You finish your invitation, pick your favorite photo as the share image, copy the link and paste it into Messenger. Instead of your wedding photo, the preview shows an empty grey frame, an old draft photo or a placeholder title. It looks careless, but you have not done anything wrong.

Why the preview is wrong

When a link is shared for the first time, Facebook reads the page once and stores a copy of its thumbnail, title and description. This preview data is called Open Graph. After that, it keeps showing the stored copy, even when you change the card, until someone asks them to read the link again.

  • You shared a test link before choosing the final share image, so the platform saved the old version.
  • You changed the cover photo, title or share description after the link had already been posted somewhere.
  • The card was still a draft or being edited the first time the platform looked at it.

Set the preview before you share

Your invitation's link preview comes from settings you control. In the editor, choose a Share Image in the invitation settings and write a Share description in the publish settings; it appears under the title when the link is shared. Publish after changing them so the public page carries the new preview.

Refresh the preview with the free tool

The quickest fix is the Refresh share link tool at /tools/refresh-link. You do not need an account to use it, and it never changes your card, its address or your guests' replies.

  1. Open /tools/refresh-link and paste the exact link you shared, including a guest's personal link if that is what you sent. If you are signed in, you can pick one of your published cards from a list instead.
  2. Press Refresh on Facebook. It opens Facebook's Sharing Debugger at developers.facebook.com/tools/debug in a new tab.
  3. On Facebook, log in if asked. If the preview still shows the old image, press Scrape Again until your new photo appears.
  4. Wait a few seconds, then share the link again. New posts and messages will use the fresh preview.

Doing it from the editor

The publish settings also have a Refresh link preview section. Refresh preview link copies a versioned link that social apps treat as new, and the Facebook Sharing Debugger button opens the debugger with that link already filled in.

If it still looks wrong

  • Make sure you refreshed the exact link you are sharing. Each version of a link, including each guest's personal link, is cached separately.
  • Give it a few minutes. Platforms can take a little while to update everywhere, even after a successful refresh.
  • Messages already sent may keep the old preview. Delete the old message and send the link again after refreshing.
  • Check that the card is published and public; platforms cannot read a hidden or draft card.

A minute spent refreshing the preview means the first thing guests see is your best photo and the right title, which is exactly the impression you want an invitation to make.