Homepages with uncrawlable link types, by platform
| Platform | javascript:void | Click handler | Either | Hash-only | Homepages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WordPress | 10.6% | 7.1% | 15.6% | 69.4% | 111,642 |
| Shopify | 11.2% | 9.7% | 16.2% | 63.7% | 46,514 |
| Webflow | 4.1% | 7.4% | 10.2% | 80.3% | 2,486 |
| Squarespace | 1.0% | 4.6% | 5.6% | 18.9% | 497 |
| Wix | 0.2% | 0.7% | 0.9% | 3.4% | 876 |
| Other or custom | 15.6% | 16.1% | 25.4% | 45.2% | 492,708 |
| All homepages | 14.3% | 14.1% | 23.0% | 50.7% | 654,723 |
Source: PageSpeed Matters, Sept 2026. Hash-only links are usually menu toggles and are shown for context, not as an SEO problem.
Summary
Google finds new pages by following links, and it can only follow a link that points to a real URL. A link written as javascript:void, or a clickable element that only runs a script, gives a crawler nowhere to go. If that is the only way to reach a page, Google may never find it.
We checked how often this happens on the most visited sites. Of 654,723 homepages in the top 1M sites by Chrome traffic, 14.3% use javascript:void links and 14.1% use click handlers in place of real URLs. Together, nearly one in four homepages has at least one link a crawler cannot follow.
What we measured
We used the HTTP Archive crawl from September 2026, on mobile, covering homepages in the top 1M sites by Chrome traffic. We kept homepages with at least one rendered link and checked every anchor on the page.
We counted three link types. A javascript:void link has an href that starts with javascript: instead of a URL. A click-handler link uses an onclick script in place of a real address. A hash-only link has an href of just "#". A homepage counts toward a type if it has at least one link of that type.
Platform is the site platform detected on each homepage: Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, Webflow or WordPress, with everything else grouped as other or custom. Core Web Vitals results come from Chrome UX Report field data at the 75th percentile, for homepages that have it.
Two limits matter. Hash-only links are usually menu toggles and in-page buttons, so we do not treat them as an SEO problem. And the Core Web Vitals gap we report is a correlation, not a cause.
Nearly one in four homepages has a script-only link
14.3% of the 654,723 homepages (93,811) use at least one javascript:void link, and 14.1% (92,051) use a click handler in place of a real URL. Many pages use both, so the combined figure is lower than the sum: 23.0% of homepages (150,516) have at least one javascript:void or click-handler link.
For some sites it is a habit, not a one-off. 5.7% of homepages (37,036) have 10 or more such links. At that point it is likely that the site's menus, product tiles or calls to action are built this way, rather than a single stray button.
These links usually still work for people, because the script opens a page or a panel when clicked. The problem is that a crawler reading the HTML sees no destination. Google's own guidance is that it can reliably follow only anchor elements with an href that resolves to a URL.
14.3%
Share of 654,723 top-1M homepages that use at least one javascript:void link.
Site builders use far fewer script-only links
The platform a site runs on goes with a large difference. 25.4% of the 492,708 homepages on other or custom stacks have a javascript:void or click-handler link. That falls to 16.2% of 46,514 Shopify homepages and 15.6% of 111,642 WordPress homepages, 10.2% of 2,486 Webflow homepages, 5.6% of 497 Squarespace homepages and 0.9% of 876 Wix homepages.
The likely reason is that builders generate most navigation from their own templates, and those templates output ordinary links. Custom stacks leave every link to the developer, and script-driven buttons are a common shortcut in hand-built front ends. The Squarespace and Wix groups are small, so treat their figures as a rough guide.
Hash-only links are common but mostly harmless
If you also count hash-only links, 58.7% of homepages have at least one link without a crawlable destination. That number sounds alarming, but most of it comes from hash-only links, which appear on 50.7% of homepages on their own.
Hash-only links run the other way from script-only links. They appear on 80.3% of Webflow homepages, 69.4% of WordPress homepages and 63.7% of Shopify homepages, against 45.2% on other or custom stacks. Builders use them for menu toggles, accordions and anchor buttons, where the link is a control on the page rather than a path to another page. They usually do not hide content from Google, so they are not the issue to chase.
Pages with script-only links pass Core Web Vitals less often
Homepages with javascript:void or click-handler links pass Core Web Vitals 40.7% of the time (120,198 with CrUX data), against 47.7% of the 398,464 homepages without such links.
This is a correlation, not a cause. A javascript:void link does not slow a page down by itself. The more likely story is that pages built around script-driven navigation also tend to ship more JavaScript and more custom front-end code, and that is what shows up in the speed data.
What this means for your site
Any link that leads to another page should be a real anchor with a real URL in its href. You can still attach a script to it for tracking or animation, as long as the href points somewhere a crawler can request.
- Open your homepage in your browser's developer tools and search the rendered page (the Elements panel) for "javascript:" and "onclick" to find script-only links.
- Check your main menu, product or category tiles and footer first, since those are the links that help Google discover the rest of the site.
- Replace each script-only link with an anchor that has a proper href, and keep the script as an enhancement.
- Leave hash-only menu toggles alone, or turn them into buttons, which is the more accessible choice.
- Run a crawler on the site with JavaScript off and on, and compare the pages it finds. Pages that only appear with JavaScript on rely on links Google may not follow.
Sources
- HTTP Archive crawl, September 2026, mobile, top 1M sites by Chrome traffic
- Chrome UX Report (CrUX) field data, September 2026
- Google Search Central, make your links crawlable: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/links-crawlable
Embed this research
Paste this on your site to embed the chart. It links back to the source automatically.
<iframe id="psm-javascript-void-links" src="https://www.pagespeedmatters.com/embed/data-studies/javascript-void-links" width="100%" height="600" style="width:100%;border:1px solid #E2E3E1;border-radius:12px" loading="lazy" title="javascript:void Links 2026: 14.3% of Top 1M Homepages - PageSpeed Matters"></iframe>
<script>window.addEventListener("message",function(e){if(e&&e.data&&e.data.psmEmbed==="javascript-void-links"&&e.data.height){var f=document.getElementById("psm-javascript-void-links");if(f){f.style.height=e.data.height+"px";}}});</script>
<p style="font:14px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif">Source: <a href="https://www.pagespeedmatters.com/resources/data-studies/javascript-void-links">javascript:void Links 2026: 14.3% of Top 1M Homepages - PageSpeed Matters</a></p>
Frequently asked questions
Can Google follow javascript:void links?
No. A javascript:void link has no URL in its href, so a crawler has no address to request. Google says it can reliably follow only anchor elements with an href that resolves to a URL.
How common are javascript:void links?
14.3% of 654,723 top-1M homepages use at least one javascript:void link and 14.1% use click handlers in place of real URLs. 23.0% use at least one of the two.
Are hash-only links bad for SEO?
Usually not. 50.7% of homepages have hash-only links, and they are mostly menu toggles and in-page buttons that do not lead to another page, so they do not hide content from Google.
Which platforms use the most script-only links?
Custom and other stacks, at 25.4% of 492,708 homepages. Shopify (16.2%) and WordPress (15.6%) are lower, and Wix is lowest at 0.9% of 876 homepages.
Script-only links are a markup change, and swapping them for real anchors lets crawlers reach every page your visitors can. Need help with this? See our technical SEO services.