How do you find the “main” picture of a website, given the URL?

Question

Let\'s say you\'re given http://nytimes.com How would you pull out the \"main\" image?

The reason I\'m asking is because Flipboard is able to grab the main image from a

Answer 1

I don't believe there's a standard method. You could start by looking for an Open Graph Protocol image tag. Facebook uses these to select images for urls posted in status updates and comments.

If you're prepared to use a third party, Embedly offer this as a chargeable service.

Embedly provides a powerful API to convert standard URLs into embedded videos, images, and rich article previews from 218 leading providers.