Tutorial: Learn how to fix the Open Graph WhatsApp missing image problem now!
In this Open Graph Protocol tutorial, we’ll walk through how to remedy the Open Graph WhatsApp missing image problem — this happens when a link that is shared on the WhatsApp messaging application is only partially displayed however the link preview is missing the Open Graph image (og image).
Open Graph WhatsApp Guide TOC
If your WhatsApp link preview isn’t working then the Open Graph tags could be the culprit, in particular the og:image tag.
In my experience, it’s better to adjust the Open Graph image size on the WordPress web page that you’re developing from the start since you’re already working on that article and trying to fix the og:image dimensions later such that the post correctly renders on the WhatsApp and Facebook social networks can be time-consuming as well as frustrating.
The issue addressed here involves sharing links on the WhatsApp messaging application and when the URL is unfurled, no og image is displayed.
This can be problematic because whereas we can check that a link previews properly using the Facebook Sharing Debugger or other testing tools for various social media platforms when testing posts that will be displayed on Facebook, however no such tool exists on WhatsApp.
So when testing on WhatsApp we can share the URL to the post and see if the image is included when the URL is unfurled and, if it is not, we’ll have to try to figure out why it isn’t (that’s what this article covers).
Our solution references the All In One SEO plugin (AIOSEO) for WordPress and hence will only appeal to websites that are using these two technologies — if you’re not using AIOSEO then this article should still prove to be helpful.
Our goal is to engineer content on our web page such that the URL to that article unfurls properly on both Facebook as well as the WhatsApp messaging software and any other social networks we’ve decided to support.
This article was last updated on June 10, 2025 — see the Open Graph Tutorial hub for other articles that can help boost your website’s social media presence.
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Fix Missing Open Graph Tags in AIOSEO
OpenGraph WhatsApp Article Requirements
Our requirements for this article are as follows:
- WordPress website with at least one post
- All In One SEO Plugin (AIOSEO)
- An image with the appropriate dimensions and size
Let’s take a look at the link unfurling as it pertains to Open Graph meta tags and the WhatsApp application.
Open Graph Link Unfurling on WhatsApp
In this section, we’ll take a look at what an OpenGraph-enhanced page should look like when the URL to the page is previewed and shared on WhatsApp.
On the right I’ve included an example of what the unfurled URL should look like when it’s previewed on WhatApp.
The og image in this example has an aspect ratio of 1:1 (it’s a square) and is 256 by 256 pixels.
We can see the og image included in this preview — if this is not visible, we will need to resize and/or compress the image.
On the right I’ve included an example of the link to the same WordPress post that has been unfurled correctly on WhatsApp.
Note that the og image is visible as well and this is important because if the image is not sized properly or if the file size is too large, WhatsApp won’t include it.
In the next section, we’ll go over some notes about the image requirements that may apply to the WhatsApp messaging software.
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How to fix the WhatsApp Open Graph missing image problem in four steps
The following checklist consists of four points that should help to address the issue where the Open Graph image is not displayed when a link is unfurled on WhatsApp:
Step One: Check the WhatsApp Open Graph image aspect ratio
WhatsApp prefers images with an aspect ratio close to 1.91:1 and it will also accept aspect ratios of 1:1 as well as 16:9.
This aspect ratio is similar to the aspect ratio recommended for Facebook, which owns WhatsApp, thus ensuring that the image displays well without being cropped awkwardly.
While this may be the recommendation the Open Graph image used in this article is 256 by 256 pixels which is an aspect ratio of 1:1 and this works fine.
Note that if you’re generating images using Midjourney then note that it will not accept an aspect ratio of 1.91:1 however an aspect ratio of 16:9 is acceptable to Midjourney as well as to WhatsApp.
WhatsApp OpenGraph debugging question: Is the aspect ratio 1:1, 16:9, or 1.91:1?
If the answer is “no”, then WhatsApp may not include the Open Graph image when the URL is unfurled.
If you don’t know the image aspect ratio then it can be calculated by dividing the image’s width by its height.
Note that the Twitter card image aspect ratio, size, and other details can be found in the Summary Card with Large Image article.
Step Two: Check the og image dimensions
While WhatsApp doesn’t explicitly specify minimum dimensions, a common recommendation is to use images that are at least 200 pixels by 200 pixels to ensure they are displayed.
The Open Graph image used in this article is 600 by 336 pixels and has an aspect ratio of 16:9 and this works fine when unfurled on WhatsApp.
For best results, using images that are approximately 1200×630 pixels is recommended.
This OG image size specification is large enough to be displayed clearly and is also a commonly recommended size for Facebook, making it a good choice for compatibility across both platforms.
WhatsApp OpenGraph debugging question: Is the image size equal to or greater than 200px by 200px or less than or equal to 1200px by 630px?
If the answer is “no”, then WhatsApp may not include the Open Graph image when the URL is unfurled.
I need to stress that it is important to not use images that are outside of the stated bounds because WhatsApp simply won’t include it in the link preview.
Step Three: Check the og image file size
Ensure the image file size is not too large in order to facilitate fast loading.
While I’ve not been able to find any specific file size limitations, it appears that keeping the file size under 300 KB seems to be recommended and should also help to improve load speed without a noticeable loss of image quality.
WhatsApp OpenGraph debugging question: Has the image been compressed and/or minimized?
If the answer is “no”, then WhatsApp may not include the Open Graph image when the URL is unfurled.
Consider using the TinyPNG image compression service to compress images — this website offers superior compression capabilities when compared with alternatives.
Step Four: Check the og image format
JPG, PNG, and WEBP formats are typically supported for both compatibility as well as performance.
WhatsApp OpenGraph debugging question: Is the image saved in either JPEG, PNG, or WEBP format?
If the answer is “no”, then WhatsApp may not include the Open Graph image when the URL is unfurled.
Keep in mind that these are general guidelines based on best practices and may change.
It’s always a good idea to test how your images appear in WhatsApp shares, as platform algorithms and display methods can evolve.
Finally, ensuring that your website’s overall Open Graph meta tag implementation is correct remains crucial for effective link previews.
How to test Open Graph meta tags on WhatsApp
The only available options for testing OpenGraph meta tags on WhatsApp requires that we simply share a URL to an article which has been enhanced by Open Graph tags and then ensuring that the URL is correctly unfurled.
On the right we can see that WhatsApp has unfurled the link to this article and ignored the Open Graph image meta tag probably because either the aspect ratio or the size of the image is not acceptable.
In this example on the right we can see that the WhatsApp messenger application has correctly unfurled the link to this WordPress post.
This article has been enhanced by Open Graph meta tags and we can see that the og image has been displayed correctly.
If someone receives a link such as that shown on the right and at some point in the future need to find the same link in their conversation history, it should be easy to locate since the image stands out.
Keep in mind that properly unfurled OG tags are even more important when there’s a significant number of visitors sharing links to your website and also if you’re using WhatsApp Business to interact with customers and to conduct sales online.
This concludes the section on Open Graph testing in WhatsApp — the article conclusion follows.
Tutorial Conclusion
Getting the og:image to be included in the link preview on WhatsApp has proven to be a bit tedious at times however I hope this article provides solid guidance regarding what needs to be done to get the Open Graph meta tags, in particular the image tag, to unfurl correctly.
The experience of sharing links on WhatsApp will be improved considerably once any Open Graph WhatsApp image issues have been reconciled.
Recipients will receive a nice preview of the link and if they have to go back in the conversation history to find it, the link will be easy to locate.
See Also
- meta property og url
- What is the og:title?
- Explore several ideas regarding how you may be able to test OpenGraph tags in an offline environment.
- Learn how to fix the “pages use too many javascript and css files” warning in the SEMrush site audit report.
- Learn how to improve Technical SEO with Sitelinks Schema markup.
- Learn how to fix the “incorrect pages found in sitemap.xml” SEMrush error in this tutorial.
- What are OGP Tags? Find out in this concise article.
- Learn more about using OGP.me tags on your website in this article.
- Images in Link Shares
- The Custom Web App Development category page.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
See the instructional that covers how to use Open Graph tags on your website for general guidelines regarding how to set Open Graph meta tags (OG) for a specific webpage, absent a plugin.
It’s likely that your WhatsApp link preview is not working due to the Open Graph image and we provide guidance regarding how to address this problem in four simple steps.
