Background
IFTTT is a powerful tool for automating social media. You can use Applets to cross-post between social networks or share updates from an RSS feed or WordPress site. When creating an Applet, you can use ingredients to include URLs, such as images or article links, alongside text in your social media posts.
If your posts aren’t showing a preview image, keep in mind that IFTTT sends the URL to the social media platform, but the platform itself determines whether a preview image appears. Several factors can affect this, including how the website’s metadata is set up and how the social network caches link previews.
If you’re experiencing issues with missing or incorrect preview images, don’t worry—there are a few steps you can take to troubleshoot and improve how your links appear. Read on for solutions to common preview image problems.
Testing for issues
If your Applet posts an update to social media and a preview image doesn't appear, a good first step is to check the link manually.
For example, if your Applet posts "Hello World, check out ifttt.com" to Facebook Pages but a link preview isn’t included, try posting the same message manually.
Open Facebook Pages and create a new post with "Hello World, check out ifttt.com" without using an Applet. If the link preview still doesn’t appear, this helps rule out any issues with your Applet’s configuration.
Example with a preview image populating when posting a URL
In that case, the issue is likely related to the way the social network processes link previews. Continue below to the section for the specific platform you’re having trouble with for further troubleshooting steps.
Discord, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Threads
If a link preview isn’t appearing when sharing a URL on LinkedIn, Facebook, Discord, or Threads, the issue is likely related to Open Graph meta tags. These platforms rely on Open Graph data from the website to generate link previews, including the title, description, and image.
To check how these platforms interpret a URL:
- Facebook & Threads: Use the Facebook Sharing Debugger to see what metadata Facebook (and potentially Threads) can detect.
- LinkedIn: Try the LinkedIn Post Inspector to check how LinkedIn pulls link preview data. You can also review LinkedIn’s content sharing guidelines.
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Discord: If no preview appears, try adding
?nocache=1to the URL when sharing it again. This forces Discord to re-fetch the metadata. If the preview still doesn’t show, the website may not have the necessary Open Graph tags or Discord may not support the link format.
If the preview is missing or incorrect in these tools, the website may need to update its Open Graph meta tags. This typically requires adjusting the website’s code, so if you're not familiar with editing metadata, it's best to contact the site's administrator or developer.
After updating the tags, you can use these tools again to verify that the changes take effect.
Mastodon
If your link preview isn’t appearing on Mastodon, it may be due to missing Open Graph meta tags on the website. Mastodon servers fetch metadata from shared links to generate previews, but not all instances handle this the same way.
To check if a website has the correct metadata, you can test the URL in the Facebook Sharing Debugger or LinkedIn Post Inspector, as these platforms rely on similar Open Graph tags. If the preview is missing in those tools, the website likely needs to update its metadata.
Additionally, some Mastodon instances may not generate link previews if they restrict fetching external content for privacy reasons. If other platforms display a preview but Mastodon does not, the issue may be specific to the instance you're posting from.
If you're the website owner, ensure the correct Open Graph tags are in place. If you're unsure how to do this, reaching out to a web developer is recommended.
If a link preview isn’t appearing when you post a URL on Twitter, the issue is often related to missing or incorrect Twitter Card meta tags on the website you’re linking to. Twitter relies on these tags to generate rich link previews, including images and descriptions.
The best way to check how your link will appear is by using Twitter’s Tweet Composer. Simply start a new tweet, paste an example link to a post on your site, and see if a preview appears. If it does not, this likely indicates an issue with your site’s metadata or how Twitter’s crawler is interpreting the page.
If you’re unfamiliar with editing meta tags or managing website code, you may need to contact your webmaster or website administrator for assistance. They can update the page’s metadata to ensure Twitter can generate link previews properly.
For more detailed guidance, Twitter provides an official overview of their Card meta tags here: Twitter Card Documentation.