# og:description is between 100-300 characters

- **Pattern:** `ab-001811` (`marketing-social-sharing.open-graph.og-description-length`)
- **Severity:** info
- **Lifecycle:** active
- **Last modified:** 2026-04-18
- **Canonical URL:** https://auditbuffet.com/patterns/ab-001811
- **License:** CC-BY-4.0 — attribute to AuditBuffet Pattern Catalog (https://auditbuffet.com/patterns/ab-001811)

## Why it matters

og:description is the secondary text in every social link preview. Descriptions under 100 characters lack enough context to explain what a page contains, leaving users uncertain whether the link is worth clicking. Descriptions over 300 characters are truncated unpredictably: Facebook shows approximately 250 characters, LinkedIn shows less. Per ogp.me, og:description supplements the title by providing context that drives click intent. A 42-character description leaves the preview half-empty; a 400-character description gets cut mid-sentence, often at a grammatically awkward point that reads as broken copy. Both failures reduce the effectiveness of social sharing as a distribution channel.

## Severity rationale

Info because description length issues reduce social preview quality and click-through rates but do not prevent sharing from functioning on any platform.

## Remediation

Target og:description values between 100 and 300 characters, with the most important content in the first 150 characters since WhatsApp and some LinkedIn views truncate there. Set descriptions in `src/app/layout.tsx` for the root default and in per-page `metadata` exports or `generateMetadata` for content pages:

```ts
openGraph: {
  description: 'A 100–300 character summary that explains what this page is and why someone should click through from a social feed.',
}
```

For dynamic content, derive descriptions from the item's excerpt or summary field, trimmed to 200 characters if the source content is longer.

## Detection

- **ID:** `og-description-length`
- **Severity:** `info`
- **What to look for:** For pages where you can determine the `og:description` text statically, check the character count. Dynamic descriptions cannot be evaluated statically. Count all instances found and enumerate each.
- **Pass criteria:** All statically determinable `og:description` values are between 100 and 300 characters. Threshold: no more than 155 characters for og:description.
- **Fail criteria:** Any statically determinable `og:description` is shorter than 100 characters or longer than 300 characters.
- **Skip (N/A) when:** All OG descriptions are dynamically generated from `generateMetadata` and no static values are determinable.
- **Detail on fail:** Example: `"og:description on /pricing is 42 chars — below 100 char minimum for social preview context"` or `"og:description on /about is 412 chars — will be truncated by most platforms"`
- **Remediation:** Social platforms display OG descriptions below the title in link previews. Facebook shows approximately 250 characters; LinkedIn shows less. Descriptions under 100 characters lack context; over 300 characters are truncated unpredictably. Aim for 100-300 characters that summarize the page and encourage clicks.

  Reference the relevant configuration in `package.json` or the `src/` directory structure for implementation.

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## External references

- external ogp.me — https://ogp.me/

Taxons: findability, content-integrity

HTML version: https://auditbuffet.com/patterns/ab-001811