When someone shares a page from your church website — a sermon, an event, an article — what actually appears on Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, or X?
For many churches, the answer is… not much. A blurry logo. A random line of text. Or worse: nothing at all.
In a world where so many people discover churches through social media, your web pages need to be share‑ready. That means every page looks good, reads well, and makes sense when it’s shared on social platforms.
And the key to making a shared link look awesome instead of awful is…
Open Graph Meta Tags
“What on earth are those?!” I hear you ask…
…well, to be fair, I didn’t hear you. If I did, that would be both strange and a little creepy. Also, why are you thinking out loud? Strange choice, my friend.
Anyway.
Every webpage has a section at the top of the code called the head. Inside that head, you can add Open Graph meta tags. These tags tell social platforms exactly what to display when someone shares your page.
Here are the tags for this article:
<meta property="og:title" content="Is Your Church Website Share Ready?"> <meta property="og:description" content="A practical guide to Open Graph tags and social optimisation for churches. Improve your images, titles, and previews so every shared link looks its best."> <meta property="og:type" content="article"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://treefish.churchee.net/2026.06.30Social-Media-Day_m.webp"> <meta property="og:url" content="https://treefish.uk/blog/is-your-church-website-share-ready">
These tags include:
- Title — the title shown in the preview
- Description — a short summary of the page
- Type — what kind of page it is (article, event, website)
- Image — the image used in the preview
- URL — the canonical link
The Image (og:image)
The og:image is by far the most important Open Graph tag.
When you share a link on social media, a picture appears. The og:image tag tells the platform exactly which image to use.
Without it, the platform will make a “best guess”.
Did I say best guess? Sorry — I meant worst possible choice. It will find the tiniest icon on your page, scale it up to the size of a billboard, and present you with a blurry mess that absolutely no one wants to click.
Most decent CMS's will let you set a featured image for articles and events, and will automatically optimise it for Open Graph use.
If you’re creating images yourself, Canva is a great option. If your church is a registered charity, you can get Canva for Non‑Profits, which gives you all the Canva Pro features for free.
(We’re planning a writting an article on Canva soon — let us know if you’d find that helpful.)
The Title (og:title)
Your webpage also has a standard <title> tag in the head. This is what appears in browser tabs and search results.
For example:
Page title:
Is Your Church Website Share Ready? | Treefish
Is Your Church Website Share Ready?
Spot the difference?
Many websites add a suffix like “| Church Name” or "- Church Name" to the page title for google and other search providers. That’s fine for search results, but for social sharing it’s best to remove the suffix. Social previews already show your domain, so repeating your brand just clutters the preview.
Check How Your Pages Look When Shared
Want to see what your page will look like on Facebook, X, or LinkedIn without actually posting it? Use these free tools:
Paste your URL and you’ll see exactly what people will see when they share it.
If it looks wrong, fix the OG tags, title, or description.
A Word About URL Shorteners
If you're posting on twitter... X, sorry, X, you might be tempted to use a URL shortener to save characters.
For example, turning:
`hopechurch.org.uk/youth-weekend`
into:
`bit.ly/3Fh2kP`
Don’t do it!
Because the link isn’t the real URL, the platform won’t fetch your Open Graph tags , so all that hard work getting your image and title all pretty lookin' goes straight in the bin.
Also, from a security perspective, shortened links can send people anywhere. Do you want to encourage people to click mysterious links on social media? No. No you do not.
If your domain is very long, a short domain you control is a much better option. Big brands do this:
- fb.com → facebook.com
- youtu.be → youtube.com
A branded short domain keeps trust, keeps previews intact, and keeps your content recognisable.
Final Thought: Sharing Is Caring
A share‑ready website helps your church reach people you’d never meet otherwise. It makes your events easier to promote, your sermons easier to access, and your community easier to invite.
Optimising for social media isn’t about chasing trends — it’s about removing friction so people can connect with your church and engage with what you’re doing.
If you have enjoyed reading this post? Why not test out our open graph tags and share using the icons below!