In order to display correctly on Facebook and Twitter, your link preview image should be 800x420 pixels (landscape view). Images with other aspect ratios often get cropped into a small square and do not display correctly.
To create your image, I recommend using Canva. It's a free online image editing and design tool that provides everything you need to create professional images for your links easily and quickly. Just follow the steps below to get started. Never use images from Google, these images are usually somebody's property and using them would be an infringement of copyright.
Click here to access the Canva website and create your free account.
Once you are logged in, click on the blue 'Create a design' button on the top right of the page.
Click on 'Custom Size'
Enter the width as 800 and the height as 420 and click 'Create new design'
From here you can use the design tools on the left to make your design. If you have any probelms, click on the purple 'Help' button on the bottom left, and you will find handy tutorials for each design tool. There are also lots of tutorials on YouTube for Canva. Simply search on YouTube for 'How to use Canva' and you'll find hundreds of videos to help you create your design. I'd recommneed watching a recent one as Canva adds new features and updates often, so an old tutorial might not look the same as the most recent version of Canva.
TIP: If you scroll down to the bottom of the left side menu (Templates, Uploads, Photos... etc.) Click on the 'More...' option at the very bottom and you can access thousands of professional images from Pexels or Pixabay. These images are royalty free, so they are safe to use on your design.
Once you have created your image on Canva, click on the 'Download' button on the top right, to save your image as a .png file. You can then upload it to TWT.FYI when you are adding your link.
If you notice a mistake on your image after uploading, you can not edit it or change the image. You will need to delete that link completely and create a new one.
Although Canva is free, they do have a paid option. You'll often notice resources that have a little crown icon on them. These resources are only available to premium members. If you really want to use a premium resource, but you don't want to subscribe to Canva, they also give the option of paying for a single item as a one-off purchase so that you can add it to your design.
Useful Links
Pixabay and Pexels provide thousands of excellent, royalty free images. I've provided links to their websites below, but you can also access their images directly inside the Canva editor.
A fake video play button on your image will boost your CTR. But only do this if you are linking to a website that has a video. You don't want to frustrate your visitors.
Canva has some free video play buttons in the elements section.
FAQ
If you have a question that is not answered on this page, please contact us.
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What size image should I use?
800px wide by 420px high.
It didn't work! The image isn't showing up on the preview!
Check 1: Check the size of your image. It should be 800 pixels wide and 420 pixels high.
Check 2: Did you write anything in your post? You must write something when you submit your Facebook post or Tweet. If you only copy and paste the link with nothing else it will not work correctly.
Check 3: It takes a while for Facebook and Twitter to access the image and cache it to their servers, so if your post does not include your image, delete it, start a new post and enter your text and link, then leave it for a few seconds before you hit submit and it should be fine.
Can't I just add a picture to my Tweet to achieve the same result?
Unfortunately, when you add a picture to a Tweet or Facebook post it doesn't act as a link. It definitely gets more clicks, but a click simply enlarges the picture, which distracts people from clicking on your link.
Does this put my Twitter or Facebook account at risk?
No. This system is fully compliant with Twitter's and Facebook's rules.
Can I use this to link to other websites too?
Yes. You can link to any website using this system.
The website I want to link to already displays a preview in Twitter. Will my link show the default preview or mine?
Your chosen image and preview description will override the default one. So you have full control of how your links will look.
If you have a question that is not answered here, you can contact us at support@twt.fyi - Remember to include your membership number ( Notice: Undefined variable: curUserID in /home/stevenhall/twtfyi/faq.php on line 89
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