61% Of Cookies Enable Third-Party Tracking

HTTP Archive published 12 chapters of its annual Web Almanac, revealing disparities between mobile and desktop web performance.

The Almanac analyzes data from millions of sites to track trends in web technologies, performance metrics, and user experience.

This year’s Almanac details changes in technology adoption patterns that will impact businesses and users.

Key Highlights

Mobile Performance Gap

The most significant finding centers on the growing performance gap between desktop and mobile experiences.

With the introduction of Google’s new Core Web Vital metric, Interaction to Next Paint (INP), the gap has become wider than ever.

“Web performance is tied to what devices and networks people can afford,” the report notes, highlighting the socioeconomic implications of this growing divide.

The data shows that while desktop performance remains strong, mobile users—particularly those with lower-end devices—face challenges:

• Desktop sites achieve 97% “good” INP scores
• Mobile sites lag at 74% “good” INP scores
• Mobile median Total Blocking Time is 18 times higher than desktop

Third-Party Tracking

The report found that tracking remains pervasive across the web.

“We find that 61% of cookies are set in a third-party context,” the report states, noting that these cookies can be used for cross-site tracking and targeted advertising.

Key privacy findings include:

• Google’s DoubleClick sets cookies on 44% of top websites
• Only 6% of third-party cookies use partitioning for privacy protection
• 11% of first-party cookies have SameSite set to None, potentially enabling tracking

CMS Market Share

In the content management space, WordPress continues its dominance, with the report stating:

“Of the over 16 million mobile sites in this year’s crawl, WordPress is used by 5.7 millions sites for a total of 36% of sites.”

However, among the top 1,000 most-visited websites, only 8% use identifiable CMS platforms, suggesting larger organizations opt for custom solutions.

In the ecommerce sector, WooCommerce leads with 38% market share, followed by Shopify at 18%.

The report found that “OpenCart is the last of the 362 detected shop systems that manage to secure a share above 1% of the market.”

PayPal remains most detected payment method (3.5% of sites), followed by Apple Pay and Shop Pay.

Performance By Platform

Some platforms markedly improved Core Web Vitals scores over the past year.

Squarespace increased from 33% good scores in 2022 to 60% in 2024, while others like Magento and WooCommerce continue to face performance challenges.

The remaining chapters of the Web Almanac are expected to be published in the coming weeks.

Structured Data Trends

The deprecation of FAQ and HowTo rich results by Google hasn’t significantly impacted their implementation.

This suggests website owners find value in these features beyond search.

Google expanded support for structured data types for various verticals, including vehicles, courses, and vacation rentals.

Why This Matters

These findings highlight that mobile optimization remains a challenge for developers and businesses.

HTTP Archive researchers noted in the report:

“These results highlight the ongoing need for focused optimization efforts, particularly in mobile experience.

The performance gap between devices suggests that many users, especially those on lower-end mobile devices, may be experiencing a significantly degraded web experience.”

Additionally, as privacy concerns grow, the industry faces pressure to balance user tracking with privacy protection.

Businesses reliant on third-party tracking mechanisms may need to adapt their marketing and analytics strategies accordingly.

The 2024 Web Almanac is available on HTTP Archive’s website; the remaining chapters are expected to be published in the coming weeks.

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