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Social Share | How to Edit Social Share Settings for Posts and Pages

For Yoast SEO and Rank Math

When someone shares a page or post from your website on Facebook, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, X (Twitter), or similar platforms, those platforms look for a title, a short description, and an image. That image is the social share image (also called the Open Graph image).

If a post or page has no featured image, no image in the content, and no social image set, the preview can appear with a missing or broken image. This is especially common on listing pages such as Blog, archives, and some landing pages.

Your SEO plugin can:

  1. Use a site-wide default image whenever a page has no other image to share.
  2. Let you set a custom social image, title, and description on any individual post or page.

This guide covers both Yoast SEO and Rank Math. Most sites use one or the other, not both.

1. Which plugin does this site use?

In WordPress, look at the left-hand admin menu:

If you see this menu itemYou are using
Yoast SEOYoast SEO
Rank Math SEORank Math

If both are installed, ask your web team to keep only one active. Running both at the same time can produce duplicate or conflicting social tags.

Jump to the matching section:

2. Image requirements (use these for every social image)

Social platforms are picky. Use the same specs for the site-wide default and for per-page images.

SettingRecommendation
Size1200 x 630 pixels
ShapeLandscape (wide rectangle, about 1.91:1)
File typeJPG or PNG
File sizeUnder 5 MB (smaller is better)
ContentLogo plus a short brand line or a photo that represents the page. Avoid tiny logos, icons, or screenshots of text that will be cropped.

Do not use:

  • SVG files
  • AVIF files (many social platforms still fail to display them)
  • Very small images (under about 200 x 200 px)
  • Images that sit behind a login, membership wall, or hotlink protection

WebP sometimes works and sometimes does not. JPG or PNG is the safest choice.

A branded 1200 x 630 graphic is the best default image: company name, logo, and a short tagline on a clean background.

Yoast SEO

A. Turn social tags on (once per site)

  1. In WordPress, go to Yoast SEO → Settings.
  2. Open Site features.
  3. Find Social sharing.
  4. Turn Open Graph data on. This powers Facebook, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, and most other platforms.
  5. Turn X card data on if you want a dedicated preview on X (Twitter).
  6. Save changes.

B. Set the site-wide default image (fixes Blog and other pages with no image)

This is the image used when a post or page has:

  • no custom social image,
  • no featured image, and
  • no usable image in the content.

Current Yoast settings

  1. Go to Yoast SEO → Settings.
  2. Open Site basics.
  3. Upload an image in Site image.
  4. Save changes.

Older Yoast settings (if your menu looks different)

  1. Go to SEO → Social.
  2. Open the Facebook tab.
  3. Confirm Open Graph is enabled.
  4. Upload a Default image.
  5. Save changes.

Homepage extra (only if the homepage shows latest posts)

  1. Go to Yoast SEO → Settings.
  2. Open Homepage (under Content types).
  3. Under Social media appearance, set a social title, description, and image for the homepage.
  4. Save changes.

If the homepage is a static page, edit that page instead and set its social image there (see section D below).

Blog listing page

If Settings → Reading uses a static page for posts (often titled Blog):

  1. Edit that Blog page.
  2. Set a featured image or a Yoast social image on that page (section D).
  3. Update the page.

The site-wide Site image is the safety net if that page has no image of its own.

C. How Yoast chooses an image

Yoast uses the first match in this order:

  1. The custom social image on that post or page (Social media appearance).
  2. The featured image.
  3. A prominent image from the page content.
  4. A content-type default, if one is set.
  5. The site-wide Site image.

If none of those exist, social platforms may show a broken image or pick a random image from the page (including tiny icons).

D. Edit social settings on a post or page

The same steps work for Posts and Pages.

Block editor (Gutenberg) or full-site editor

  1. Open the post or page.
  2. Click the Yoast SEO icon in the top-right of the editor (it looks like a Y / traffic light).
  3. Open Social media appearance.
  4. Set:
    • Social image (this is the image Facebook, LinkedIn, and WhatsApp use)
    • Social title
    • Social description
  5. Optional: open X appearance if you want a different image, title, or description for X. If you leave X blank, it usually follows the social / Facebook values.
  6. Click Update or Publish.

Classic editor

  1. Open the post or page.
  2. Scroll to the Yoast SEO box below the content.
  3. Click the Social tab (share icon).
  4. Set the social image, title, and description.
  5. Optional: open X appearance and set those fields if you need them to differ.
  6. Click Update.

Leave the social title and description blank if you are happy for Yoast to reuse the SEO title and meta description.

Rank Math

A. Set the site-wide default image (fixes Blog and other pages with no image)

This is the image used when a post or page has:

  • no custom image in the Rank Math Social tab,
  • no featured image, and
  • no image in the content.
  1. Go to Rank Math SEO → Titles & Meta.
  2. Open Global Meta (sometimes labelled Global).
  3. Find OpenGraph Thumbnail.
  4. Click Add or Upload File and choose a 1200 x 630 JPG or PNG.
  5. Click Save Changes.

Homepage extra (only if the homepage shows latest posts)

  1. Check Settings → Reading. If it is set to Your latest posts, continue.
  2. Go to Rank Math SEO → Titles & Meta → Homepage.
  3. Set Homepage Thumbnail for Facebook.
  4. Save changes.

If the homepage is a static page, edit that page and set the social image there (see section C).

Blog listing page

If Settings → Reading uses a static page for posts (often titled Blog):

  1. Edit that Blog page.
  2. Set a featured image or a Rank Math social image on that page (section C).
  3. Update the page.

The global OpenGraph Thumbnail is the safety net if that page has no image of its own.

B. How Rank Math chooses an image

Rank Math uses the first match in this order:

  1. The image set in the Rank Math Social tab (Facebook image).
  2. The featured image.
  3. The first image in the post or page content.
  4. The global OpenGraph Thumbnail.

If none of those exist, the share preview can be blank or broken.

Note: Rank Math will use a content image before the global default. On some pages that can pull a small icon or decorative image. To control the preview, set a featured image or a Social tab image on that page.

C. Edit social settings on a post or page

The same steps work for Posts and Pages.

Block editor (Gutenberg)

  1. Open the post or page.
  2. Click the Rank Math icon in the top-right of the editor.
  3. Open the Social tab.
  4. On the Facebook tab, set:
    • Image
    • Title
    • Description
  5. Preview the card in the same panel.
  6. Optional: open the Twitter / X tab. Turn off Use data from Facebook tab only if you want a different title, description, or image for X. Then set those fields.
  7. Click Update or Publish.

You can also set a featured image in the editor sidebar. Rank Math uses that if no Social tab image is set.

Classic editor

  1. Open the post or page.
  2. Scroll to the Rank Math box below the content.
  3. Click the Social tab.
  4. Set the Facebook image, title, and description.
  5. Optional: switch to Twitter / X and customize those fields.
  6. Click Update.

3. Featured image vs social image

These are not the same thing.

FieldWhere it shows
Featured imageOn the website itself (blog cards, headers, some page templates) and as a fallback for social sharing
Social imageOnly in link previews on Facebook, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, X, Slack, and similar

Best practice:

  • Give every blog post a featured image. That covers the site design and most shares.
  • Set a custom social image when you want a special share graphic (promo, quote card, or cropped photo that reads well at 1200 x 630).
  • Set the site-wide default so Blog, category, tag, and other image-less URLs never share a broken picture.

You do not have to fill in a custom social title and description on every page. The SEO title and meta description are usually enough.

4. How to check that it worked

After you save, WordPress has the new tags. Social networks often still show the old preview until you ask them to refresh.

  1. View the live page, right-click, choose View Page Source, and search for og:image. You should see a full https:// URL to your image. If that URL is missing or 404s, the share preview will break.
  2. Paste the page URL into one or more of these tools and click scrape / inspect / refresh:
PlatformTool
Facebook, Instagram, MessengerFacebook Sharing Debugger
LinkedInLinkedIn Post Inspector
X (Twitter)X Card Validator

If the debugger shows an old image, use Scrape Again (Facebook) or re-inspect (LinkedIn). You may need to do this more than once. WhatsApp is slower to update and sometimes needs a dummy query on the URL (for example, add ?v=2 at the end) after the Facebook debugger has been refreshed.

Clear any site or CDN cache after you change the default image, then scrape again.

5. Troubleshooting

The Blog page still shows a broken image

  • Confirm the site-wide default image is set (Yoast Site image, or Rank Math OpenGraph Thumbnail).
  • Edit the Blog page itself and add a featured image or a social image.
  • Confirm the image URL in og:image loads in a private browser window.
  • Refresh the Facebook and LinkedIn debuggers.

The preview still shows an old image

Social networks cache previews. Use the debugger tools above. Also clear WordPress, server, and CDN cache.

The preview uses a random or tiny image

The plugin found an image in the page content (icon, button, author photo) before it reached the default. Set a featured image or a Social tab image on that URL so it is no longer guessing.

The image looks cropped or blurry

Replace it with a true 1200 x 630 JPG or PNG. Do not stretch a square logo to fit.

The image is missing on Facebook but fine on the website

Facebook often rejects AVIF, SVG, and some WebP files, and it rejects images that are too small. Re-upload a JPG or PNG at 1200 x 630.

Two different images appear on different platforms

Facebook, LinkedIn, and WhatsApp use the Open Graph (og:image) value. X can use a separate Twitter image if you filled in X appearance. Align those fields, or leave X blank so it follows Facebook.

6. Quick checklist

Once per site

  • Open Graph (and X cards, if needed) is enabled
  • A 1200 x 630 JPG or PNG default image is uploaded
  • Homepage has its own social image if it shows latest posts
  • Blog page has a featured image or social image
  • Default image URL was tested in the Facebook Sharing Debugger

On each important post or page

  • Featured image is set (especially blog posts)
  • Social title and description look right in the plugin preview
  • Custom social image is set if the featured image would crop poorly
  • Page is Updated / Published
  • Debugger is refreshed if this URL was shared before

7. Need help?

If you cannot find the menus above, or the debugger still shows a broken image after the default is set, send your web team:

  • The URL that shares incorrectly
  • A screenshot of the broken preview
  • Confirmation of whether the site uses Yoast SEO or Rank Math

They can then confirm the og:image tag, check for plugin conflicts, and scrape the social caches.
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