In WordPress, a featured image is the main image assigned to a post. A theme can display it inside the post or on an archive page, and a social platform can show it in a link preview. Each place can use a different image shape or crop, so one “correct” size does not fit every theme and sharing destination. A theme’s image size tells WordPress how to prepare the image for that layout. Social platforms generally get an image address from the page’s sharing metadata.
For theme layouts, register an image size that matches the space the theme displays, and choose a crop that keeps the important subject visible. For social previews, a 1200 × 630 image is a widely used starting point for wide social previews, though platforms can display previews differently. PressQueue helps WordPress publishers choose between sharing a post’s featured image and creating a separate social image, then sends posts through Buffer.
Set the image size for the theme layout
A theme requests an image size for each layout, or template. An archive card might need a square crop, while a post header might need a wide image. When you upload an image, WordPress creates the image sizes registered by the theme. The theme requests the size it needs to display.
No single featured image size fits every WordPress theme. Check the theme’s layout, then register an image size that matches the space where the image will appear. With WordPress’s add_image_size() function, you provide a name, set the width and height, and choose a crop setting. When cropping is enabled, WordPress cuts the image to those exact dimensions, centering the crop by default. When cropping is disabled, WordPress scales the image without changing its proportions.
For example, a theme with a wide post-header image could register a 1200 × 630 crop, a common shape for social previews:
add_action( 'after_setup_theme', function () {
add_theme_support( 'post-thumbnails' );
add_image_size( 'article-featured', 1200, 630, true );
} );The code enables featured images and registers a named size. Change the dimensions if your theme’s image area has a different shape. A centered crop can cut off a face or another important subject near an edge. WordPress also lets you set the crop position to the top, center, or bottom, or to the left, center, or right. The add_image_size() documentation describes these options.
In the theme template, ask WordPress for the registered size and check that the post has an image before displaying it. The the_post_thumbnail() function accepts named sizes. If the theme requests a size it has not registered, WordPress might display an image with a different crop.
Give social previews their own image
A social preview is the card a platform shows when someone shares a page link. The page’s Open Graph metadata is a set of tags that describes the page to social platforms. The og:image tag specifies the preview image, which does not have to use the same crop as the post header.
A 1200 × 630 image, with an aspect ratio close to 1.91:1, is a practical landscape master for link previews. Social image size guidance lists similar wide formats for major networks, but each platform controls how its preview appears. Keep essential text and faces away from the edges, and check the result on the networks where readers share your posts.
When you change a page’s social image, a platform may continue showing its saved preview until it fetches the page again. Guidance on social preview images recommends using the platform’s debugging tool to prompt a fresh fetch after an image change.
Regenerate image sizes after theme changes
WordPress creates image files for registered sizes when you upload an image. Adding a new size does not create files in that size for images already in the Media Library, so older posts can keep showing an earlier crop. After you change a theme’s image sizes, use a tool such as WP-CLI’s wp media regenerate to create the new sizes for existing images. WordPress image-size guidance describes this step.
Register only the sizes your theme uses. WordPress creates more image files for each additional size when you upload images, which uses more storage. If you remove a size from the theme, WordPress does not automatically delete the files it already created.
Use PressQueue for post images and social previews
PressQueue is a free, open source WordPress plugin for Buffer. It shares your WordPress posts through Buffer to LinkedIn, X, Bluesky, Mastodon, Threads and Facebook.
To set it up, download pressqueue.zip from the PressQueue download page, then go to Plugins > Add Plugin > Upload Plugin in WordPress and upload the ZIP. You also need a Buffer account with your social accounts added and a WordPress site that allows plugin uploads.
Paste a personal Buffer API key into PressQueue so it can connect to Buffer. Find the key in your Buffer settings. PressQueue stores it in encrypted form; there is no Buffer login button. Your Buffer channels appear with switches, and new channels start off. PressQueue starts in test mode. It records what it would share without sending anything. Test a sharing rule against recent posts before switching it on.
A post-image rule can omit an image, use the featured image, use an image selected in each post, or use a social image. PressQueue’s social image feature creates a wide image with the post title over a background and the site name underneath. Choose the style under Settings > Social images and review the live preview. PressQueue creates an image the first time a post needs one, redraws it when the title or style changes, and keeps it out of the Media Library. The feature requires PHP GD with FreeType. If the host lacks that support, PressQueue sends the post with text and a link instead.
PressQueue can also use that social image as the page’s og:image and twitter:image values, so the same picture can appear when someone shares the page link. It works with four SEO plugins: Yoast SEO, Rank Math, The SEO Framework, and Jetpack. Without an SEO plugin, PressQueue adds the tags. You can choose to use the image on every post, restrict it to posts without their own social image, or turn it off. An image already set for an individual post in an SEO plugin takes precedence.