You’re wondering how to change the image that shows on website link because… You just finished your WordPress website and you’re super proud of it, so you share it via text message or post it to Facebook – and then you see an image you don’t want representing your entire website pop up with the link you’ve just shared. Sound familiar?

The good news is there is an easy way to change the image that shows on website link. (That’s a little awkward phrasing, but Yoast SEO says…).

Note: Some things have changed since I first posted this, if you want the 2023 version using the SEOPress free plugin, click here.

Change the Image that Shows on Website Link

Option #1

So this image is actually a page thumbnail, and you can change it much the same way you change the thumbnail image for your blog posts. You can simply upload a featured image.

Note: Depending on your theme, uploading a featured image may alter the content on your page by putting that image at the top of it. If this happens, you’ll want to use option #2.

To do this, you will go to your page settings by clicking Edit Page. Note, if you use a front end page builder, you don’t want to be in the page builder, but in the actual page. So in my case, I am selecting ‘Edit’, not ‘Edit with WP….’.

From there, I’m simply going to add a Featured Image in the righthand bar.

change the image that shows on website link

Once you’ve done that, you can purge your cache and test your link again to see if you were able to change the image that shows on website link.

Option #2

If this doesn’t seem to work, or if it alters content on the page, then you can use the Yoast SEO plugin.

Once you’ve installed the Yoast SEO plugin, you’ll go back to your page’s back end via the Edit option and scroll down until you see the Yoast SEO section. Here you’ll select the social tab and upload your image there:

change the image that shows on website link

Again, purge your cache and re-test your link. If THIS doesn’t work drop my a comment and I’ll workshop it with you 🙂

Best of luck! Xx, Kara


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