max-image-preview:large on top 1M homepages by platform
| Platform | Sets large | Restricts (none or standard) | Homepages |
|---|---|---|---|
| WordPress | 91.1% | 0.41% | 113,593 |
| Shopify | 2.8% | 0.01% | 47,127 |
| Webflow | 4.3% | 0.04% | 2,589 |
| Wix | 2.3% | 0.44% | 899 |
| Other or custom | 4.6% | 0.67% | 618,129 |
| All homepages | 17.0% | 0.59% | 782,850 |
Source: PageSpeed Matters, Sept 2026. Robots and googlebot meta tags only; X-Robots-Tag headers not counted.
Summary
Google Discover can show a page as a large image card or as a small thumbnail. Google's Discover guidance asks for large, high-quality images enabled by the max-image-preview:large robots setting, so a site without it is not asking for the bigger card format.
We checked how many of the most visited sites set it. Of 782,850 top-1M homepages, 133,171 (17.0%) do. Almost all of that comes from WordPress, and much of the WordPress share is default SEO plugin output rather than a choice site owners made.
What we measured
We used the HTTP Archive crawl of the top 1M sites by Chrome traffic from September 2026, on mobile. For each homepage we read the content of the robots and googlebot meta tags.
A homepage counts as setting large previews when either tag includes max-image-preview:large. It counts as restricting previews when it sets max-image-preview:none or max-image-preview:standard. Platform comes from HTTP Archive's technology detection, and popularity tiers come from its Chrome traffic rank.
Two limits matter. Directives sent in an X-Robots-Tag HTTP header are not counted, so the true rate may be slightly higher. And we looked at homepages only, in a single crawl.
Only 17% of homepages ask for large previews
Of 782,850 top-1M homepages, 133,171 set max-image-preview:large, or 17.0%. Another 4,613 explicitly restrict previews to none or standard. The rest send no max-image-preview value at all and leave the preview size to Google.
The robots meta tag itself looks like the bottleneck. Only 282,323 homepages have a robots meta tag at all, and 46.0% of those (129,945) include max-image-preview:large. The setting is common where a site or its tools already write a robots tag, and missing almost everywhere else.
Very few sites turn image previews off on purpose. Only 95 homepages block them entirely with max-image-preview:none.
17.0%
Share of 782,850 top-1M homepages that set max-image-preview:large in a robots or googlebot meta tag.
WordPress accounts for most of the adoption
Platform explains almost all of the result. 91.1% of 113,593 WordPress homepages set max-image-preview:large, and WordPress sites make up 103,512 of the 133,171 homepages that use it (77.7%).
That should not be read as WordPress site owners choosing large previews. Much of this share comes from default SEO plugin output, so most of these sites likely have the setting without anyone deciding to add it.
Outside WordPress the setting is rare. 2.8% of 47,127 Shopify homepages set it, along with 4.3% of 2,589 Webflow, 2.3% of 899 Wix and 4.6% of 618,129 other or custom homepages. On those platforms it likely appears only when a theme, an app or a developer adds it.
Popularity makes little difference
You might expect the most visited sites to be more careful with search settings. The data does not show that. 15.8% of 754 Top 1K homepages set max-image-preview:large, against 19.7% of 6,746 in the rest of the Top 10K, 15.9% of 67,308 in the rest of the Top 100K and 17.1% of the remaining 708,042 homepages in the Top 1M.
Every tier sits close to the overall 17.0%. Large sites are often custom builds, and custom builds are where the setting is rarest, which likely keeps the top tiers from pulling ahead.
What this means for your site
If Discover traffic matters to you, check whether your pages ask for large previews. The setting does not guarantee a Discover card, but without it Google is not being asked for one.
- View the source of an article page and your homepage and look for a robots meta tag that includes max-image-preview:large.
- On WordPress, confirm your SEO plugin still outputs it and that no other plugin or theme setting overrides it with none or standard.
- On Shopify, Webflow, Wix or a custom build, add a robots meta tag with max-image-preview:large to the theme head, or send the same directive in an X-Robots-Tag header.
- Check your article templates first. Discover mostly shows articles, so those pages benefit most, and they should also carry large, high-quality lead images.
- If you send directives in both a meta tag and a header, make sure they do not contradict each other.
Sources
- HTTP Archive crawl, September 2026, mobile, top 1M sites by Chrome traffic
- Google Search Central, Robots meta tag, data-nosnippet and X-Robots-Tag specifications: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/robots-meta-tag
- Google Search Central, Google Discover and your website: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/google-discover
Embed this research
Paste this on your site to embed the chart. It links back to the source automatically.
<iframe id="psm-max-image-preview-large" src="https://www.pagespeedmatters.com/embed/data-studies/max-image-preview-large" width="100%" height="600" style="width:100%;border:1px solid #E2E3E1;border-radius:12px" loading="lazy" title="Max Image Preview Large: Only 17% of Top 1M Sites - PageSpeed Matters"></iframe>
<script>window.addEventListener("message",function(e){if(e&&e.data&&e.data.psmEmbed==="max-image-preview-large"&&e.data.height){var f=document.getElementById("psm-max-image-preview-large");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/max-image-preview-large">Max Image Preview Large: Only 17% of Top 1M Sites - PageSpeed Matters</a></p>
Frequently asked questions
What percentage of websites use max-image-preview:large?
In the September 2026 HTTP Archive crawl, 17.0% of 782,850 top-1M homepages (133,171) set max-image-preview:large in a robots or googlebot meta tag. Another 4,613 restrict previews to none or standard.
Does WordPress add max-image-preview:large automatically?
Often, yes. 91.1% of 113,593 WordPress homepages set it, and much of that comes from default SEO plugin output rather than a deliberate choice. WordPress sites make up 77.7% of all homepages that use it.
Do Shopify sites use max-image-preview:large?
Rarely. Only 2.8% of 47,127 Shopify homepages set it, against 91.1% of WordPress homepages. Shopify store owners who want large Discover previews likely need to add the robots meta tag to their theme.
How do I check if my site sets max-image-preview:large?
View the page source and look for a meta tag named robots or googlebot whose content includes max-image-preview:large. Also check the response headers for an X-Robots-Tag, which can carry the same directive.
Large image previews come down to one robots directive, so adding it to the right templates is a quick change. Need help with this? See our on-page SEO services.