If you have selected a Facebook account and included a link in the text of your post, a Facebook Link Preview will be generated.
A Link Preview is the clickable box that contains an image from your link, the title of the link, and a short description of the content.
Click the eye icon to see how your post will look on the social networks:
This is the Facebook link preview. To remove it, click the X at the top right:
You can publish a Facebook post with a link preview, with an attached image or video, or as text only. See the following example posts:
Post with a Facebook link preview:
You can see the text of your post appears at the top. The image pulled from the link by the preview is in a clickable box with the title and description from the website below it.
Post with an uploaded image:
If you attach an image to your post in Edgar, the post will publish as a photo on Facebook with your accompanying text.
Post with the Facebook Link Preview Turned Off and No Uploaded Image
Turning off the Facebook Link Preview will result in a text-only post.
How do I remove Facebook Link Previews?
To turn a Facebook preview off, just click the X at the top right of the preview box:
How do I create or edit a Facebook Link Preview?
Facebook generates link previews automatically based on the meta tags in the code of the website you're linking to. Specifically, the following og:tags should be included in the <head></head> section of your website:
og:image
og:image:height
og:image:width
og:title
og:description
Don't worry! That's not as code-y or difficult as it may sound. These tags can usually be controlled with a simple plugin such as Yoast SEO.
If you'd like to see how to change your website's meta tags (open graph tags) to generate better previews, check out our webinar here:
And we have a blog post here:
If you are not the owner of the website you are linking to and the site does not have the meta tags necessary to generate a preview, there is currently no way to alter a link preview except by bringing it to the attention of the website's owner so they can update their meta tags.
However, rather than using a Facebook Link Preview, you can always attach media to your post in Edgar or remove the Facebook link preview to send a text only post.
*Note: Facebook has an 8MB limit on images included in previews. If an image on your website is over 8MB, it will not be included in a link preview.
What if Edgar says he can't find a Facebook Preview for my link?
Edgar's previews are only approximations of what Facebook will display. Facebook will check your link and create the link preview at the time the post is published. Edgar doesn't send link preview information to Facebook.
So, even if Edgar can't show you a preview right now due to a firewall or communication error with the website, Facebook will still display one based on the meta data on your website.
And you can always see exactly what Facebook will show in a preview by using their link preview tool.
There are a few reasons why Edgar may not be able to display a Facebook preview for your link. Check out some of the common issues below:
Server error
Edgar may have received a server error from the website, likely due to site maintenance or another issue on the website's end. In most instances, these errors are temporary.
SSL error
If your URL is correct and there are no current server issues, Edgar may be receiving an SSL error from the site. The website will not allow a preview to be pulled due to a firewall or security bot. Give another link from the same domain a try. If Edgar is still unable to pull a preview, this is likely the case.
But don't worry. Facebook will still display a preview when the post is published. See what that preview will look like using their link preview tool.
Missing image, title, description, or other error
Run the link through Facebook's link preview tool to see what Facebook itself is able to pull.
If necessary information (such as og:image, og:title, og:description tags) are missing from the page, Facebook will show you warnings. These tags must be present on the website for a preview to be generated. Example warnings may look like this:
Learn how to add or edit og:tags on your website here:
Required Meta Tags for Facebook Previews
For Facebook to create a link preview for your links, your website's meta data (the <head></head> section of your website's code) should contain the following tags:
og:image
og:image:height
og:image:width
og:title
og:description
Without these tags, Facebook may not display a full link preview for your post. See their policy here: Facebook Sharing Best Practices.
However, if a post publishes to Facebook with a missing image, title, or description, you can force Facebook to rescrape the link and refresh the link preview.
Refresh Share Attachment on Facebook
To refresh the link preview on a post that has already published to your Facebook page, follow these steps:
View your page in Facebook for Business, then click the timestamp on the post to go to the post's business permalink (the URL should be https://business.facebook.com/yourpostinformation rather than https://www.facebook.com/yourpostinformation):
2. Click the ... at the top right of the post and choose Refresh Share Attachment.
NOTE: if your page is managed through Facebook Business Manager, you must be logged into business manager to access the refresh share option.
NOTE: If you are currently boosting or promoting a post, the refresh share option will not be available.
Link Debugger on Facebook
Facebook provides a link debugging tool that will scrape your links and let you know if there is information missing for your previews. You can find the debugger tool here: Facebook Sharing Debugger. Simply enter your link, and Facebook will take a look at it for you.
If you make changes to your website or if your preview is out of date, click the Scrape Again button to force Facebook to update its cached version of your link preview. Facebook caches these previews for approximately 30 days to speed up their system.
