A few blog posts ago, I noticed that there was no thumbnail when sharing a post to Facebook. If this is happening to you, you probably searched the web I like did and found lots of complex solutions. One of them maybe the fix for your problem; however, I solved my no thumbnail issue with a very simple solution.
Identifying the Cause of Your Post No Thumbnail Problem
As I researched the no thumbnail issue, I began to suspect that size of the feature images I was selecting for my post thumbnails were too small. A quick trip to the Facebook Debugger confirmed my suspicions.
To use the FB Debugger tool add the URL (web address) of your blog post and push the debug button. The results show you how Facebook sees your post.
If the results return the following message, increasing the size of your images is the or a least one of the culprits responsible for the missing thumbnail image:
Open Graph Warnings That Should Be Fixed
og:image should be larger: Provided og:image is not big enough. Please use an image that’s at least 200×200 px…
If image size is not your problem, you may find an answer in one of the articles listed at the end of this post.
The Simple Fix
The image you want to accompany your post as thumbnail must be at least 200 x 200 pixels in size. Replace your featured image with a larger version. Check the post again in the Debugger. The message should be gone. Wait a while to try posting the message as it takes Facebook a while to catch up with your change.
Future Proofing Your Thumbnails
Keep the image you want to be shown as your thumbnail in the Facebook sweet zone of at least 200 x 200 pixels to insure it will accompany your post. Need to re-size a lot of thumbnails? Check out this popular WordPress plugin: Regenerate Thumbnails.
Other Solutions
This list of articles offers more complex solutions to fixing the no thumbnail when sharing the post issue:
Stack Overflow – Post Thumbnails Not Showing on Facebook Despite the Correct Size
WPBeginner – How to Avoid No Thumbnail Issue While Sharing Post on Facebook
This lively discussion in the Facebook help center covers almost every scenario regarding the issue:
No thumbnail image when I share a link?!
You will have to click the link below the last post on the page to see the additional 200+ answers posted.
Hope if you are having the no image thumbnail when posting to Facebook issue, this easy image size solution is a fix.
Sue Surdam | Artizon Digital | WordPress Specialist | Content and Social Media Solutions | 503-577-1035
I don’t think the “Regenerate Thumbnails” will size them up. AFAIK, it will only create new thumbnails that are smaller than the original.
Good point, I looked for some documentation on that and the only this I found was this article by BobWP Resizing Your Thumbnails where he mentions making them bigger. I am sure that you are right, that the plugin wouldn’t be able to make thumbnails larger than the original. I will update the article. Thanks for the heads up.
It’s still important info! I didn’t know about the 200×200 requirement.
Wish FB would make this kind of info easier to find – I had just given up on having thumbnails with my posts until I stumbled upon the FB discussion.
Still relevant after all these years.