Twitter Card types explained: summary, summary_large_image, player, and app cards
Twitter Cards control how your URL appears when shared on X (formerly Twitter). The four types are summary (small square thumbnail + title + description), summary_large_image (full-width hero image + text below), player (embedded video or audio), and app (direct app install link). Most websites need only summary_large_image for articles and summary for everything else.
How this is calculated
summary_large_image is the best choice for blog posts, product pages, and landing pages. It shows a prominent 1.91:1 image above the title and description, taking up roughly 30% more vertical space in the timeline than a summary card. The summary card is useful for pages where the image is secondary (documentation, API references, list pages). The player card requires Twitter whitelisting and is mainly used by YouTube, Vimeo, and major media publishers. The app card is for mobile app install campaigns and requires a Twitter Ads account. Each card type needs specific meta tags: twitter:card, twitter:title, twitter:description, twitter:image, and optionally twitter:site and twitter:creator.
Verdict
Use summary_large_image for content pages. Use summary for utility and reference pages. Skip player and app cards unless you work at a company with a Twitter Ads account and a whitelisted domain.