Ever had this moment? You've just written an amazing blog post or launched a new feature. You share it on Twitter and... the preview looks terrible. Or worse, no preview at all. Now you're spending the next hour trying to get that OpenGraph (OG) image just right. 😅 I feel you. As developers, we have better things to do than fight with design tools for social previews. The OpenGraph Rabbit Hole 🕳️ Last month, I was updating my website. Simple task, right? Well, not quite: 1. Open Figma
2. Google "What size should OG images be?"
3. Create new frame (1200x630, got it!)
4. Add text, looks good
5. Export and test...
6. Text is too small on mobile
7. Back to Figma
8. Repeat... for Each. Single. Post. Two hours later, I was still tweaking fonts and wondering why I, a developer, was spending my evening doing this. You're Not Alone 🫂 After sharing my frustration in some Discord communities, I discovered I wasn't the only one. Here's what other developers told me: "I keep a Figma file with all my OG templates, but it's still a pain to update each one."
"I tried automating it with code, but making it look good was harder than I thought.""Sometimes I just skip it because it takes too much time." Sound familiar? The Real Problem(s) 🤔 After talking with dozens of developers, here are the common pain points we all share: Time Sink


Manual design work for each image


Testing across platforms


Tweaking for different displays


"Why am I spending my coding time on this?"



Design Decisions


Font size? Font family?


Colors and contrast


Layout and spacing


"I'm a developer, not a designer!"



Technical Headaches


Different size requirements per platform


Caching issues


Missing previews


"Why isn't this showing up on Twitter?"



Maintenance Overhead

Updating multiple images
Keeping brand consistency
Managing templates
"I should be writing code, not doing this." A Better Way Forward 🌅 Here's what I think we need: Speed: Create professional OG images in seconds, not hours
Simplicity: No design skills required
Consistency: Templates that actually look good
Automation: Easy updates and management And that's exactly what I'm working on with gleam.so. What's Coming in This Series? 📚 Over the next few posts, we'll dive deep into OpenGraph images. Here's what you can expect: Technical Foundation (Next Post)


OG image specifications that actually work


Platform-specific requirements


Implementation best practices



Practical Tips & Tricks


Quick wins for better previews


Testing and validation


Automation techniques



Real-World Case Study


Before/After examples


Performance impact


A/B testing results



Developer's Implementation Guide

Step-by-step solution
Code examples
Automation scripts Let's Make This Better Together! 🤝 I want this series to be genuinely helpful for developers. So: Share Your Pain Points


What's your biggest OG image challenge?


Which platforms give you the most trouble?


What would make this process easier?



Join the Journey

Follow this series for updates
Share your experiences
Get early access to solutions Quick Question for You 💭 Drop a comment with your answer: What's the longest you've spent trying to get an OG image right? And was it worth it? Mine was 2.5 hours... and I still wasn't happy with the result. 😅 This is Part 1 of the "Making OpenGraph Work" series. Follow along as we tackle OpenGraph images, step by step. Ever had this moment? You've just written an amazing blog post or launched a new feature. You share it on Twitter and... the preview looks terrible. Or worse, no preview at all. Now you're spending the next hour trying to get that OpenGraph (OG) image just right. 😅 I feel you. As developers, we have better things to do than fight with design tools for social previews. The OpenGraph Rabbit Hole 🕳️ Last month, I was updating my website. Simple task, right? Well, not quite: 1. Open Figma
2. Google "What size should OG images be?"
3. Create new frame (1200x630, got it!)
4. Add text, looks good
5. Export and test...
6. Text is too small on mobile
7. Back to Figma
8. Repeat... for Each. Single. Post. 1. Open Figma
2. Google "What size should OG images be?"
3. Create new frame (1200x630, got it!)
4. Add text, looks good
5. Export and test...
6. Text is too small on mobile
7. Back to Figma
8. Repeat... for Each. Single. Post. Two hours later, I was still tweaking fonts and wondering why I, a developer, was spending my evening doing this. You're Not Alone 🫂 After sharing my frustration in some Discord communities, I discovered I wasn't the only one. Here's what other developers told me: "I keep a Figma file with all my OG templates, but it's still a pain to update each one." "I tried automating it with code, but making it look good was harder than I thought." "Sometimes I just skip it because it takes too much time." "I keep a Figma file with all my OG templates, but it's still a pain to update each one." "I tried automating it with code, but making it look good was harder than I thought." "Sometimes I just skip it because it takes too much time." Sound familiar? The Real Problem(s) 🤔 After talking with dozens of developers, here are the common pain points we all share: Time Sink


Manual design work for each image


Testing across platforms


Tweaking for different displays


"Why am I spending my coding time on this?" Design Decisions


Font size? Font family?


Colors and contrast


Layout and spacing


"I'm a developer, not a designer!" Technical Headaches


Different size requirements per platform


Caching issues


Missing previews


"Why isn't this showing up on Twitter?" Maintenance Overhead

Updating multiple images
Keeping brand consistency
Managing templates
"I should be writing code, not doing this." Time Sink Manual design work for each image


Testing across platforms


Tweaking for different displays


"Why am I spending my coding time on this?" Time Sink Manual design work for each image Testing across platforms Tweaking for different displays "Why am I spending my coding time on this?" Manual design work for each image Manual design work for each image Testing across platforms Testing across platforms Tweaking for different displays Tweaking for different displays "Why am I spending my coding time on this?" "Why am I spending my coding time on this?" "Why am I spending my coding time on this?" Design Decisions Font size? Font family?


Colors and contrast


Layout and spacing


"I'm a developer, not a designer!" Design Decisions Font size? Font family? Colors and contrast Layout and spacing "I'm a developer, not a designer!" Font size? Font family? Font size? Font family? Colors and contrast Colors and contrast Layout and spacing Layout and spacing "I'm a developer, not a designer!" "I'm a developer, not a designer!" "I'm a developer, not a designer!" Technical Headaches Different size requirements per platform


Caching issues


Missing previews


"Why isn't this showing up on Twitter?" Technical Headaches Different size requirements per platform Caching issues Missing previews "Why isn't this showing up on Twitter?" Different size requirements per platform Different size requirements per platform Caching issues Caching issues Missing previews Missing previews "Why isn't this showing up on Twitter?" "Why isn't this showing up on Twitter?" "Why isn't this showing up on Twitter?" Maintenance Overhead Updating multiple images
Keeping brand consistency
Managing templates
"I should be writing code, not doing this." Maintenance Overhead Updating multiple images Keeping brand consistency Managing templates "I should be writing code, not doing this." Updating multiple images Keeping brand consistency Managing templates "I should be writing code, not doing this." "I should be writing code, not doing this." A Better Way Forward 🌅 Here's what I think we need: Speed: Create professional OG images in seconds, not hours Simplicity: No design skills required Consistency: Templates that actually look good Automation: Easy updates and management Speed : Create professional OG images in seconds, not hours Speed Simplicity : No design skills required Simplicity Consistency : Templates that actually look good Consistency Automation : Easy updates and management Automation And that's exactly what I'm working on with gleam.so . gleam.so What's Coming in This Series? 📚 Over the next few posts, we'll dive deep into OpenGraph images. Here's what you can expect: Technical Foundation (Next Post)


OG image specifications that actually work


Platform-specific requirements


Implementation best practices Practical Tips & Tricks


Quick wins for better previews


Testing and validation


Automation techniques Real-World Case Study


Before/After examples


Performance impact


A/B testing results Developer's Implementation Guide

Step-by-step solution
Code examples
Automation scripts Technical Foundation (Next Post) OG image specifications that actually work


Platform-specific requirements


Implementation best practices Technical Foundation OG image specifications that actually work Platform-specific requirements Implementation best practices OG image specifications that actually work OG image specifications that actually work Platform-specific requirements Platform-specific requirements Implementation best practices Implementation best practices Practical Tips & Tricks Quick wins for better previews


Testing and validation


Automation techniques Practical Tips & Tricks Quick wins for better previews Testing and validation Automation techniques Quick wins for better previews Quick wins for better previews Testing and validation Testing and validation Automation techniques Automation techniques Real-World Case Study Before/After examples


Performance impact


A/B testing results Real-World Case Study Before/After examples Performance impact A/B testing results Before/After examples Before/After examples Performance impact Performance impact A/B testing results A/B testing results Developer's Implementation Guide Step-by-step solution
Code examples
Automation scripts Developer's Implementation Guide Step-by-step solution Code examples Automation scripts Step-by-step solution Code examples Automation scripts Let's Make This Better Together! 🤝 I want this series to be genuinely helpful for developers. So: Share Your Pain Points


What's your biggest OG image challenge?


Which platforms give you the most trouble?


What would make this process easier? Join the Journey

Follow this series for updates
Share your experiences
Get early access to solutions Share Your Pain Points What's your biggest OG image challenge?


Which platforms give you the most trouble?


What would make this process easier? Share Your Pain Points What's your biggest OG image challenge? Which platforms give you the most trouble? What would make this process easier? What's your biggest OG image challenge? What's your biggest OG image challenge? Which platforms give you the most trouble? Which platforms give you the most trouble? What would make this process easier? What would make this process easier? Join the Journey Follow this series for updates
Share your experiences
Get early access to solutions Join the Journey Follow this series for updates Share your experiences Get early access to solutions Follow this series for updates Share your experiences Get early access to solutions Quick Question for You 💭 Drop a comment with your answer: What's the longest you've spent trying to get an OG image right? And was it worth it? What's the longest you've spent trying to get an OG image right? And was it worth it? Mine was 2.5 hours... and I still wasn't happy with the result. 😅 This is Part 1 of the "Making OpenGraph Work" series. Follow along as we tackle OpenGraph images, step by step. This is Part 1 of the "Making OpenGraph Work" series. Follow along as we tackle OpenGraph images, step by step.

Want to Stop Wasting Hours on OpenGraph Images? Let's Fix That Together 👋

About Author

Comments

TOPICS

THIS ARTICLE WAS FEATURED IN

Related Stories

The Essential Guide to Social Share Images in 2024

2,100 Unique Visitors in 3 Days: Creating Valuable Content like this Free Building in Public Guide

5 Marketing Tips for Launching Your DeFi or Crypto Project

Choosing a SaaS Building Path: Build in Public or Private?

From Idea to App Store: How I Built an App Using 100% No-Code Tools

Full-Time Indie Hacker Vs. Side Hustle: The Different Ways of Chasing the Cheddar

The Essential Guide to Social Share Images in 2024

2,100 Unique Visitors in 3 Days: Creating Valuable Content like this Free Building in Public Guide

5 Marketing Tips for Launching Your DeFi or Crypto Project

Choosing a SaaS Building Path: Build in Public or Private?

From Idea to App Store: How I Built an App Using 100% No-Code Tools

Full-Time Indie Hacker Vs. Side Hustle: The Different Ways of Chasing the Cheddar

Light-Mode

Classic

Newspaper

Minty

Dark-Mode

Neon Noir

Minty

HN StartUps