How to Add OG Images to WordPress — No Plugin Required

The simplest way to add OG images to WordPress without installing any plugin is to hook into wp_head from your theme's functions.php:

// functions.php — Add this to your active theme

function custom_og_image_tags() {
  $title = is_singular() ? get_the_title() : get_bloginfo('name');
  $description = is_singular() ? get_the_excerpt() : get_bloginfo('description');
  $url = is_singular() ? get_permalink() : home_url('/');

  // Generate OG image via ogimg.xyz API
  $og_image = 'https://ogimg.xyz/api/og?' . http_build_query([
    'title'       => $title,
    'description' => wp_trim_words($description, 20, '...'),
    'template'    => 'gradient',
  ]);

  echo '<meta property="og:type" content="' . (is_singular() ? 'article' : 'website') . '" />' . "
";
  echo '<meta property="og:title" content="' . esc_attr($title) . '" />' . "
";
  echo '<meta property="og:description" content="' . esc_attr($description) . '" />' . "
";
  echo '<meta property="og:url" content="' . esc_url($url) . '" />' . "
";
  echo '<meta property="og:image" content="' . esc_url($og_image) . '" />' . "
";
  echo '<meta property="og:image:width" content="1200" />' . "
";
  echo '<meta property="og:image:height" content="630" />' . "
";
  echo '<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" />' . "
";
}
add_action('wp_head', 'custom_og_image_tags');

This approach works with any WordPress theme and requires no plugins. Every post and page automatically gets a unique OG image generated from its title and excerpt.

If you already use Yoast SEO or Rank Math, you can override the default OG image with an API-generated one using a filter:

Yoast SEO

// functions.php — Override Yoast's OG image

function override_yoast_og_image($image) {
  if (is_singular()) {
    $title = get_the_title();
    $description = get_the_excerpt();
    $image = 'https://ogimg.xyz/api/og?' . http_build_query([
      'title'       => $title,
      'description' => wp_trim_words($description, 20, '...'),
      'template'    => 'blog',
    ]);
  }
  return $image;
}
add_filter('wpseo_opengraph_image', 'override_yoast_og_image');

Rank Math

// functions.php — Override Rank Math's OG image

function override_rankmath_og_image($image) {
  if (is_singular()) {
    $title = get_the_title();
    $image = 'https://ogimg.xyz/api/og?' . http_build_query([
      'title'       => $title,
      'template'    => 'gradient',
    ]);
  }
  return $image;
}
add_filter('rank_math/opengraph/facebook/image', 'override_rankmath_og_image');
add_filter('rank_math/opengraph/twitter/image', 'override_rankmath_og_image');

This lets you keep Yoast or Rank Math for other SEO features while using API-generated OG images that always match your post titles.

For a more robust solution, create a helper function that tries the featured image first, then falls back to the API:

// functions.php — Smart OG image with fallback chain

function smart_og_image() {
  if (!is_singular()) {
    // Home / archive — use site-level OG image
    $title = get_bloginfo('name');
    return 'https://ogimg.xyz/api/og?' . http_build_query([
      'title'    => $title,
      'template' => 'gradient',
    ]);
  }

  // 1. Check for custom field "og_image"
  $custom = get_post_meta(get_the_ID(), 'og_image', true);
  if ($custom) return $custom;

  // 2. Use featured image if set
  $thumbnail = get_the_post_thumbnail_url(get_the_ID(), 'full');
  if ($thumbnail) return $thumbnail;

  // 3. Fall back to API-generated image
  return 'https://ogimg.xyz/api/og?' . http_build_query([
    'title'       => get_the_title(),
    'description' => wp_trim_words(get_the_excerpt(), 15, '...'),
    'template'    => 'blog',
    'pattern'     => 'dots',
  ]);
}

function output_smart_og_tags() {
  $image = smart_og_image();
  echo '<meta property="og:image" content="' . esc_url($image) . '" />' . "
";
  echo '<meta property="og:image:width" content="1200" />' . "
";
  echo '<meta property="og:image:height" content="630" />' . "
";
}
add_action('wp_head', 'output_smart_og_tags');

This gives content editors full control: they can set a custom OG image per post, let the featured image be used, or rely on automatic generation.

After adding your OG image code, verify it works correctly:

1. View page source: Visit any post on your site, right-click, and select "View Page Source." Search for og:image to confirm the meta tag is present.
2. Check for duplicates: If you're using both a functions.php approach and a plugin like Yoast, you may get duplicate OG tags. Pick one method and stick with it.
3. Facebook Sharing Debugger: Paste your post URL at developers.facebook.com/tools/debug. Click "Scrape Again" if you see stale data.
4. Twitter Card Validator: Test at cards-dev.twitter.com/validator.
5. LinkedIn Post Inspector: Test at linkedin.com/post-inspector.

Common WordPress issues:

• Caching plugins: If you use WP Super Cache, W3 Total Cache, or similar, purge the cache after adding OG tags so the new HTML is served.
• Duplicate meta tags: Disable OG tag output in your SEO plugin if you're adding tags via functions.php.
• CDN caching: Cloudflare or other CDNs may serve a cached version. Purge the CDN cache after making changes.