Free OG Image Generator - Create Open Graph Images in Your Browser

You're about to launch a blog post, a landing page, or a new product — and you realize the link preview looks terrible. No image, or worse, a random screenshot that makes your site look broken. (Fun fact: the thumbnail image you see at the top of this very post was generated using our free OG image generator.)

The fix is an OG image. And you can create one right now, in your browser, for free.

This guide covers what OG images are, why they matter, and how to design one in under a minute using Renderly's free OG image generator.

What Is an OG Image?

An OG (Open Graph) image is the preview graphic that appears when someone shares your URL on social media — Twitter/X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Slack, Discord, iMessage, and more. It's defined by the og:image meta tag in your page's HTML:

<meta property="og:image" content="https://yoursite.com/og-image.png" />

When a platform crawls your link, it reads this tag and displays the image as a rich preview. Without it, your link shows up as a plain text URL or a generic placeholder. With a well-designed OG image, your link stands out in crowded feeds and gets significantly more clicks.

Why OG Images Matter for SEO and Click-Through Rates

OG images don't directly affect search rankings, but they have a massive indirect impact:

• Higher click-through rates — Links with compelling preview images get 2-3x more clicks on social platforms compared to plain text links
• Brand recognition — A consistent OG image style makes your content instantly recognizable across platforms
• Professional appearance — A polished preview signals quality content, which builds trust before anyone even visits your page
• Social sharing momentum — Content that looks good when shared gets shared more, creating a compounding effect on traffic

If you're investing time in writing content or building products, spending 60 seconds on an OG image is one of the highest-ROI things you can do.

The Recommended OG Image Size

The standard OG image size is 1200 x 630 pixels. This aspect ratio (roughly 1.91:1) works well across all major platforms:

Stick with 1200 x 630 and you're covered everywhere.

How to Create an OG Image (Step by Step)

Here's how to design and export an OG image using Renderly's free OG image generator. The entire process takes about a minute.

Step 1: Choose a Template

Open the tool and pick a layout that fits your content:

• Centered — Title and description centered on a gradient background. Great for blog posts and documentation.
• Hero — Large title with supporting text, designed for landing pages and announcements.
• Split — Text on one side, visual space on the other. Works well for product pages and case studies.

Each template is pre-configured at the correct 1200 x 630 dimensions.

Step 2: Customize Your Content

Edit the text fields to match your page:

• Title — Keep it short and punchy. This is the first thing people read in a social preview.
• Description — A brief supporting line. Not all platforms show this, so make sure the title can stand on its own.
• Author or brand name — Optional, but helps with recognition.

Step 3: Style It

This is where you make it yours:

• Background — Choose from preset gradients (purple, blue, pink, sunset, ocean) or set a custom solid color
• Fonts — Pick from a curated selection of Google Fonts that render well at preview sizes
• Colors — Customize text colors to match your brand
• Layout adjustments — Fine-tune spacing and alignment

The preview updates in real time as you make changes, so you can see exactly what the final image will look like.

Step 4: Export

Hit the download button and choose your format:

• PNG — Best quality, ideal for text-heavy designs. Slightly larger file size.
• JPEG — Smaller file size, great if your image has photographic elements or gradients.
• WebP — Modern format with excellent compression. Supported by all major platforms.

The image is rendered entirely in your browser using Satori and WebAssembly. Nothing is uploaded to any server — your content stays completely private.

How to Add an OG Image to Your Website

Once you've downloaded your image, you need to add it to your page's HTML. Here's how:

Basic HTML Meta Tags

<head>
  <!-- Open Graph -->
  <meta property="og:image" content="https://yoursite.com/og-image.png" />
  <meta property="og:image:width" content="1200" />
  <meta property="og:image:height" content="630" />
  <meta property="og:image:alt" content="Description of your image" />
 
  <!-- Twitter Card -->
  <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" />
  <meta name="twitter:image" content="https://yoursite.com/og-image.png" />
</head>

Next.js (App Router)

export const metadata = {
  openGraph: {
    images: [
      {
        url: "https://yoursite.com/og-image.png",
        width: 1200,
        height: 630,
        alt: "Description of your image",
      },
    ],
  },
  twitter: {
    card: "summary_large_image",
    images: ["https://yoursite.com/og-image.png"],
  },
};

WordPress

If you use an SEO plugin like Yoast or Rank Math, there's usually a "Social" tab where you can upload your OG image directly. No code needed.

Static Sites (Hugo, Jekyll, Astro)

Most static site generators have frontmatter fields for OG images. Check your theme's documentation — it's usually something like:

---
title: "Your Page Title"
image: /images/og-image.png
---

Tips for Designing Effective OG Images

Keep text large and readable. OG images are often displayed at small sizes (around 600px wide on mobile). Text that looks fine at 1200px can become unreadable when scaled down. Use a minimum font size equivalent to 40-48px at full resolution.

Use high contrast. Light text on dark backgrounds (or vice versa) ensures readability across different platform themes — both light and dark mode.

Include your brand. A logo, brand colors, or consistent visual style helps people recognize your content at a glance. Over time, this builds a visual association between your brand and quality content.

Don't overcrowd the image. A title and maybe a short subtitle is enough. OG images are thumbnails, not infographics. Less is more.

Test on multiple platforms. After deploying your OG image, test the link on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Slack to make sure it renders correctly everywhere. Tools like opengraph.xyz can help you preview how your link will look.

OG Image Generator vs. Other Options

There are several ways to create OG images. Here's how they compare:

Design tools (Figma, Canva) — Full creative control, but slow. You have to manually set the canvas size, design from scratch, and export. Overkill for a simple text-on-gradient OG image.

Dynamic OG image APIs (Vercel OG, Cloudinary) — Great for generating images programmatically at scale, but require developer setup and hosting. Best for sites with hundreds of pages that need unique OG images.

Our free generator — The sweet spot for most people. Pick a template, type your text, customize the style, and download. No design skills needed, no code required, no account to create. Perfect for blog posts, landing pages, and one-off pages.

No OG image at all — The worst option. Your links look unprofessional and get fewer clicks. Don't do this.

Common Questions

Does the image get uploaded to a server?

No. The image is rendered entirely in your browser using Satori (the same engine Vercel uses for their OG image generation). Your text and design choices never leave your machine.

What file format should I use?

PNG is the safest choice — it preserves text sharpness and is universally supported. If file size is a concern (some platforms recommend under 1MB), use JPEG or WebP.

Can I use custom fonts?

Yes. The tool includes a selection of popular Google Fonts. Each font is loaded as a WebAssembly font file for accurate rendering in the browser.

Do I need different images for different platforms?

No. The 1200 x 630 format works across all major platforms. Some will crop slightly differently, but the core content will always be visible if you keep important elements away from the very edges.

How often should I update my OG images?

Update them when the page content changes significantly, or when you rebrand. There's no need to update them on a schedule. Some platforms cache OG images aggressively — if you update an image, you may need to purge the cache using the platform's debugging tools (like Twitter Card Validator or Facebook Sharing Debugger).

Wrapping Up

A good OG image takes less than a minute to create and can significantly increase the click-through rate on every link you share. There's no reason to skip it.

If you need one right now, try Renderly's free OG image generator — pick a template, customize it, and download. No sign-up, no watermarks, everything runs in your browser.

And if you're building a site that needs OG images generated dynamically for hundreds of pages, check out Renderly's video and image API for programmatic solutions.