Homepages showing less content on mobile than desktop, by platform
| Platform | 30%+ fewer words | Less than half the words | 30%+ fewer same-site links | Homepages |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WordPress | 9.0% | 3.2% | 1.6% | 102,115 |
| Shopify | 5.9% | 1.7% | 1.1% | 44,862 |
| Wix | 15.7% | 7.2% | 10.3% | 676 |
| Squarespace | 3.8% | 1.3% | 0.4% | 470 |
| Webflow | 4.9% | 1.8% | 0.4% | 2,338 |
| Other or custom | 10.8% | 4.8% | 4.9% | 480,166 |
| All homepages | 10.1% | 4.3% | 4.0% | 630,627 |
Source: PageSpeed Matters, Sept 2026. Rendered word counts can drop when text is collapsed into accordions or tabs on mobile.
Summary
Google mostly uses the mobile version of a page for indexing, and its documentation recommends that the mobile version carries the same main content as desktop. So we asked a simple question: how often does a homepage show visitors less on mobile than it does on desktop?
We compared 630,627 homepages in the top 1M sites that HTTP Archive crawled on both desktop and mobile. 10.1% show at least 30% fewer rendered words on mobile. The gap is far more common on the most popular sites, and less common on Shopify and WordPress than on custom builds.
What we measured
We used the HTTP Archive crawl from September 2026, which loads the same URL once with a desktop browser and once with a mobile browser. For each homepage in the top 1M sites by Chrome traffic that appears in both crawls, we compared the rendered visible words and the same-site links on the two versions.
A homepage counts as showing less on mobile when its mobile version has at least 30% fewer rendered words than desktop. We also counted homepages with less than half the desktop word count, and homepages that lose 30% or more of their same-site links. Platform is the site platform detected on mobile, and Core Web Vitals from mobile Chrome UX Report data at the 75th percentile.
Two limits apply. Responsive designs often collapse text into accordions, tabs or menus on mobile, which can reduce the rendered word count even when the content is still on the page. And this is a lab crawl from September 2026, so it shows what the crawler rendered, not what Google indexed or how it ranked these pages.
One in ten homepages show less on mobile
10.1% of the 630,627 homepages show at least 30% fewer rendered words on mobile than on desktop. 4.3% show less than half the words. The other side of that is that roughly nine in ten homepages serve close to the same amount of text on both.
Links drop less often than words. 4.0% of homepages lose 30% or more of their same-site links on mobile. That matters because links on the mobile page are the ones a mobile crawler can follow, so a homepage that drops links on mobile also drops paths into the rest of the site.
Fewer words does not always mean missing content. Some of these pages hide text behind tabs or accordions on small screens, which our count treats as not visible.
10.1%
Share of 630,627 top-1M homepages that show at least 30% fewer rendered words on mobile than on desktop.
The gap grows with popularity
The most visited sites are the most likely to show less on mobile. 22.6% of Top 1K homepages show at least 30% fewer words on mobile, against 15.1% in the Top 10K, 12.5% in the Top 100K and 9.9% across the rest of the top 1M.
A likely reason is how these sites are built. Large sites are more likely to serve a separate mobile template or a trimmed-down mobile experience, while smaller sites tend to use one responsive layout that scales the same content down.
Platform sites mostly serve the same content on both
Sites on the big platforms mostly show the same content on both devices. 5.9% of 44,862 Shopify homepages and 9.0% of 102,115 WordPress homepages lose 30% or more of their words on mobile, against 10.8% of 480,166 homepages on other or custom stacks. Squarespace (3.8% of 470) and Webflow (4.9% of 2,338) are lower still. Wix is the exception at 15.7%, though from a small group of 676 homepages.
Lost links are concentrated on custom builds. 4.9% of other or custom homepages lose 30% or more of their same-site links on mobile, against 1.6% of WordPress and 1.1% of Shopify homepages. Themes on those platforms likely keep the same navigation on mobile and move it into a menu, while custom builds are freer to drop links.
Thinner mobile pages are not faster in the field
Cutting content on mobile does not show up as a speed gain. 46.8% of 48,385 homepages with 30% fewer mobile words pass Core Web Vitals, against 47.9% of 433,465 homepages that keep their content. The two groups are almost level.
So the usual reason for trimming a mobile page, making it load faster, is not visible in the field data. Speed on mobile tends to depend more on scripts, images and server response than on how much text the page shows.
What this means for your site
Compare your own homepage on both devices. Load it in a desktop browser and in your browser's mobile emulation, or use the URL Inspection tool in Search Console to see the rendered mobile HTML, and check that the main text, headings and links are all there.
- Keep the same main content on mobile. If space is tight, put text in accordions or tabs rather than removing it from the page.
- Keep the same internal links. Move navigation into a menu instead of dropping it, so mobile crawlers can reach the same pages.
- If you serve a separate mobile template, check it against desktop after every redesign, since that is where content tends to drift apart.
- Do not trim content to make mobile faster. Look at scripts, images and server response time instead.
Sources
- HTTP Archive crawl, September 2026, desktop and mobile, top 1M sites by Chrome traffic
- Chrome UX Report (CrUX), mobile Core Web Vitals, September 2026
- Google Search Central, mobile-first indexing best practices: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/mobile/mobile-sites-mobile-first-indexing
Frequently asked questions
How many websites show less content on mobile than desktop?
Across 630,627 top-1M homepages crawled on both devices, 10.1% show at least 30% fewer rendered words on mobile and 4.3% show less than half. 4.0% lose 30% or more of their same-site links.
Do popular sites show less content on mobile?
Yes, more often than other sites. 22.6% of Top 1K homepages show at least 30% fewer words on mobile, against 15.1% in the Top 10K, 12.5% in the Top 100K and 9.9% across the rest of the top 1M.
Does showing less content on mobile make a page faster?
Not in our data. 46.8% of 48,385 homepages with 30% fewer mobile words pass Core Web Vitals, against 47.9% of 433,465 homepages that keep their content.
How do I check if my mobile page has the same content as desktop?
Load the page on desktop and in mobile emulation and compare the main text, headings and links, or use the URL Inspection tool in Search Console to see the rendered mobile HTML. Text collapsed into accordions still counts as being on the page.
Content and links that disappear on mobile usually come down to a template or theme setting, and keeping both versions in line is a straightforward fix. Need help with this? See our technical SEO services.