How to fix link previews on Facebook and WhatsApp

Reviewed on September 8, 2026 7 min read Open Graph social media

If, when you share a URL on Facebook or WhatsApp, the image does not appear, the title is wrong or an old version is kept, first check what data that page publishes and whether it can be downloaded without logging in.

The preview usually uses the Open Graph tags in the HTML. Changing only the image you see inside the page may not change the image it declares for sharing.

First, tell the problems apart

What happens	Where to start
WhatsApp does not generate a preview for any link	Check WhatsApp's privacy settings and try again with a known URL.
Only one page of your site fails	Check its HTML and its image URL.
It shows an old image or title	Check the published content and the caches; then request a new scrape on Facebook.
It works on Facebook but not on WhatsApp	Check WhatsApp separately: the Facebook debugger does not validate its result.

WhatsApp lets you turn off link previews. If you have that option on, a preview not being generated when you send a link does not prove a fault on the website.

1. Check the Open Graph tags

Open the exact URL you are sharing and view its source code. In <head> there should be data equivalent to this, adapted to that page:

<meta property="og:type" content="website">
<meta property="og:url" content="https://yourdomain.com/articulo">
<meta property="og:title" content="Page title">
<meta property="og:description" content="Description of the shared page.">
<meta property="og:image" content="https://yourdomain.com/imagenes/compartir.jpg">

The og:image URL must be absolute. Check that it does not point to an image from another page, to a test environment or to a file that no longer exists. Publish the tags in the initial HTML: do not rely on them appearing after JavaScript runs.

In WordPress, your SEO plugin can manage the social title, description and image. Check the final HTML to rule out the theme and another plugin generating conflicting tags. If you declare several images, put the one you want to prioritise first.

2. Check that the image can be downloaded

Open the og:image URL in a private window. It should show the image directly over HTTPS, with no login, required cookies or anti-bot challenge.

Use a landscape image with legible text; for example, you can prepare one at 1200 × 630 pixels. Compress the file and check how it looks in both apps: dimensions alone do not guarantee a preview. Avoid serving a huge image when a lightweight version gives the same result.

If you get a 403, 404, certificate error or a login page, fix that response first. Review the firewall, CDN or hotlink protection rules that affect the file.

3. Request a new scrape on Facebook

Open the Facebook Sharing Debugger, enter the exact URL and review the information retrieved. After fixing the source, use the scrape again option to request another read.

If old data still appears, clear the application and CDN cache and check the public source code again. When you change the file of a social image, a new name lets you tell the published version apart from an old copy; update og:image too.

The debugger works on Facebook. It does not clear WhatsApp's cache or prove which image will be shown there.

4. Test the link on WhatsApp

Paste the full URL into a chat box, without sending it, and wait for the preview to form. First check that you have not turned it off in the settings. A preview that has already been sent is not a reliable test of the page's current state.

If it only fails on WhatsApp, check the image, the public response and the initial HTML again. Note which device and app version you use so you can compare the behaviour.

Checking from the terminal

If you need to inspect the HTTP response, these commands download using the Facebook crawler's user agent:

curl -L --compressed -A 'facebookexternalhit/1.1' https://yourdomain.com/articulo
curl -L --compressed -A 'facebookexternalhit/1.1' -o /dev/null -w '%{http_code} %{content_type} %{size_download}\n' https://yourdomain.com/imagenes/compartir.jpg

The first one should contain the correct tags. The second one shows the HTTP code, content type and downloaded size. A 200 with text/html on the image URL may mean you have received an error page or a challenge.

These tests run from your connection: changing the user agent does not reproduce the IP, cache or all the conditions of the real crawler. Compare the result with the debugger and the server logs.

What to send support if it persists

If your website is hosted with Hostsuar, tell us the shared URL, the og:image URL, the time of the test and where it fails. We can check access errors or blocks on the hosting. There is no need to change server if the cause is in your theme's tags or the application settings.