X (Twitter) cards — Hydrogen SEO

X (formerly Twitter) uses its own card tags to decide how a shared link renders in the feed. Hydrogen SEO outputs summary_large_image cards, the large-image format that gives your link a full-width visual, and lets you set an X-specific title and description per post in the SEO Settings sheet. Anything you leave unset falls back to your Open Graph values, so a well-configured OG setup already covers X.

The summary_large_image card

X supports several card formats; summary_large_image is the one that earns attention: a large image above the title and description rather than a small thumbnail beside them. Hydrogen SEO outputs this format, with the appropriate twitter:card, twitter:title, twitter:description, and image tags rendered server-side in your page's <head>.

Because the tags are in the raw HTML (the plugin ships zero front-end JavaScript), X's scraper sees them directly. No theme or builder dependency, no client-side injection that scrapers cannot read.

The fallback chain

You rarely need to fill in every field. Values resolve in order:

X-specific fields set in the SEO Settings sheet win.
Open Graph values fill any X field you left empty; X's scraper reads OG tags natively, and the plugin's fallback keeps the two consistent.
SEO title and meta description stand behind those, so even an untouched post produces a coherent card.

Practical upshot: set your Open Graph fields well, and use the X fields only when a post deserves X-specific copy.

Set X card data for a post

Open the post in the editor and open the SEO Settings sheet.
Go to the social settings and find the X (Twitter) fields.
Set the X title if you want it to differ from the OG title. On X, shorter and punchier tends to win; the card sits inside an already-short post.
Set the X description. One tight sentence; X truncates card descriptions aggressively, so put the substance first.
Check the card preview, which renders your image, title, and description as an X-style card so you can see truncation and cropping before publishing. The preview UI for both networks is covered in social share previews.
Save or update the post. Nothing is output until you save.

Twitter / X tab with its own title (1); empty description and image fall back.

The card image follows your OG image, so the same guidance applies: 1200×630 pixels, key content away from the edges. A page with no social or featured image uses the default share image from the Social screen. For homepage cards, set the social fields on the Homepage settings screen; see homepage SEO settings.

Social Media › Twitter tab (1): Use same data as Facebook (2) and Twitter Card Type (3).

Site-wide defaults

Site-wide settings for X live on Hydrogen SEO → Social (social settings):

X (Twitter) card tags on or off. Off removes the twitter:* tags from the site.
Your X username, printed as twitter:site. Enter it with or without the @, or as a profile URL. If it is empty and your social profiles include an x.com profile URL, that account is used.
The default share image, used as twitter:image when a page has no social image or featured image.

Accounts: X username (1, printed as twitter:site) and Facebook App ID (2, printed as fb:app_id).

AI help with X copy

To draft X titles and descriptions with AI, ask the Hydrogen AI tab in the SEO Settings sheet, for example "write a short X title and description for this post". Metadata generation produces X variants along with the SEO title and description; nothing is saved unless you ask the agent to save. AI generation needs a free connected account and draws on your credits; the full workflow is in AI meta titles and descriptions, and account setup is in connect your account.

Distinct X copy is a genuinely good use of the AI: the register that works on X (direct, provocative, short) is different from a meta description, and generating a few options beats reusing search copy verbatim.

When your card looks wrong on X

Three usual suspects:

The change hasn't been scraped. X caches card data for previously shared URLs, so an updated title can take time to appear. Caching behavior and re-scrape options are covered honestly in social share previews.
Another plugin is also printing card tags. Two SEO plugins outputting twitter: or og: tags produce conflicts; keep one primary. See fixing duplicate meta output.
The image is too small or oddly cropped. Use 1200×630 and preview the crop before publishing.

FAQ

Do I have to fill in the X fields for every post?

No. The fallback to Open Graph (and behind that, your SEO title and description) means every post gets a valid card. Use the X fields when a post merits platform-specific copy.

Can I choose a different card type than summary_large_image?

The plugin outputs summary_large_image, the format that performs best for content links and is what virtually every publisher wants. There is no per-post card-type picker.

Does X really need its own tags if it reads Open Graph?

X's scraper does fall back to OG tags for most values, but explicit twitter: tags remove ambiguity, and the twitter:card tag is what requests the large-image format in the first place. Hydrogen SEO outputs the explicit tags so you are not relying on scraper guesswork.

Why does my card image look cropped on X?

X renders the large-image card at roughly a 1.91:1 to 2:1 ratio depending on placement. A 1200×630 image with critical content centered survives every variant; text near the top or bottom edge may be trimmed.