Twitter Cards are meta tags that control how a web page's link preview appears when shared on X (formerly Twitter). By including Twitter Card meta tags in a page's HTML head, developers can specify the card type, title, description, and image that X displays when users share the URL.
There are several card types: summary (a small card with a thumbnail), summary_large_image (a card with a prominent image), player (for embedded media), and app (for mobile app promotion). The most commonly used types are summary and summary_large_image. Social media marketing books on Amazon cover card optimization.
Twitter Cards work alongside Open Graph tags. If Twitter Card tags are not present, X falls back to Open Graph tags for the preview. Many sites implement both sets of tags to ensure optimal display across all social platforms.
For URL shortening services, Twitter Cards are important because short URLs are frequently shared on X. The card preview gives users context about the destination before clicking, which can increase trust and click-through rates. Digital marketing books on Amazon discuss cross-platform optimization.