Missing twitter:image — Visual Content for X/Twitter

What is twitter:image?

The twitter:image meta tag specifies the image shown in X/Twitter link previews. Combined with twitter:card, it creates a rich visual preview that dramatically increases engagement.

Fallback behavior

X/Twitter checks for images in this order:

1. twitter:image — Highest priority
2. og:image — Falls back to Open Graph
3. No image — Shows a minimal text-only preview

If both twitter:image and og:image are missing, your link will appear as a plain URL or minimal card with no image — a significant missed opportunity.

Impact on engagement

• Tweets with images get 150% more retweets than those without
• Cards with large images get 40% more clicks than summary cards
• Visual content is processed 60,000x faster by the brain than text

How to fix it

<meta name="twitter:image" content="https://yoursite.com/twitter-image.jpg" />

Image requirements for X/Twitter

For summary_large_image:

• Recommended: 1200 x 600px (2:1 ratio)
• Minimum: 300 x 157px
• Maximum file size: 5MB
• Formats: JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF (first frame only)

For summary:

• Recommended: 240 x 240px (1:1 ratio)
• Minimum: 144 x 144px

Best practices

1. Use absolute HTTPS URLs — https://yoursite.com/image.jpg
2. Optimize for 2:1 ratio — Different from og:image's 1.91:1 ratio
3. Consider separate Twitter images — The slightly different aspect ratio means your OG image may be cropped differently
4. Keep text minimal and large — The image may be displayed small on mobile
5. Test with Card Validator — Always preview before publishing

Why use a different image for Twitter?

The recommended aspect ratios differ:

• og:image: 1200 x 630 (1.91:1)
• twitter:image: 1200 x 600 (2:1)

If you use the same 1200x630 image, X may crop the top and bottom slightly. For most images this is fine, but if your design has content at the edges, consider creating a separate Twitter-optimized version.