Link preview not working on certain sites

[bernard.wong]

Hi - I noticed that link preview does not work in certain sites, say Wall Street Journal or Bloomberg’s. Is this due to the restrictions of certain websites to prohibit data accessing to generate the preview? The strange thing is that some articles from WSJ can be previewed but some can’t. I am trying to understand the root cause or if there’s any work around. Appreciate any help I can get! Thanks!

Example: This doesn’t work in link preview.
https://www.wsj.com/finance/investing/the-8-8-trillion-cash-pile-that-has-stock-market-bulls-salivating-0a1b4a8c?mod=hp_lead_pos4

Example: This link works…
https://www.wsj.com/finance/currencies/heres-how-the-new-bitcoin-etfs-will-work-9504ed25?mod=WTRN_pos7

[Daniel.P]

Hello @bernard.wong,

Thank you for reaching out with your observations regarding the link preview functionality. The behavior you’re encountering is indeed related to the restrictions some websites have in place to control how their data is accessed and shared. Websites like The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg may have certain articles behind paywalls or employ anti-scraping measures that can prevent link previews from generating.

The inconsistency you’re experiencing, where some articles can be previewed and others can’t, could be due to different levels of access restrictions on individual articles. Some content might be freely available, while other pieces are more tightly controlled.

To assist you further, could you please let me know which plugin you are using for generating link previews? Additionally, sharing details about your setup, including how you’re integrating the plugin into your workflow, would be very helpful.

Understanding your current configuration will enable us to investigate the issue more thoroughly and provide you with specific guidance.

Looking forward to your response.

Best regards,
Daniel.

[bernard.wong]

@Daniel.P Thanks so much for getting back to me.

I am using link Preview version 1.9.0

Link Preview Plugin for Bubble, by Zeroqode

I used it as a workflow - Users copy and paste the links… in this case, the WSJ article links that I shared earlier, they click the button to trigger the workflow and my site displays the preview link on the same page. I am a subscriber of WSJ, and the workflow just came back with an Error.

[Daniel.P]

Hi @bernard.wong,

Thank you for providing the details about your usage of the Link Preview plugin.

To assist you further and identify the cause of the error, could you please share some additional information with me? Specifically, it would be helpful to see:

• Screenshots of your workflow setup where you’re using the Link Preview plugin.
• The exact error message you receive when the workflow encounters an issue.
• Do you encounter errors only with links from WSJ, or with other links too?

These details will give me a better understanding of where things might be going wrong, and I’ll be able to provide you with more targeted assistance.

Looking forward to your response so I can help resolve this error for you.

Best regards,
Daniel.

[laurie1]

Hi Daniel, I’m also experiencing the issue where the Zeroqode Link Preview plugin (the Free version in my case, https://cnca-plugins.bubbleapps.io/plugin-link-preview) works fine with some sites, but not with others.

I am having this issue with links whose previews show up correctly when pasted into other applications such as Discord, but which throw an error when pasted into your own demo, so I don’t believe it to be an issue with the site that the link originates from.

Here is an example link that throws the error when pasted into your own demo app: https://artstn.co/m/POmJP

Your demo app for the plugin I am using: https://cnca-plugins.bubbleapps.io/plugin-link-preview

[Daniel.P]

Hi @laurie1,

Thank you for reaching out. I’ve taken the time to investigate the link you’ve provided by testing it directly on the Linkpreview’s: https://my.linkpreview.net/ website. It appears that the same error occurs there, which suggests that the issue is not specific to our plugin or the demo app:

The Link Preview service may not be able to access certain websites, due to privacy settings or restrictions placed by the site itself that block this type of metadata retrieval.

While Linkpreview is a robust tool, it does have its limitations, and unfortunately, it cannot preview all websites. Some sites might have specific settings that prevent link preview services from accessing their data, which could be related to privacy concerns or the way their metadata is set up.

I hope this information helps.

If there’s anything else I can assist you with or if you need further support, please let me know.

Best regards,
Daniel.

[laurie1]

Hi Daniel, thank you for the reply! I think the fact that the URL preview metadata exists and is retrievable by other services besides the Zeroqode plugin and the Link Preview service means that it is not an issue with the originating link, but rather with something those two have in common. This link preview is viewable on the Discord app as shown here:

as well as on Facebook as shown here:

Are you able to recommend or patch in a workaround to use a different method for getting that preview in the case where the particular metadata your plugin and LinkPreview are using is blocked by the originating site, but whatever other metadata Discord and Facebook are retrieving is not blocked?

[laurie1]

Replying to add a few more examples of where the URL preview works.

Yahoo email on Chrome:

LinkedIn:

[Daniel.P]

Hi @laurie1,

Thank you for your response. I can see that URL preview metadata is accessible through other services. This indeed suggests that the issue may be specific to the underlying code library of this Link Preview Plugin.

I’d like to recommend trying our other link preview plugin which has been tested and is working with your link: Meta Tags, URL & Link Preview Plugin for Bubble | Zeroqode

This alternative plugin better alignes with your needs and offers smooth experience in retrieving the URL preview metadata you’re looking to display.

I hope this helps! If you have more questions, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Best regards,
Daniel.

[laurie1]

Wonderful! I appreciate the solution very much.

The main reason I went with the free version was not because I didn’t want to pay, but because it seemed easier to implement. I don’t need any of those other bells and whistles, just URL preview data to display from an input via existing workflows.

Editing this to update, it turns out I actually already purchased this plugin and could not figure out how to implement it into my workflows, which must be why I switched to the free version. This is how I’ve currently got the free version set up to display the input preview in display elements:

And sorry, I am editing again to say I figured it out, first I need to put the Get Link Preview step into the workflow then use the Result of step 1 (Get Link Preview)'s whatever to fill in the Display elements. Works like a charm!

Thanks again!

[Daniel.P]

Hi @laurie1,

You’re very welcome, and thank you so much for your positive feedback! I am thrilled to hear that you’ve found the solution and everything is working like a charm now. I really appreciate you taking the time to share your experience.

Additionally, we would be grateful if you could take a moment to share your full experience with Zeroqode on our review page: Review. Your insights are extremely valuable, not only to us but also to the wider Bubble community. They inspire us to keep enhancing our products and delivering exceptional service. We look forward to your thoughts!

Thank you again, and I wish you an amazing day ahead. If there’s anything more you need or questions you have, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I’m here to support you.

Best wishes,
Daniel.

[laurie1]

Done!

[Daniel.P]

Hi again @laurie1,

Thanks a lot for taking the time to write a review! I really appreciate it.

If you have any other questions or need further assistance down the line, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We’re here to help!

Warm regards,
Daniel.