Write your title and description once, see how they'll actually appear in Google, Facebook, X and WhatsApp, and get the complete tag block to paste into your page. Length warnings are based on where each platform truncates.
Meta Tag Generator & Preview
LiveHow it will look
Your tags
<head> of your page. Previews are close approximations - platforms adjust rendering and truncation regularly.Length limits, and why they're ranges
| Field | Practical target | What happens past it |
|---|---|---|
| Title | 50-60 characters | Google truncates by pixel width, not character count - so wide letters cut sooner than narrow ones |
| Description | 140-160 characters | Truncated with an ellipsis. Google also rewrites descriptions often, particularly when yours doesn't match the query |
| OG title | Under ~60 | Wraps to two lines then cuts |
| OG description | Under ~110 on mobile | Mobile cards show less than desktop - write the important half first |
The pixel-width detail explains why two titles of identical length can truncate differently. Treat character counts as a guide, and put the words that matter at the front where they survive either way.
Common mistakes
og:image. It must be absolute, including the protocol. A relative path produces a link card with no image at all - and the failure is silent, because nothing errors.Frequently asked questions
Does the meta description affect rankings?
No - Google confirmed years ago that it isn't a ranking factor. It affects click-through rate, which is worth optimising for its own sake. Google also rewrites roughly two-thirds of descriptions depending on the query, usually pulling a more relevant passage from the page, so treat yours as a strong default rather than a guarantee.
What size should the social image be?
1200×630 pixels is the safe standard - it satisfies Facebook, LinkedIn and X's large summary card without cropping badly on any of them. Keep it under about 5 MB, use PNG or JPEG, and avoid putting essential text near the edges, since different platforms crop slightly differently.
Do I need Twitter card tags if I have Open Graph?
Not strictly - X falls back to Open Graph when Twitter tags are absent. Including twitter:card is still worth it because it's what selects the large image layout rather than the small thumbnail, and that difference is visually significant.
Why does my link preview show an old image?
Caching. Every major platform stores what it scraped the first time and doesn't recheck often. Facebook's Sharing Debugger, X's Card Validator and LinkedIn's Post Inspector each let you force a refresh - run them once after publishing, and again after any change to the image or title.
Should the meta title match the H1?
They can differ, and often should. The meta title competes in a search results page against nine other listings, so it can carry a brand name or a qualifier. The H1 is read by someone already on the page and can be shorter and more direct. Keeping them roughly consistent avoids a jarring mismatch.
Is anything I type here uploaded?
No. Tag generation and every preview render in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server, which means you can draft metadata for an unpublished page without it leaving your machine.
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