Guide
How do I make a default share image for my site?
Paste a blog or tool link into chat and get a blank preview, a wild crop, or an unrelated screenshot—common for indie sites. Ship one sitewide default share image before you obsess over per-article pixel charts.
Use Ogmake locally. A not-embarrassing default beats optimizing copy with no image at all. Without a card, good titles still get wasted in folded previews. Making the image: free Open Graph image. Size and safe margins: social card image sizes.
1. Ugly/missing previews without a default
Without an OG image, platforms may grab anything—or show nothing. Brand name and one-line promise never appear. First glance looks weak.
A default fixes “at least controllable, at least recognizable as you.” Homepages, docs entries, and pricing pages that land on one clear card share better in group chats.
Investor updates, Product Hunt hunts, and changelog posts all benefit from the same default. Consistency beats a new experimental layout every week.
2. Sitewide default first; per-article later
- Site default: shared across the site or main landings—name + one value line.
- Article cards: only for posts that earn the extra work.
Most tool sites and blogs: default first, article cards by priority. You do not need art for every post on launch day. When a post starts getting shared hard, give it a dedicated card then.
Launch checklist item: “default OG URL returns 200 over HTTPS.” Not “Figma file exists somewhere.”
3. Ogmake: site name + one-line promise + safe margins
Open Ogmake. Write the site name and one plain-language promise. Keep the title in the safe zone. Fewer words.
About 1200×630 is an illustrative common start—still check each platform’s latest docs (see OG-2). Human copy wins: what problem you solve beats adjective stacks. Support: [email protected].
Examples of promise lines that work on small thumbnails: “HEIC to JPG in your browser,” “Strip GPS before you post,” “OG cards without a design rabbit hole.” Short beats clever.
4. Hang on a stable HTTPS URL + OG image tag
Put the file on long-lived HTTPS hosting. Point page meta at that OG image (plus title/description as needed).
Which CMS menu to click depends on your stack. This page does not invent unverified admin click-paths. Principles: stable URL, correct scheme, think about overwrite vs new filename when you replace the asset. Same-path overwrites often leave old previews alive in cache for a while.
Static sites can drop og-default.png in /public and reference the absolute HTTPS URL in your meta component. Exact wiring is your framework’s job—keep the URL boring and permanent.
5. Cache after replace
Platforms cache fetches. After you swap the default, debuggers may still show the old card—short-term normal. Confirm meta points at the new file, then re-fetch with official tools (see OG-2).
If the preview stays stuck, try a new filename and update the meta URL once. Fighting cache with twenty identical overwrites wastes an afternoon.
6. Marketing cards vs real-photo pipeline
- Default / marketing share cards: Ogmake.
- Real-photo HEIC / EXIF strip / watermarks: Heiclocal · Metastrip · Stampdrop.
Do not mix real-photo processing and the site default card into one folder ritual. Defaults are brand assets. Real photos are content assets—often with stricter privacy needs.
When your blog embeds a photograph, strip that photo with Metastrip if it will be downloadable. The OG card for the page is still a separate designed image from Ogmake.
Review the default quarterly. Product names change; promises sharpen. Updating one sitewide card is cheaper than hunting twenty forgotten article images.
If your docs site and marketing site share a brand, reuse one default card with the same promise line. Two nearly identical defaults confuse cache debugging later.
FAQ
Art per post first?
No. Ship the sitewide default first.
Design suite required?
Not for a default card—Ogmake is usually enough.
Must 1200×630?
Illustrative common start; follow platform docs. Safe margins often matter more than memorizing a number.
Does Ogmake upload?
Local generation per product positioning.
Related reading
Disclaimer
Ogmake is not an official social-platform tool. Previews follow each platform’s fetch and cache. Support: [email protected].