How to Use Facebook Sharing Debugger

You've spent hours writing the perfect article, picked an amazing featured image, and crafted a catchy headline. You paste the link on Facebook, hit post, and... the link preview is a mess. The image is wrong, the title is cut off, or it's showing old information you updated yesterday. The Facebook Sharing Debugger is the tool that puts you back in control of how your content appears on the platform. This guide will walk you through exactly how to use it to fix common sharing issues and make sure your content always looks professional.

What Exactly Is the Facebook Sharing Debugger?

Think of the Facebook Sharing Debugger - also known as the Link Debugger - as a direct line of communication between your website and Facebook's servers. When you or anyone else shares a link to your website, Facebook sends a crawler (a bot named "Facebookbot") to "scrape" the page for information. It's looking for specific details to create that neat little preview box that appears in the feed, including a title, a short description, and an image.

The problem is that Facebook caches this information to speed things up. So, if you share a link and then later update the post's title or featured image, Facebook will often show the old, cached version. This is where the debugger comes in. It's a free tool from Meta that lets you see exactly what information Facebook has stored for any URL and allows you to force it to refresh that data.

You need this tool in your toolkit for three main reasons:

• First Impressions Matter: A clean, engaging link preview with a compelling image and headline dramatically increases the chances someone will click on your link. A broken preview looks unprofessional and can kill your click-through rate.
• Control Your Narrative: You want the world to see your updated headline, not the draft version from last week. The debugger ensures the most current version of your content is being presented.
• Troubleshoot Problems: When a preview isn't working at all, the debugger tells you exactly what's wrong - from missing information to server errors - so you know how to fix it.

Open Graph Tags: The Secret Language of Link Previews

Before you can effectively use the Sharing Debugger, you need to understand what it's looking for: Open Graph (OG) meta tags. These are small snippets of code that live in the <,head>, section of your website's HTML. They act like signposts, telling social networks exactly what content to pull for a link preview. You don't need to be a coding genius to manage these, most modern content management systems (CMS) and SEO plugins handle them for you.

For example, if you use WordPress with a plugin like Yoast SEO or Rank Math, you'll find dedicated sections under each post or page to set your "Social" or "Open Graph" title, description, and image.

Here are the fundamental OG tags that the Sharing Debugger checks for:

og:title

This is the headline that appears in bold text in the preview. It should be catchy and concise, ideally under 60 characters to avoid being cut off.

<,meta property="og:title" content="Your Eye-Catching Blog Post Title" />,

og:description

This is the short summary that appears below the title. It should be a compelling two or three sentences that entice people to click, typically between 150-200 characters.

<,meta property="og:description" content="A brief, engaging summary of what readers will find when they click your link." />,

og:image

This is the most important tag for visual appeal. It specifies the URL of the image you want to appear in the link preview. If this tag is missing or incorrect, Facebook might grab a random image from your page, like a logo or banner ad.

<,meta property="og:image" content="https://www.yourwebsite.com/images/your-awesome-image.jpg" />,

Pro-tip: Facebook recommends an image size of at least 1200 x 630 pixels for the best results. This aspect ratio ensures your image looks good across different displays without getting awkwardly cropped.

og:url

This tag defines the "canonical" URL for your page. It tells Facebook the single, definitive page address you want all shares and likes to accumulate under, preventing issues with duplicate content if your page can be reached by several URLs (like with session IDs or tracking parameters).

<,meta property="og:url" content="https://www.yourwebsite.com/your-article-name/" />,

If your link previews are breaking, it's almost always because one or more of these tags are missing, incorrect, or pointing to outdated information.

A Step-By-Step Guide to Using the Facebook Sharing Debugger

Now, let's put the tool to work. The process is simple and takes just a few clicks.

Step 1: Go to the Debugger Tool

You can find the official tool here: Meta for Developers >, Sharing Debugger. It's a good idea to bookmark this page, you'll be using it often.

Step 2: Enter Your URL and Click "Debug"

Copy the full URL of the blog post, product page, or landing page you want to check. Paste it into the input box and click the "Debug" button.

Step 3: Analyze the Results

The results page will give you a wealth of information. At the top, you'll see a section called "Time Scraped." This tells you the last time Facebook's crawler visited your URL. If the date is old, you're likely looking at cached data.

Next, you'll see the "Link Preview" section. This shows you exactly how your link will appear when shared on Facebook right now. If it looks wrong, that confirms there's an issue to fix.

Further down, under a section like "Open Graph Properties," you'll see the exact OG tag information Facebook found on your page. This is your diagnosis area. You can compare the title, description, and image URL here against what you expect them to be.

Step 4: Scrape Again to Fix Caching Issues

If you've recently updated your page (changed the featured image or edited the title) but the Link Preview still shows the old version, the problem is most likely Facebook's cache. Simply click the "Scrape Again" button at the top of the page. This forces Facebook to ignore its cache and pull the latest version of your page's OG tags. You might need to click it two or three times for the correct preview to appear.

When the Link Preview section at the top finally looks perfect, your job is done. The next time you or anyone else shares that URL, it will display correctly.

Troubleshooting Common Facebook Link Preview Problems

Sometimes, simply clicking "Scrape Again" isn't enough. Here's how to solve the most common issues the debugger might flag.

Problem: The Debugger Shows Warnings like "Missing Properties"

The debugger might display warnings in a section called "Warnings That Should Be Fixed." A common one is: "The following required properties are missing: og:image, og:description..."

How to Fix It:

1. This warning is a clear sign that the OG tags aren't properly set up on your webpage. Go back to your website's editor for that specific page or post.
2. Manually upload a high-quality featured image (1200x630 pixels is best) and fill out the social title and description fields.
3. Save or update the page. Then, return to the Sharing Debugger and click "Scrape Again." The warning should disappear, and the preview should populate correctly.

Problem: The Image is Low-Quality, Wrong, or Missing

You have a great featured image, but the preview shows a tiny logo, an ad banner from your site, or nothing at all.

How to Fix It:

1. Check the Image Dimensions: Facebook's crawler might ignore images that are too small. Make sure your "og:image" is at least 600 pixels wide, but ideally 1200 x 630 pixels.
2. Verify the Image URL: In the debugger results, find the URL listed next to "og:image." Copy and paste that URL into a new browser tab. Does it load? If you get a 404 error, the link is broken. You need to update your post with the correct image URL.
3. Check for Redirects: Sometimes, the image URL might go through a redirect that Facebook's crawler can't follow. Make sure the og:image URL is a direct link to the final JPG, PNG, or WEBP file.

Problem: You Need to Refresh Many URLs at Once

If you just rebranded your website with a new logo or changed your site's URL structure, you might need to refresh the cache for dozens or even hundreds of links. Doing them one by one would take forever.

How to Fix It:

On the main Sharing Debugger page, look for the "Batch Invalidator" link. This tool lets you enter multiple URLs at once (one per line) and start a new scrape for all of them. This is a massive time-saving step for sitewide updates. Just paste your list of URLs, click debug, and let it work its magic.

Final Thoughts

Getting your content to look great on social media shouldn't be a game of chance. The Facebook Sharing Debugger is an essential, free tool that gives you direct control over your brand's first impression. By understanding Open Graph tags and knowing how to force a cache refresh with a simple click, you can ensure every link you share drives more clicks and engagement.

Getting the share preview right is the first step, the next is regularly scheduling and publishing that great-looking content. At Postbase, we were tired of legacy social media tools that struggle with reliability and modern formats. That's why we focused on rock-solid scheduling for the content that matters today, like short-form video for Reels and TikTok. After debugging your link, you can drop it into our visual content calendar, customize it for each platform, and have total confidence it will go live exactly when and how you planned.