When you share a link on Facebook, LinkedIn, or other platforms, OG tags control how your content appears in the preview card.

Core functions of Open Graph tags:

• Control the title displayed in social media previews
• Define the description text that appears below the title
• Specify which image represents your content
• Ensure consistent branding across social platforms
• Improve click-through rates from social media posts

Without properly configured OG tags, social platforms generate previews automatically by scraping your page content. This often results in poor previews with irrelevant images, truncated text, or missing information that fails to entice clicks.

The Open Graph protocol is supported by major platforms including Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and many messaging apps. Twitter uses its own Twitter Cards system but falls back to OG tags when Twitter-specific meta tags aren’t present.

og:title Character Limits

The og:title tag defines the headline that appears in social media link previews. Character limits vary by platform, but following best practices ensures your title displays correctly everywhere.

Best practices for og:title:

• Keep titles between 55-60 characters for mobile-friendly display
• Front-load important keywords in the first 40 characters
• Avoid repetition of your brand name if it’s already in og:site_name
• Use title case or sentence case for readability
• Test on multiple devices to verify display

Facebook displays approximately 60-70 characters on desktop but only 40-50 on mobile devices. LinkedIn shows around 60 characters before truncating. When your title exceeds these limits, platforms add an ellipsis ("…") that cuts off your message mid-sentence.

The technical maximum before platforms ignore content entirely is around 95-100 characters. However, reaching this limit means mobile users will miss most of your title, significantly reducing engagement.

Example implementations:

<!-- Good: 58 characters -->
<meta property="og:title" content="Complete Guide to Open Graph Character Limits and Tags" />

<!-- Too long: 102 characters - will truncate -->
<meta property="og:title" content="The Complete Comprehensive Ultimate Guide to Understanding Open Graph Character Limits and Best Practices" />

Remember that character count includes spaces and punctuation. Try our free letter counter → to verify your og:title stays within optimal limits before publishing.

og:description Character Limits

The og:description provides supporting text below the title in social media previews. This text should entice users to click while staying within strict character limits.

Why 55-65 characters is optimal:

Facebook mobile, which represents the majority of social media traffic, displays only 55-65 characters of the og:description before truncating with an ellipsis. Desktop allows more characters, but optimizing for mobile ensures consistent display across devices.

Writing effective og:description text:

• Lead with your value proposition in the first 55 characters
• Use active voice and action-oriented language
• Include a clear benefit or reason to click
• Avoid duplicate content from your og:title
• Skip promotional language that wastes character space
• End sentences before the 65-character mark to prevent awkward truncation

While Facebook technically allows up to 200 characters in the og:description property, most users will only see the first 55-65 on mobile devices. LinkedIn shows approximately 160 characters, and Pinterest is more generous with 500 characters, but designing for the lowest common denominator ensures universal compatibility.

Example comparisons:

<!-- Good: 64 characters, complete thought -->
<meta property="og:description" content="Learn optimal character limits for Open Graph title and image." />

<!-- Poor: 156 characters, truncates on mobile -->
<meta property="og:description" content="This comprehensive guide teaches you everything you need to know about Open Graph protocol character limits including titles and descriptions." />

The description should complement your title, not repeat it. If your og:title says “Open Graph Character Limits Guide,” your description should expand on that with specific value like “Learn optimal limits for title, description, and images.”

og:image Requirements

The og:image tag specifies which image represents your content in social media previews. Image specifications are just as important as text limits for creating engaging social cards.

Why 1200×630 pixels is the standard:

This dimension provides high-resolution images on both desktop and mobile displays while maintaining the 1.91:1 aspect ratio that Facebook, LinkedIn, and other platforms use for link preview cards. Images smaller than 1200×630 will display but may appear pixelated on high-DPI screens.

Critical og:image implementation details:

• Use absolute URLs including https:// protocol
• Host images on a fast CDN for quick social crawler access
• Ensure images work at small sizes (mobile thumbnails)
• Avoid text-heavy images that become unreadable when shrunk
• Include relevant branding without overwhelming the image
• Test file size to keep under 1 MB for faster loading

Required og:image meta tags:

<meta property="og:image" content="https://example.com/image.jpg" />
<meta property="og:image:width" content="1200" />
<meta property="og:image:height" content="630" />
<meta property="og:image:alt" content="Descriptive alt text for accessibility" />

Including width and height tags helps social platforms render previews faster without downloading the image first to determine dimensions. The og:image:alt property improves accessibility and provides fallback text when images fail to load.

Platform-specific image considerations:

Facebook caches images aggressively. If you change an og:image, you must use the Facebook Sharing Debugger to clear the cache and force a refresh. LinkedIn and Pinterest have separate caching systems that also require manual refresh through their respective validation tools.

Square images (1:1 ratio) work but are cropped by platforms optimized for landscape orientations. Vertical images (portrait orientation) display poorly in social cards and should be avoided entirely for og:image purposes.

Required vs Optional OG Tags

Not all Open Graph tags are mandatory. Understanding which tags are required versus optional helps you implement the protocol correctly without bloating your HTML head section.

Required Open Graph tags (minimum for valid implementation):

<meta property="og:title" content="Page Title" />
<meta property="og:type" content="website" />
<meta property="og:url" content="https://example.com/page" />
<meta property="og:image" content="https://example.com/image.jpg" />

These four tags represent the absolute minimum for Open Graph compliance. Without any one of them, social platforms may fail to generate proper previews or fall back to generic scraping that produces poor results.

Highly recommended optional tags:

The og:type property explained:

The og:type tag specifies what kind of content your page represents. Common values include:

• website - Generic website or homepage
• article - Blog posts, news articles, guides
• profile - User or author profile pages
• video.movie - Movie content
• music.song - Music content

For most business websites and blogs, “website” or “article” covers your needs. Using more specific types enables additional structured data properties but isn’t necessary for basic social media sharing.

Complete implementation example:

<meta property="og:title" content="Open Graph Character Limits Guide" />
<meta property="og:type" content="article" />
<meta property="og:url" content="https://lettercounter.org/blog/og-title-character-limit/" />
<meta property="og:image" content="https://lettercounter.org/images/og-guide.jpg" />
<meta property="og:description" content="Learn optimal character limits for social media tags." />
<meta property="og:site_name" content="LetterCounter" />
<meta property="og:locale" content="en_US" />
<meta property="og:image:width" content="1200" />
<meta property="og:image:height" content="630" />

While you can omit optional tags, including og:description and og:site_name significantly improves how your content appears in social feeds. The minor addition to HTML size is negligible compared to the engagement benefits.

Platform-Specific Considerations

Each social media platform handles Open Graph tags slightly differently. Understanding these variations helps you optimize for maximum reach across networks.

Facebook Open Graph handling:

Facebook created the Open Graph protocol and supports it most comprehensively. The platform displays og:title prominently with 60-70 characters visible on desktop and 40-50 on mobile. Description text shows 55-65 characters on mobile, more on desktop.

Facebook’s scraper caches OG tags aggressively for performance. Once cached, changes to your OG tags won’t appear in new shares until you manually clear the cache using the Facebook Sharing Debugger tool. Cache duration can extend for weeks or months without manual intervention.

LinkedIn differences:

LinkedIn displays approximately 60 characters of the og:title and 160 characters of the og:description. The platform strongly prefers landscape images in the 1.91:1 ratio and crops or rejects images that don’t fit this specification.

LinkedIn’s crawler is more forgiving with image file sizes, allowing up to 5 MB, but best practice remains keeping images under 1 MB for faster loading. The platform also respects og:site_name more prominently than Facebook, displaying it as a subtitle below the title.

Twitter Cards vs Open Graph:

Twitter developed its own meta tag system called Twitter Cards that parallel Open Graph tags. When Twitter-specific tags aren’t present, Twitter falls back to reading OG tags automatically.

Twitter Card equivalents:

If you want identical display across both Facebook and Twitter, you only need OG tags. Add Twitter Card tags when you want different content for Twitter users versus other platforms.

Pinterest specifics:

Pinterest allows much longer descriptions (up to 500 characters) and strongly emphasizes visual content. The platform displays OG images but prefers vertical or square images unlike Facebook and LinkedIn’s landscape preference.

For Pinterest optimization, consider adding a separate pinterest-specific image meta tag when your audience includes significant Pinterest traffic. This allows landscape OG images for Facebook while providing vertical images for Pinterest pins.

WhatsApp and messaging apps:

WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, and other messaging apps parse OG tags when users share links. These platforms typically show abbreviated previews with 40-50 characters of the title visible and minimal description text.

Image display in messaging apps varies significantly. WhatsApp shows a small thumbnail, while Slack displays larger previews similar to Facebook. Test your OG tags in the actual messaging apps your audience uses rather than assuming desktop social media sizing.

How to Test Your OG Tags

Testing Open Graph tags before publishing content prevents embarrassing social media previews that can hurt engagement and brand perception.

Essential testing tools:

Facebook Sharing Debugger (most important):

• URL: developers.facebook.com/tools/debug
• Shows exactly how Facebook renders your OG tags
• Clears Facebook’s cache to force fresh scraping
• Identifies missing required tags and errors
• Displays warnings for optimization opportunities

LinkedIn Post Inspector:

• URL: linkedin.com/post-inspector
• Validates OG tags specifically for LinkedIn display
• Previews how your card will appear in the feed
• Checks image dimensions and file size compatibility
• Less detailed than Facebook but LinkedIn-specific

Twitter Card Validator:

• URL: cards-dev.twitter.com/validator
• Tests both Twitter Cards and OG tag fallback
• Shows mobile and desktop preview rendering
• Requires Twitter developer account access

Manual testing workflow:

1. Implement OG tags on your page
2. Publish the page to your live server (tags must be publicly accessible)
3. Enter your URL in Facebook Sharing Debugger
4. Click “Scrape Again” to force fresh parsing
5. Review the preview card Facebook generates
6. Check for warnings or errors in the debugger output
7. Verify title displays without truncation
8. Confirm description text is complete
9. Ensure image loads and displays at proper size
10. Test on actual social platforms with a private test post

Common debugger warnings and fixes:

Never rely solely on how OG tags look in your HTML source code. Social platform crawlers interpret tags differently than browsers, and only testing with actual platform tools reveals real-world display.

Testing on development servers:

Social platform crawlers require publicly accessible URLs. OG tags won’t work on localhost or development servers behind firewalls. Use a staging server or temporary public URL for testing before production deployment.

Some developers use ngrok or similar tools to temporarily expose local development servers to the internet for OG tag testing. This approach works but requires careful security consideration to avoid exposing sensitive development data.

Common Implementation Mistakes

Avoiding these frequent errors saves time and ensures your Open Graph tags work correctly from launch.

Mistake 1: Using relative URLs for og:image

<!-- Wrong - relative URL -->
<meta property="og:image" content="/images/preview.jpg" />

<!-- Correct - absolute URL -->
<meta property="og:image" content="https://example.com/images/preview.jpg" />

Social platform crawlers don’t resolve relative URLs the same way browsers do. Always use complete absolute URLs including the protocol (https://) for og:image, og:url, and any other URL properties.

Mistake 2: Duplicating title and description content

Many developers copy the same text into both og:title and og:description, wasting valuable space. The description should expand on or complement the title, not repeat it verbatim.

Mistake 3: Ignoring character limits

Creating an og:title with 120 characters guarantees truncation on every platform. Try our free letter counter → to verify your text stays within the 55-60 character optimal range before publishing.

Mistake 4: Missing og:url tag

The og:url tells social platforms the canonical URL for your content. Without it, platforms may use the URL the user shared, which could include tracking parameters, session IDs, or other variations that fragment your social engagement metrics.

Mistake 5: Forgetting to clear the cache

After fixing OG tag errors, developers often forget to clear Facebook’s cache using the Sharing Debugger. Old cached versions can persist for months, making it appear your fixes didn’t work when actually Facebook is showing stale data.

Mistake 6: Using dynamic content in OG tags

Some CMS implementations insert user-specific or session-specific content into OG tags. Social crawlers can’t execute JavaScript or maintain sessions, so they see placeholder text or broken content instead of your intended tags.

Mistake 7: Blocking crawlers with robots.txt

Accidentally blocking social media crawlers in your robots.txt file prevents platforms from reading your OG tags. Ensure your robots.txt allows access to pages you want shared on social media.

Mistake 8: Image file size too large

Uploading 8 MB images for og:image causes slow social card rendering and may exceed some platforms’ file size limits. Compress images to under 1 MB while maintaining quality at 1200×630 pixel dimensions.

Mistake 9: Missing og:type property

While some platforms work without og:type, it’s a required tag in the Open Graph specification. Always include it, using “website” for generic pages or “article” for blog posts and content.

Mistake 10: Not testing on mobile devices

Testing only desktop previews misses mobile truncation issues where character limits are much stricter. Always verify how your OG tags display on mobile devices where most social media consumption occurs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need both meta description and og:description tags?

Yes, these serve different purposes. The meta description tag is for search engines (Google, Bing) while og:description is for social media platforms. They should contain similar content optimized for each platform’s character limits and use cases.

What happens if I don’t include Open Graph tags?

Social platforms will attempt to generate previews automatically by scraping your page content. This often results in poor previews with the wrong image, truncated text from random page sections, or completely missing elements that hurt click-through rates.

Can I use different OG tags for different social platforms?

The standard OG tags apply to all platforms, but you can add platform-specific tags like twitter:title alongside og:title to provide different content for Twitter. The platform-specific tag takes priority when present, falling back to the OG tag when not.

How often do social platforms update cached OG data?

Facebook caches OG tags for weeks or months. LinkedIn caches for approximately 7 days. Twitter caches for a few days. You must manually clear these caches using each platform’s debugging tool to force immediate updates after changing OG tags.

Does og:title need to match my page title tag?

No, og:title and the HTML title tag serve different purposes and can contain different text. Your title tag is optimized for search engines (50-60 characters), while og:title is for social media (55-60 characters). They often differ slightly to optimize for each context.

Why is my og:image not displaying on social media?

Common causes include using relative URLs instead of absolute URLs, image file size exceeding platform limits, image dimensions too small (under 200×200 pixels), or the image being blocked by robots.txt. Test with Facebook Sharing Debugger to identify the specific issue.

Key Takeaways

• Keep og:title between 55-60 characters for optimal display across all social media platforms, with 95 characters as the absolute maximum before guaranteed truncation
• Optimize og:description to 55-65 characters for mobile-friendly social cards, even though platforms technically allow up to 200 characters
• Use 1200×630 pixel images (1.91:1 ratio) for og:image to ensure high-quality display on both desktop and mobile devices
• Always include the four required OG tags: og:title, og:type, og:url, and og:image for valid Open Graph implementation
• Test OG tags with Facebook Sharing Debugger and LinkedIn Post Inspector before publishing to catch errors and preview actual social media display
• Use absolute URLs with https:// protocol for all og:image and og:url properties since social crawlers don’t resolve relative paths
• Clear platform caches manually using debugging tools after updating OG tags, as Facebook and other platforms cache data for weeks or months

Conclusion

Open Graph tags control how your content appears when shared on social media, directly impacting engagement and click-through rates. Staying within the 55-60 character optimal limit for og:title, keeping descriptions to 55-65 characters, and using properly sized images at 1200×630 pixels ensures your social cards display perfectly across all platforms.

Test your OG tags with platform debugging tools before publishing, avoid common mistakes like relative image URLs, and remember to clear social media caches after making updates. Try our free letter counter → to verify your og:title and og:description stay within optimal character limits for maximum social media impact.