Free Social Preview Tool
Twitter/X Card Validator & Preview
Check a public page for twitter:card tags, Open Graph fallbacks, and a real, downloaded check of the card image — before you share it on X.
Refresh X cache in the official validatorWhat This Validator Checks
Paste a public URL and see whether the page is ready to share on X — card type, title, description, image, and the tags that shape the preview.
Check a live page
Enter any public HTTP or HTTPS URL. The page needs to be reachable on the open web — local or password-protected staging URLs cannot be validated.
Review the resolved preview
See the title, description, and card type X would likely use, including when the page leans on Open Graph tags or plain page metadata instead of explicit Twitter tags.
Catch image problems for real
We download and decode the actual image — not just read the URL out of the HTML — so broken links, wrong content types, and undersized files get caught before you share.
Fix gaps with a snippet
Copy a ready-to-paste block for any Twitter tags that are still missing, so you can update the page head without rewriting everything else.
Twitter Card Types Supported by X
Most marketing and editorial pages use either summary or summary_large_image. Player and app cards are more specialized and require additional fields.
- summary_large_image
- Best for blog posts, landing pages, product updates, and reports. It gives the image the most room and usually produces the highest visual clarity in feeds.
- summary
- A compact card with a smaller thumbnail. Useful for pages where the title and description matter more than an image.
- player
- Used for embedded video or audio experiences. It needs player URL, width, and height tags in addition to the standard metadata.
- app
- Used for app install cards. It requires platform-specific application IDs and is not the right choice for most content pages.
Twitter Card Tags That Matter
A reliable implementation keeps Twitter tags explicit even when Open Graph tags already exist. That makes X rendering predictable and easier to debug.
| Tag | Purpose |
|---|---|
| twitter:card | Selects the card layout, usually summary_large_image for marketing pages. |
| twitter:title | Controls the card title. Keep it concise enough to avoid awkward truncation. |
| twitter:description | Controls the card summary. Keep it direct, specific, and under 200 characters. |
| twitter:image | Points to the preview image. Use an absolute HTTPS URL and a wide image. |
| twitter:image:alt | Adds accessible image context and improves the quality of the preview for assistive technology. |
| twitter:site | Associates the card with the publisher's X handle. |
| twitter:creator | Associates the card with an author or creator handle when it differs from the publisher. |
Why Twitter Cards Fail
Most broken X previews come from missing explicit tags, blocked images, stale cache, or image assets that are too small for large cards.
- The preview still shows the old image
- X caches card metadata after the first crawl. Fixing the tags on your page won't update an already-shared link — you need to request a fresh crawl from X's own validator.
- The image does not render
- Use an absolute HTTPS image URL, avoid redirects to protected or authenticated files, and make sure the asset actually returns an image content type — not an HTML error page with a 200 status.
- The page falls back to Open Graph
- Fallbacks can work, but explicit Twitter tags make behavior easier to predict when multiple templates, plugins, or a CMS touch your metadata independently.
- The title or description gets cut off
- Long titles and descriptions are truncated in the feed. Keep the core value proposition near the front so it survives truncation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers for the practical edge cases that usually slow down a social preview launch.
Is this the official Twitter/X Card Validator?
No. This is an independent checker built by RankBuddy. It reads the same twitter: and og: meta tags X's own crawler would read, and additionally downloads the referenced image to verify it actually loads, but it does not talk to X's servers or affect X's cache in any way.
Does X still use Twitter Card tags?
Yes. Despite the rebrand, X still reads twitter: meta tags to build link previews, and falls back to Open Graph tags when they are missing. Keeping both explicit is the most reliable setup.
Can Open Graph tags replace Twitter tags entirely?
Often, yes — X will fall back to og:title, og:description, and og:image when twitter: equivalents are missing. This tool shows you exactly which value came from which source, so you can decide whether relying on the fallback is good enough for your case.
What image size should I use?
For summary_large_image, aim for 1200×630px (a 1.91:1 ratio), served over HTTPS, under 5MB. For summary cards, a square image around 300×300px works best. This tool downloads your image and checks the real dimensions against both.
Why does this preview differ from what actually shows on X?
X's own rendering can vary by client version, cached data, and account-level settings. This tool shows you the resolved metadata and a best-effort mockup — treat it as a diagnostic for your tags, not a pixel-perfect guarantee of the live X UI.
Can the validator check private or staging URLs?
No. The page needs to be reachable on the open web without authentication. Local URLs, VPN-only staging environments, and password-protected pages cannot be validated by this or any external tool.
Why do you verify the image by actually downloading it?
Most validators only read the URL out of the meta tag and trust it. That misses broken links, redirects to login pages, wrong content types, and files that are technically reachable but too heavy or too small. We fetch and decode the actual file so the size, format, and weight you see are real, not assumed.
Audit Every Page Before You Share It
RankBuddy runs a full SEO audit of your site — meta tags, headings, Core Web Vitals, internal links — so issues like this get caught before you find out from a broken share.
Run a free SEO audit