What Does "Social Media Link Preview" Mean in Canva? (And How to Test It)

Canva shows a "social media link preview" option in several places — inside the design share settings, in Canva Websites, and when publishing a design as a public link. If you have ever wondered what exactly this setting controls, you are not alone.

The social media link preview in Canva is the title, description, and image that appear when someone shares your Canva design URL on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, or in a chat message. It maps directly to Open Graph meta tags. Here is what each part does and how to verify it looks right.

What the Social Media Link Preview Setting in Canva Controls

When you publish a Canva Website or share a public Canva design link, Canva generates a page with Open Graph meta tags. The social media link preview settings feed directly into these tags:

• Title — becomes the og:title tag. Shown in bold at the top of the preview card.
• Description — becomes the og:description tag. Appears below the title in smaller text.
• Image / Thumbnail — becomes the og:image tag. The visual thumbnail shown in the card.

For Canva Websites specifically, you find this setting under Settings > Social Preview in the Canva editor. For shared design links, the first page of your design typically becomes the preview image, with the design title as og:title.

What happens if you do not set it

If you leave the social media link preview settings blank in Canva, platforms will either show a generic Canva thumbnail, pull the first element they can find on the page, or display a blank card. This is why a design that looks great in Canva can produce an ugly or confusing link preview when shared.

Canva Social Preview Image Dimensions

The standard Open Graph image size is 1200x630 pixels at a 1.91:1 aspect ratio. This is the size that Facebook, LinkedIn, Discord, and most other platforms use for the full-width preview card. Setting your Canva social preview image to this size ensures it looks great everywhere.

Canva has a built-in 1200x628 template for Facebook and Open Graph images — search for it in the Canva template library. For Canva Websites, you can upload your own custom preview image at 1200x630.

Twitter / X card sizes

Twitter's large card format (summary_large_image) uses a 2:1 ratio and a minimum of 300x157 pixels, with 1200x600 being optimal. If your Canva preview image is 1200x630, it will display well on Twitter with minimal cropping.

What about portrait-format designs?

If your Canva design is portrait-oriented (like an Instagram story at 1080x1920), Canva may use the design dimensions for the og:image. Most platforms will crop this heavily. For a proper link preview, set a separate landscape-format social preview image in the Canva Website settings rather than letting Canva use the design itself.

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How to Test Your Canva Link Preview

To see exactly what your Canva page looks like when shared, use the Open Graph Checker. It parses the live HTML from your Canva page and shows rendered preview cards for Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

For Canva Websites

1. Publish your Canva Website and copy the public URL
2. Open the Open Graph Checker
3. Click the Enter URL tab and paste your Canva Website URL
4. Click Check Tags

For shared design links

1. In Canva, click Share > Present and record or Share > Publish to get a public link
2. Copy that link
3. Paste it in the Open Graph Checker URL field
4. Click Check Tags

The tool shows you the actual og:title, og:description, and og:image values Canva is serving — plus a visual render of both the Facebook/LinkedIn card and the Twitter card. If something looks wrong, go back to Canva settings and update the social preview fields, then re-check.

Common Canva Link Preview Problems

These are the most common issues people run into with Canva social previews.

Preview shows the wrong image

By default, Canva uses the first page or thumbnail of your design as the preview image. If your design is tall, it will be cropped. Go to Settings > Social Preview in your Canva Website and upload a dedicated 1200x630 image instead.

Canva brand URL vs custom domain

If you are using a custom domain for your Canva Website, the OG tags should still work the same. But verify by checking the custom domain URL in the checker — custom domain setups sometimes miss certain headers.

Old cached preview showing

After updating your Canva social preview settings, shared links on Facebook and LinkedIn may still show the old preview. Use the platform cache-clearing tools to force each platform to re-fetch your page.

Canva link requires login

If your design is set to Anyone with the link can view, the URL should be publicly accessible. But if it requires a Canva account to view, social platforms cannot fetch the OG tags — the preview will break. Make sure your design link is set to public.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the social media link preview setting in Canva?

For Canva Websites, go to the editor, click the settings icon (gear icon) or look for "Website Settings," then find the Social Preview section. There you can set a custom title, description, and upload a 1200x630 thumbnail image. For regular shared design links, the first page of the design is typically used as the preview.

Why does my Canva link look different on LinkedIn vs Facebook?

LinkedIn and Facebook apply different cropping and character limits to the same OG tags. LinkedIn typically shows a slightly wider card and is stricter about image dimensions. If your og:image is below 1200x627, LinkedIn may not show it at full width. Use the Open Graph Checker to see the rendered preview for both platforms side by side.

Can I set different preview images for different social platforms in Canva?

Not directly in Canva. You can set one og:image that applies to most platforms, and a separate twitter:image that applies only to Twitter/X. Canva Website settings typically only expose the main social preview image. For full control over per-platform previews, you need to add custom meta tags via code, which is not possible in standard Canva without custom code access.