Twitter/X Cards

Twitter Card Checker

Preview and validate how your links appear when shared on Twitter/X

Paste multiple URLs to check Open Graph previews in bulk. We’ll analyze up to 5 pages at a time.

About This Twitter/X Checker

Twitter Cards transform plain links shared on Twitter/X into rich media previews with images, titles, and descriptions. Without proper Twitter Card meta tags, your shared links appear as bare URLs — missing the visual engagement that drives clicks and retweets in a fast-scrolling feed.

Unlike Facebook's Open Graph system, Twitter has its own separate meta tag specification using the twitter: prefix. While Twitter falls back to OG tags when Twitter-specific tags are missing, relying on this fallback often produces suboptimal results — the wrong image size, truncated descriptions, or a small summary card when a large image card would perform better.

A Twitter Card checker validates your twitter: tags and previews exactly how your link will render in the Twitter/X feed. With Twitter's timeline moving fast and attention spans short, a visually compelling card preview can be the difference between a link that gets engaged with and one that gets scrolled past.

Twitter Cards vs Open Graph: Key Differences

Twitter uses its own meta tag system (twitter:card, twitter:title, twitter:description, twitter:image) rather than OG tags, though it falls back to OG equivalents when Twitter-specific tags aren't present. The critical difference is the twitter:card type — choosing between summary, summary_large_image, app, and player cards determines the entire visual format of your preview.

The summary_large_image card type is what most websites want — a large banner-style image above the title and description. The standard summary card shows a small square thumbnail to the left of text. Choosing the wrong card type is one of the most common Twitter Card mistakes, resulting in smaller, less engaging previews than intended.

Twitter also enforces stricter image requirements than Facebook in some ways. The twitter:image must pass Twitter's image validation — certain image formats, dimensions, or hosting configurations can cause the image to fail to load in Twitter's card preview even when it displays fine elsewhere.

Key Considerations for Twitter/X

Card Type Selection

The twitter:card type determines your entire preview format. Use 'summary_large_image' for content with compelling visuals (blog posts, products, landing pages). Use 'summary' for text-focused content. The wrong card type significantly reduces visual impact and click-through rates.

Image Requirements for Large Cards

For summary_large_image, Twitter recommends images of at least 1200x628px with a 1.91:1 aspect ratio — the same as Facebook OG images. Images must be under 5MB and in JPG, PNG, WEBP, or GIF format. Animated GIFs are supported for the image preview.

twitter:site and twitter:creator

Always include twitter:site (your brand's Twitter @handle) and twitter:creator (the content author's @handle) tags. These add credibility to your cards and make it easy for readers to follow you directly from the preview. They're optional but significantly boost engagement.

Twitter Card Approval

Previously, Twitter required manual card approval for new domains. This requirement was removed, but Twitter's validator must still be able to fetch your page and image. Ensure your page isn't blocked by robots.txt for Twitter's crawler (Twitterbot) and that images are publicly accessible.

Common Twitter/X Issues

Card Type Problems

  • Using 'summary' card type when 'summary_large_image' would be more impactful
  • Missing twitter:card tag entirely, causing Twitter to fall back to a minimal preview
  • App card or player card type used incorrectly for standard web content
  • Card type not matching the content — large image cards for text-only pages

Image Issues

  • Image too small for summary_large_image — displays as small thumbnail instead
  • Image blocked by Twitterbot in robots.txt preventing card image loading
  • Image URL using HTTP instead of HTTPS — Twitter requires secure image URLs
  • Image file too large (over 5MB) causing card to render without image

Tag Configuration

  • twitter:title missing, falling back to og:title which may be formatted differently
  • twitter:description too long — Twitter truncates at around 200 characters
  • Missing twitter:site tag reducing card credibility and discoverability
  • Incorrect @handle format in twitter:site (must include the @ symbol)

How to Fix Twitter/X Issues

Complete Twitter Card Tag Setup

Include all recommended Twitter Card tags alongside your OG tags:

<head>
  <!-- Twitter Card tags -->
  <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" />
  <meta name="twitter:site" content="@YourBrandHandle" />
  <meta name="twitter:creator" content="@AuthorHandle" />
  <meta name="twitter:title" content="Your Page Title – Under 70 Characters" />
  <meta name="twitter:description" content="Compelling description under 200 characters for Twitter feed." />
  <meta name="twitter:image" content="https://yourdomain.com/twitter-card.jpg" />
  <meta name="twitter:image:alt" content="Descriptive alt text for accessibility" />

  <!-- OG tags as fallback (Twitter reads these if twitter: tags missing) -->
  <meta property="og:title" content="Your Page Title" />
  <meta property="og:description" content="Your description" />
  <meta property="og:image" content="https://yourdomain.com/og-image.jpg" />
</head>

Next.js 15 Twitter Card Metadata

Use Next.js metadata API to generate Twitter Card tags alongside OG tags:

// app/your-page/page.tsx
export const metadata = {
  twitter: {
    card: "summary_large_image",
    site: "@YourBrandHandle",
    creator: "@AuthorHandle",
    title: "Your Page Title",
    description: "Twitter-optimized description under 200 characters.",
    images: [
      {
        url: "https://yourdomain.com/twitter-card.jpg",
        alt: "Descriptive alt text",
      },
    ],
  },
  // Always include OG as fallback
  openGraph: {
    title: "Your Page Title",
    description: "Your description",
    images: ["https://yourdomain.com/og-image.jpg"],
  },
};

Allow Twitterbot in robots.txt

Ensure Twitter's crawler can access your pages and images:

# robots.txt — allow Twitterbot explicitly
User-agent: Twitterbot
Allow: /

# If you block all bots, whitelist Twitterbot specifically
User-agent: *
Disallow: /private/

User-agent: Twitterbot
Allow: /  # Override the block for Twitter's crawler

Common Use Cases

  • Validating Twitter Cards before a product launch or campaign
  • Debugging why Twitter shows small thumbnails instead of large cards
  • Testing card previews for blog content and articles
  • Verifying @handle tags appear correctly in card attribution
  • Checking image accessibility with alt text validation

Pro Tip

Create a single 1200x628px image that works for both Facebook OG and Twitter summary_large_image cards — they use virtually identical dimensions. This lets you maintain one image per page rather than platform-specific variants, simplifying your content workflow significantly.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between twitter:card summary and summary_large_image?+
The 'summary' card type shows a small square thumbnail (120x120px) to the left of your title and description — compact but low visual impact. The 'summary_large_image' card type shows a large banner image above your title and description — much more visually compelling and proven to drive higher click-through rates. For most content marketing purposes, summary_large_image is the correct choice.
Do I need Twitter Card tags if I already have Open Graph tags?+
Technically no — Twitter falls back to OG tags when Twitter-specific tags are absent. However, relying solely on OG tags often produces suboptimal Twitter Cards because the fallback doesn't let you specify the card type. Without twitter:card set to 'summary_large_image', Twitter may default to a small summary card even if you have a large image. Adding twitter: tags gives you explicit control over your Twitter presentation.
Why is my Twitter Card showing a small image instead of the large card?+
This usually means twitter:card is set to 'summary' instead of 'summary_large_image', or the tag is missing entirely. Check that you have <meta name='twitter:card' content='summary_large_image'> in your page head. Also verify your image is at least 1200x628px — smaller images may cause Twitter to fall back to a small thumbnail regardless of your card type setting.
How do I test my Twitter Card before publishing?+
Use Twitter's Card Validator at cards-dev.twitter.com/validator (note: Twitter has changed this tool's availability — our checker provides an alternative preview). Enter your page URL to see how Twitter reads your tags and renders the card. After making changes, Twitter Cards update faster than Facebook OG — typically within minutes rather than requiring a forced re-scrape.
Can I use different images for Twitter and Facebook?+
Yes. Use twitter:image for a Twitter-specific image and og:image for Facebook. This lets you optimize each image for its platform — for example, square crops for some Twitter contexts versus landscape for Facebook. In Next.js, specify separate images in the twitter and openGraph metadata objects. When both are present, each platform uses its own image.

Other Open Graph Checkers