Twitter Card Preview Guide - X/Twitter OG Tag Optimization (2025)

What are Twitter Cards?

Twitter Cards (now on X/Twitter) are rich media previews that appear when you share a link. While Twitter falls back to standard Open Graph tags, using Twitter-specific twitter:* meta tags gives you precise control over how your links appear on the platform.

💡 Preview Your Twitter Card

Use our Twitter Card Preview Tool to see exactly how your links will look when shared on X/Twitter.

Twitter Cards vs. Open Graph

Twitter reads both Open Graph and Twitter-specific tags. Here's the fallback priority:

Twitter tags (twitter:title) - highest priority
Open Graph tags (og:title) - fallback
Standard HTML tags (<title>) - last resort

When to Use What

Scenario	Recommendation
Same preview everywhere	Use only OG tags (Twitter will read them)
Twitter-specific optimization	Use both OG + Twitter tags
Different images per platform	Use `twitter:image` + `og:image`

Twitter Card Types

Twitter supports several card types. Most websites use summary_large_image:

1. Summary Large Image (Recommended)

<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" />
<meta name="twitter:title" content="Your Title" />
<meta name="twitter:description" content="Your description" />
<meta name="twitter:image" content="https://example.com/twitter-image.jpg" />

Use case: Blog posts, articles, products, landing pages
Image size: 1200×675px (16:9 aspect ratio)
Displays: Large image above title/description

2. Summary (Small Image)

<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary" />

Use case: Text-focused content
Image size: 200×200px (1:1 square)
Displays: Small thumbnail on the right

Complete Implementation

Here's a complete Twitter Card implementation with both OG and Twitter tags:

<head>
  <!-- Open Graph (fallback for all platforms) -->
  <meta property="og:title" content="10 Twitter Growth Strategies for 2025" />
  <meta property="og:description" content="Data-driven tactics to grow your Twitter following" />
  <meta property="og:image" content="https://example.com/og-image.jpg" />
  <meta property="og:url" content="https://example.com/twitter-guide" />

  <!-- Twitter Card Specific -->
  <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" />
  <meta name="twitter:site" content="@yourusername" />
  <meta name="twitter:creator" content="@authorusername" />
  <meta name="twitter:title" content="10 Twitter Growth Strategies" />
  <meta name="twitter:description" content="Grow your following with proven tactics" />
  <meta name="twitter:image" content="https://example.com/twitter-1200x675.jpg" />
  <meta name="twitter:image:alt" content="Infographic showing Twitter growth stats" />
</head>

Twitter Card Image Requirements

Summary Large Image

Recommended: 1200×675px (16:9 ratio)
Alternative: 1200×628px also works well
Maximum size: 5MB
Minimum: 300×157px (not recommended)
Formats: JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF

Summary Card

Recommended: 200×200px (1:1 square)
Maximum size: 5MB

⚠️ Twitter Image Gotchas

❌ 16:9 (1200×675px) is different from Facebook's 1.91:1 (1200×630px)
❌ Must be under 5MB (stricter than Facebook's 8MB)
❌ Animated GIFs only work for certain card types
❌ Must use absolute HTTPS URLs

Title & Description Optimization

Title Best Practices

Length: 70 characters max (including spaces)
Be concise: Twitter's audience expects brevity
Front-load value: Put the hook at the start
Avoid emojis in tags: Add them in the tweet text instead

Description Best Practices

Length: 200 characters max
Actually used: ~125 characters visible before truncation
Add urgency: Twitter moves fast—create FOMO
One clear CTA: What should they do after clicking?

Debugging Twitter Cards

Twitter Card Validator

Use the Twitter Card Validator to:

Preview how your card will look
See which tags Twitter is reading
Identify errors and warnings
Force a cache refresh

Common Issues

Problem	Solution
Card not showing	Ensure `twitter:card` is set
Wrong image displayed	Clear cache, check image URL is absolute HTTPS
"Unable to render"	Image exceeds 5MB or wrong format
Old preview showing	Use validator to clear Twitter's cache

Advanced Twitter Card Features

App Cards

For mobile apps, use app cards to drive installs:

<meta name="twitter:card" content="app" />
<meta name="twitter:app:id:iphone" content="Your_App_ID" />
<meta name="twitter:app:name:iphone" content="Your App Name" />

Player Cards

For video/audio content, use player cards with embedded media:

<meta name="twitter:card" content="player" />
<meta name="twitter:player" content="https://example.com/player.html" />
<meta name="twitter:player:width" content="1280" />
<meta name="twitter:player:height" content="720" />

Author Attribution

Link your Twitter account to get attribution:

twitter:site - Your brand's Twitter handle (@yourbrand)
twitter:creator - Article author's handle (@authorname)

This makes your handle clickable in the card and can drive follower growth.

Framework Implementation Examples

Nuxt 3

useSeoMeta({
  twitterCard: 'summary_large_image',
  twitterSite: '@yourusername',
  twitterCreator: '@authorname',
  twitterTitle: 'Your Title',
  twitterDescription: 'Your description',
  twitterImage: 'https://example.com/image.jpg',
  twitterImageAlt: 'Alt text'
})

Next.js

export const metadata = {
  twitter: {
    card: 'summary_large_image',
    site: '@yourusername',
    creator: '@authorname',
    title: 'Your Title',
    description: 'Your description',
    images: ['https://example.com/image.jpg']
  }
}

Twitter-Specific Best Practices

Match brand voice: Twitter's tone is more casual than LinkedIn
Test on mobile: 80%+ of Twitter users are on mobile
Use high contrast: Cards compete with fast-scrolling feeds
A/B test images: Small changes can 2-3x your CTR
Monitor analytics: Twitter provides link click data

Twitter Card Preview Guide: Complete Twitter/X OG Optimization