Why Aren’t Your Flipboard Images Showing? Here Are A Few Fixes
One of Flipboard’s biggest benefits is its stunning visual presentation, turning every image into a scroll-stopping experience. However, nothing is more frustrating when you’ve built a beautiful Flipboard magazine, but your pictures don’t appear!
This has happened to me more times than I want to talk about.
Since then, I have been on a mission to solve the disappearing image problem.
During my many years using Flipboard, I tried different things. Some worked and some didn’t. Image losses and “dead links” stayed. After enough trial and error, I finally figured out a couple of workarounds.
In this article, I’ll share some of the things that helped.
How Do Images Appear on Flipboard?
Flipboard automatically selects the featured image from your blog when you flip an article into your magazine. If your images aren’t showing up, let’s troubleshoot the problem.
Flipboard‘s Image Specifications:
Pick beautiful, mouth-watering, high-resolution images or optimal effects. Here are the recommended sizes for Flipboard:
1. General Image Requirements:
- Minimum size: 400px in the smallest dimension
- For best results, Provide images in the highest resolution possible
- File format: JPEG or PNG
2. Display Aspect Ratios:
- Landscape: 4:3 or 16:9
- Portrait: 3:4 or 9:16
- Square: 1:1
3. Magazine Cover Images:
- Recommended minimum: At least 1,000 pixels
- Larger images generally look better as magazine covers
4. Specific Image Sizes:
- Landscape option: 1920x1080 pixels (16:9 aspect ratio)
- For mobile devices: At least 1080x1920 pixels (9:16 aspect ratio)
Note: Flipboard adapts images to fit different devices and layouts, so providing high-resolution images ensures the best quality across various display sizes. Using images that match the recommended aspect ratios (4:3, 16:9, 3:4, 9:16, or 1:1) will help prevent excessive cropping or blank spaces in the layout.
Check Images on Your Blog
Your blog’s featured image should meet these criteria to avoid display issues. If your blog is built on WordPress or a similar CMS, use a Featured Image Plugin.
- Assign a featured image to each post. Plugins like Yoast SEO can help manage Open Graph metadata automatically.
- Make sure the Featured Image has a native URL to your PNG or JPEG file. (See images below)
Test an Image by Flipping into Your Magazine
When you add “+” (or “flip”) your blog post to Flipboard:
- Copy the blog URL.
- Paste it into the “Notes” in your Flipboard Magazine. (see image below)
- Check to see if the image appears. If not, revisit the Open Graph settings or image optimization
How Flipboard Renders Images
1. Cropping and Resizing:
- Flipboard automatically crops and resizes images to fit your device or screen layout.
- Always choose High-resolution images, which allow for better quality after cropping or resizing.
- RSS feeds sometimes display multiple image sizes. Flipboard selects the most appropriate size for display.
2. If Images Don’t Conform:
- If the images do not conform to the recommended aspect ratios, they may not appear. You will see a blank area or a Flipboard logo.
3. High-Resolution Gets Priority:
- Flipboard prioritizes high-resolution image versions to ensure clarity and preserve high-quality standards.
Sharing On Facebook
Flipboard fetches content via the page URL. Test your blog post link using the Facebook Sharing Debugger to verify that Open Graph tags and images are working correctly.
Use Open Graph Tags For Social Media (OG Tags)
This one is for your web programmer.
Flipboard relies on Open Graph tags to pull in content, including images. Open Graph tags are essential for optimizing how your content appears when shared on social media platforms, including Flipboard. Make sure your blog has these tags correctly implemented:
Here’s a breakdown of the key points:
- The meta tags you’ve listed are the core Open Graph tags. Place these in the <head> section of your blog:
- og:title
- og:description
- Og:image. The image tag is essential for Flipboard as it determines which image will be displayed when your content is shared.
=> Use image dimensions to make it even more error-proof:
<meta property=”og:image:width” content=”1200" />
<meta property=”og:image:height” content=”630" /> - og:url
- og:type
Using these tags saves Flipboard guesswork.
If Your Image Still Does Not Show
You’ve done all the above but still not seeing your image. Try the following:
- Image Format: Flipboard does not support WebP for featured images. It’s better to use JPEG and PNG formats.
- Caching Issues:
A disappearing image is sometimes due to a caching problem. Clearing the app’s content cache and forcing the app to close can often resolve various problems in Flipboard, including issues with images not loading. Force close and restart the app. - Outdated App Version:
I’m often guilty of this! Update your app. Using an outdated Flipboard app can cause issues, including problems with image display. Check the app store for the latest version of the app. - Connection Problems:
Poor connectivity can prevent images from loading properly. Try switching between Wi-Fi and mobile data to see if it resolves the issue. - Check Your System Software:
Make sure your device’s operating system is up to date.
Final Thoughts
If your images are still missing after following these steps, it could be a broader issue with Flipboard. You may need to contact Flipboard support for further assistance.
By optimizing your images and using Open Graph tags correctly, you can ensure your content looks great on Flipboard and avoid frustrating display issues.
Have you experienced missing images on Flipboard? Let me know in the comments how you solved it!
Article Sources: Flipboard Official Documentation, Flipboard Help Center, WordPress, Meta and Personal Experience.
Happy Flipping and Surfing!
- Please follow my Flipboard profile. The surf profile is coming soon!
- Join our Facebook user community for #Fliptips and tricks.
- Follow me on Mastodon, Bluesky, or Threads.
- To learn to use Flipboard, follow my 40-second Flipboard tutorials on YouTube.
Flipboard is a powerful and versatile tool. Ask me about consulting services to learn how to use your profile for countless benefits. I’m here to help.
Full disclosure: I do not work for Flipboard.
